NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 14, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, December 14, 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.
Across clues & answers
- 14
- 61
- 63
Down clues & answers
- 13
- 37
- 57
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
across
- 1. Certain chemical weapon: GASBOMB
- 8. Mars produces billions of them each week: MANDMS
- 14. The Red Baron, for one: AVIATOR
- 15. Like income from municipal bonds, usually: TAXFREE
- 16. Iron compound found in steel: FERRITE
- 17. Wrinkle, e.g.: AGELINE
- 18. Island group near Dominica: FRENCHANTILLES
- 20. Europe's largest active volcano: ETNA
- 21. Stop working: DIE
- 22. Turf: SOD
- 23. Truth ___: SERUM
- 26. Org. concerned with reactions: NRC
- 28. One with a beard: GOAT
- 31. Option at many a fast-food restaurant: DRIVETHROUGH
- 34. ___ Fáil (Irish coronation stone): LIA
- 37. Reddit Q&A session, briefly: AMA
- 38. Old Swedish coins: ORE
- 39. Child's Christmas wish: TOY
- 40. Producer of horizontal shadows: SIDELIGHTING
- 44. Rodrigo ___ de Vivar (El Cid): DIAZ
- 45. Exclaim: CRY
- 46. Dance with a percussive effect: STOMP
- 49. "Family Guy" daughter: MEG
- 51. Nabokov novel: ADA
- 53. Optima and Sedona: KIAS
- 55. Arrive with fanfare ... or what the shaded squares do?: MAKEANENTRANCE
- 59. Not strict: LENIENT
- 60. Unconventional soccer kick: TOEPOKE
- 61. Does half of a mountaineering expedition: ASCENDS
- 62. Poured out: EFFUSED
- 63. Attack from a hiding place: WAYLAY
- 64. Wooers: SUITORS
down
- 1. TV debater's worry: GAFFE
- 2. Turns away: AVERTS
- 3. Crumbly cheese similar to feta: SIRENE
- 4. Women's college affiliated with Columbia: BARNARD
- 5. Suffix with psych-: OTIC
- 6. ___-eaten: MOTH
- 7. "Cabbage": BREAD
- 8. Storied gift bearers: MAGI
- 9. Ice skaters' jumps: AXELS
- 10. Image on the middle of a Super Bowl field: NFLLOGO
- 11. Dehydrated: DRIEDOUT
- 12. Clothing store department: MENS
- 13. "You get me?": SEE
- 15. Food item sometimes called a "spud puppy": TATERTOT
- 19. Square after four: NINE
- 24. Territory north of Afghanistan, in Risk: URAL
- 25. Copy: MIMIC
- 27. Captain America portrayer Evans: CHRIS
- 29. Past: AGO
- 30. Biblical possessive: THY
- 32. Drifters: VAGRANTS
- 33. $2 for Mediterranean Avenue, in Monopoly: RENT
- 34. Drug taken in tabs: LSD
- 35. Jr.'s junior: III
- 36. Insistence: ADAMANCY
- 41. Book after Lamentations: EZEKIEL
- 42. Literary alter ego: HYDE
- 43. Stop working: GOKAPUT
- 47. Minnie who played in Major League Baseball in five different decades: MINOSO
- 48. Winning player in Super Bowl I: PACKER
- 50. Davis of "Thelma & Louise": GEENA
- 52. Preliminary payments: ANTES
- 54. Gardener's bagful: SEEDS
- 55. ___ Verde National Park: MESA
- 56. Boy who owns Buzz Lightyear and Woody: ANDY
- 57. Food sold in blocks: TOFU
- 58. Mortgage adjustment, for short: REFI
- 59. Case study?: LAW
More daily puzzle hints
- WordleGuess the five-letter word in six triesGuide & tips
- ConnectionsSort 16 words into four hidden groupsGuide & tips
- StrandsFind the themed words hidden in a letter gridGuide & tips
- Spelling BeeMake words from seven letters around a center letterGuide & tips
- Mini CrosswordA bite-size crossword you can finish over coffeeGuide & tips
- Connections: Sports EditionConnections with a sports-only word poolGuide & tips
- Letter BoxedChain words around a square using all 12 lettersGuide & tips
- Midi CrosswordThe mid-size crossword between the Mini and the dailyGuide & tips
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.