NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 9, 2017

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Saturday, December 9, 2017

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:07 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, December 9, 2017. The daily crossword is the classic: a 15×15 grid on weekdays and a larger Sunday puzzle, with difficulty rising from a gentle Monday to a fiendish Saturday. Hints come first and the solution stays hidden until you ask for it.

66 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Friday, December 8, 2017

across

1. "Get outta here!": SCAT
5. Casual cutoffs: JEANSHORTS
15. Law force, slangily: POPO
16. Breakout entertainment?: ESCAPEROOM
17. Truth we hold to be self-evident?: FACT
18. Latest thing: DERNIERCRI
19. Some low clouds: STRATI
21. Tupper of Tupperware fame: EARL
22. Orange-soda-loving character of 1990s Nickelodeon: KEL
23. Big '70s-'80s band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017: ELO
24. Start to go out: WANE
25. Point in a kitchen: TINE
26. Queen hit with the lyric "So don't become some background noise": RADIOGAGA
29. Baker in a studio: CHET
30. Comment from the smitten: IMINLOVE
31. Kim ___-jung, recipient of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize: DAE
32. Subterranean hideout in comics: BATCAVE
33. Tries to nip: BITESAT
37. Sportsman whose #4 was retired: OTT
38. Powerful sedative: QUAALUDE
39. "We Need a Little Christmas" musical: MAME
41. Frustrating thing to open: PUZZLEBOX
42. ___ slaw: COLE
43. Female singer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017: BAEZ
44. Withdrawal fig.: AMT
45. Director Lee: ANG
46. News ___ (media giant): CORP
47. "I was right!": KNEWIT
50. Rodeo event: BARRELRACE
53. Indie singer ___ Case: NEKO
54. "That is ...": IMEANTOSAY
55. Many a Generation Z member, now: TEEN
56. Throwable weapons used by assassins: NINJASTARS
57. Time at a hotel: STAY

down

1. 15, 30 and 50 are common ones, in brief: SPFS
2. Layer: COAT
3. Reward for an accelerated course, in brief: APCREDIT
4. Line on a 1040: TOTALINCOME
5. ___ knight: JEDI
6. San Jose-to-San Antonio dir.: ESE
7. Figure that can describe a lot: ACREAGE
8. Refrain syllables: NANANA
9. What may be on the horizon?: SPIRE
10. Cad: HEEL
11. Alexander ___, pioneer and early head of New York's subway system: ORR
12. Mile-high player: ROCKIE
13. Sign of availability: TORENT
14. "You're about to be photographed!": SMILE
20. "That ship has sailed": TOOLATE
24. Aspect of hydrodynamics: WAVE
25. Weather: THEELEMENTS
26. Tease: RIB
27. Drs.' order?: AMA
28. C-Span focus: Abbr.: GOVT
29. Language banned under Franco's dictatorship: CATALAN
31. Cameron of Hollywood: DIAZ
33. Telephone, informally: BUZZ
34. Social media post that refers to another user without directly mentioning that person: SUBTWEET
35. Trouble: ADO
36. Ranch moniker: TEX
38. "What say, José?": QUEPASA
39. Friendly French term of address: MONAMI
40. Nelson ___, author of "The Man With the Golden Arm": ALGREN
41. Mimic: PARROT
42. Kind of fever: CABIN
43. Parts of a Frankenstein costume: BOLTS
46. W.W.E. star John: CENA
47. See 52-Down: KEYS
48. Store with a three-syllable name in four letters: IKEA
49. High-class: TONY
51. Literally, "rule": RAJ
52. With 47-Down, some frequently misplaced items: CAR

Hints and full breakdown for Dec 8

More daily puzzle hints

How the week is built

Monday and Tuesday: straightforward definitions and familiar answers. These are the best days to learn.
Wednesday: a step up, often with a playful theme.
Thursday: the trick day, with rebus squares (several letters in one square) and answers that turn corners or skip squares.
Friday and Saturday: themeless and tough, with sly clues and long open sections.
Sunday: a bigger 21×21 grid with a theme, about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday.

Crossword-solving habits worth building

Learn the common fill. Short vowel-heavy words such as ERA, OREO, ALOE and ETNA appear constantly because they help constructors connect sections.
Read clue signals. "?" means wordplay, "Abbr." means an abbreviation, "e.g." means an example of a category, and a foreign word in the clue hints at a foreign answer.
Find the theme. The longest answers usually share a gimmick; the title (on Sundays) or a "revealer" clue explains it.
Erase without fear. When crossings don't work, the wrong letter is usually in the answer you were most confident about.
Use targeted help. Reveal one letter here, or try our crossword solver with a pattern like ?R?S?.

The Crossword FAQ

When is the next crossword released?

Weekday puzzles go live at 10 p.m. Eastern Time the night before; weekend puzzles are released earlier in the evening.

What is a rebus square?

A square that holds more than one letter. Sometimes it holds a whole word or a symbol. They are most common on Thursdays.

Which day is the hardest?

Saturday is generally the hardest, followed by Friday. Sunday is larger but closer to midweek difficulty.

Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive.