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NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 9, 2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, January 9, 2018. 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 15
  2. 17

    Grinder

  3. 43
  4. 50

    Faux ___

  5. 61
  6. 64

    Pink

  7. 65

    Humdinger

  8. 69

Down clues & answers

  1. 6

    Rich soil

  2. 11

    Pull

  3. 40
  4. 42
  5. 55
  6. 59

    Family

  7. 60

    Idiot box

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Previous The Crossword answer

Monday, January 8, 2018

across

  • 1. Pour love (on): DOTE
  • 5. Prod: GOAD
  • 9. Antlered Yellowstone denizens: ELKS
  • 13. "Vous ___ ici" (French for "You are here"): ETES
  • 14. Derby entry: HORSE
  • 15. ___ fide (in bad faith): MALA
  • 16. Cries of discovery: AHAS
  • 17. "Would you mind?": ISTHATOKAY
  • 19. Letter accompanying a college application, informally: REC
  • 20. "This can't be good": UHOH
  • 21. N.F.L. team for which Joe Namath was a QB: NYJETS
  • 22. Informal breakfast beverage order: GLASSOFOJ
  • 25. Approximately, datewise: CIRCA
  • 26. Cowboy movie setting: OLDWEST
  • 27. "Yes," at the altar: IDO
  • 29. "Quiet!": SHH
  • 30. "Dumb" bird: DODO
  • 31. Botches: FLUBS
  • 33. Hypnotist's command: YOUWILLOBEY
  • 38. Expensive: PRICY
  • 39. Actor Jared of "Suicide Squad": LETO
  • 42. College dorm overseers, for short: RAS
  • 45. Neckwear for a lobster eater: BIB
  • 46. Michigan/Ontario border river: STCLAIR
  • 49. Skin care brand: AVEDA
  • 51. "Ulysses" star, 1967: MILOOSHEA
  • 53. Like the first "d" in "Wednesday": SILENT
  • 55. Salon job: PERM
  • 56. Potentially alarming sight for an ocean bather: FIN
  • 57. Cappuccino relative: CAFEAULAIT
  • 59. Pizazz: ZING
  • 60. Desertlike: ARID
  • 61. Skiers' shelter: LODGE
  • 62. Poker table payment: ANTE
  • 63. Strong cleansers: LYES
  • 64. Like the Amazon rain forest: LUSH
  • 65. Company heads, in brief: CEOS

down

  • 1. "Holy Toledo!": DEARGOD
  • 2. Board game named after a Shakespeare play: OTHELLO
  • 3. Container for oolong or chai: TEACADDY
  • 4. Figure on Superman's chest: ESS
  • 5. Stop being strict: GOSOFT
  • 6. Branch of dentistry, informally: ORTHO
  • 7. Fireplace residue: ASH
  • 8. College person with a "list": DEAN
  • 9. Smiley face or frowny face: EMOJI
  • 10. Los Angeles hoopsters: LAKERS
  • 11. Coffee get-together: KLATCH
  • 12. Prepares for a doctor's throat examination: SAYSAH
  • 14. Chipper greetings: HIHOS
  • 18. Holder of baseball's highest career batting average (.366): TYCOBB
  • 20. Manipulate: USE
  • 23. In one fell ___: SWOOP
  • 24. ___ Stein, Green Party candidate for president in 2012 and 2016: JILL
  • 28. Twosome: DUO
  • 31. Take to the skies: FLY
  • 32. Opposite of buys: SELLS
  • 34. University of Illinois city: URBANA
  • 35. Nintendo Switch predecessor: WII
  • 36. Cold War weapon inits.: ICBM
  • 37. "Sure, whatever": YEAHFINE
  • 40. Connect with: TIEINTO
  • 41. Sunset shades: ORANGES
  • 42. Scamp: RASCAL
  • 43. Where birds of a feather flock together: AVIARY
  • 44. Many a Snapchat pic: SELFIE
  • 46. Santa's vehicle: SLEIGH
  • 47. Rich cake: TORTE
  • 48. Alternative to "net" or "org": COM
  • 50. Monopoly cards: DEEDS
  • 52. Tablets that run Safari: IPADS
  • 54. Rock's Jethro ___: TULL
  • 58. "Skip to My ___": LOU
  • 59. Onetime teen heartthrob Efron: ZAC
Hints and full breakdown for Jan 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.