NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for April 12, 2018
Thursday, April 12, 2018
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, April 12, 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.
Across clues & answers
- 26
- 43
- 53
- 66
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 46
- 50
- 57
- 60
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
across
- 1. Tummy muscles: ABS
- 4. Actor Wallach of stage and screen: ELI
- 7. Not up: ABED
- 11. Friend of Tigger: POOH
- 12. Newspaper sales fig.: CIRC
- 14. Depend (on): RELY
- 15. Classic work by 16-, 31- and 51-Down, so to speak?: BARBEROFSEVILLE
- 18. Not have an accomplice: ACTALONE
- 19. Gave the wrong impression: MISLED
- 20. Jamaican music genre: SKA
- 21. Lowest broadcast TV channel: TWO
- 22. Wilder who played Willy Wonka: GENE
- 23. What makes ale pale?: PEE
- 24. Classic work by 11-, 9- and 8-Down, so to speak?: CANONIND
- 28. Bishop's deputy: VICAR
- 31. Closes: SHUTS
- 32. Grp. that once plotted against Fidel Castro: CIA
- 33. Deserve: EARN
- 34. Radiology procedures: SCANS
- 35. Sacred: HOLY
- 36. Greenpeace or the Red Cross, for short: NGO
- 37. Hero's mission: QUEST
- 38. Designated areas: ZONES
- 39. Classic work by 50- and 23-Down, so to speak?: NOCTURNE
- 41. "Sprechen ___ Deutsch?": SIE
- 42. Where a comb may be found: HIVE
- 43. Snapchat or Pokémon Go: APP
- 44. Conan's TV home: TBS
- 47. Take a breath: INHALE
- 50. Adjunct to a sports facility: SNACKBAR
- 52. Classic work by 45-, 35- and 28-Down, so to speak?: MOONLIGHTSONATA
- 54. Dreamboat: HUNK
- 55. One of 14 lands neighboring China: LAOS
- 56. Cut, editorially: DELE
- 57. George Washingtons: ONES
- 58. Numbered rd.: HWY
- 59. Prey for a barracuda: EEL
down
- 1. Lead vessel?: AORTA
- 2. ___ Fett, "Star Wars" bounty hunter: BOBA
- 3. Refuge: SHELTER
- 4. Prefix meaning "cheap": ECONO
- 5. Longest sentence?: LIFE
- 6. Tax org.: IRS
- 7. Up: ARISEN
- 8. Old AT&T symbol: BELL
- 9. Vogue rival: ELLE
- 10. Turned brunette, maybe: DYED
- 11. Cigarette purchase: PACK
- 13. Fixes in place: CEMENTS
- 15. ___-relief: BAS
- 16. Mike who hosted "Dirty Jobs": ROWE
- 17. Italian wines: VINOS
- 22. Emaciated: GAUNT
- 23. Give 0 stars: PAN
- 24. Citi rival: CHASE
- 25. Big "G" for Google, e.g.: ICON
- 26. It flows past Giza: NILE
- 27. ___ Inn: DAYS
- 28. Kind of diagram: VENN
- 29. Parrot in "Aladdin": IAGO
- 30. Cousin of a gator: CROC
- 31. "And ... ___!" (director's cry): SCENE
- 34. Spy on: SURVEIL
- 35. Tool for tilling: HOE
- 37. Tool for telling?: QUILL
- 38. Closing part of an address: ZIPCODE
- 40. Word of good manners: THANKS
- 41. Places for pampering: SPAS
- 43. Anxious: ANTSY
- 44. Lowest level of Little League: TBALL
- 45. Diminish: BATE
- 46. Mrs., in Mexico: SRA
- 47. "Here's what I think," in textspeak: IMHO
- 48. Pluralizable thing: NOUN
- 49. Practice to improve: HONE
- 50. What must go on, proverbially: SHOW
- 51. Patella's place: KNEE
- 53. Sound of exasperation: GAH
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.