NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for July 12, 2018
Thursday, July 12, 2018
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, July 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
- 16
- 42
Down clues & answers
- 7
- 10
- 23
- 36
- 53
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
across
- 1. Suddenly stopped communicating with, in modern lingo: GHOSTED
- 8. Daft: MAD
- 11. Utility bill meas.: BTU
- 14. Fresh spin on a familiar idea: NEWTAKE
- 15. Ride on a merry-go-round, maybe: UNICORN
- 17. Conceives: CREATES
- 18. City nicknamed "The Gateway to the West": STLOUIS
- 19. Incommunicado period: RADIOSILENCE
- 21. Wade in the Baseball Hall of Fame: BOGGS
- 24. Bench press muscle, for short: PEC
- 25. Spook grp.: CIA
- 26. Running shoe brand: AVIA
- 27. Put on a truck, say: LOAD
- 29. "Don't ___ it!": SWEAT
- 31. Debbie Downer: BUZZKILL
- 33. Frenzied place: ZOO
- 34. Contacted without a trip to the post office, say: EMAILED
- 35. "Gone With the Wind" locale: GEORGIA
- 39. ___ Stark, patriarch on "Game of Thrones": NED
- 40. Express one's opinion in no uncertain terms: SOUNDOFF
- 41. Pianist/comic Victor of old TV: BORGE
- 44. O'Hare and LAX: HUBS
- 45. Emmy-winning Kudrow: LISA
- 46. What a weather balloon might be mistaken for: UFO
- 47. Roman sun god: SOL
- 48. General tone: TENOR
- 49. What a late sleeper may use ... resulting in 19-, 31- and 40-Across?: SNOOZEBUTTON
- 54. Meditative exercises in a steamy room: HOTYOGA
- 55. Could no longer fit into, as one's childhood clothing: OUTGREW
- 59. Pittsburgh pro: STEELER
- 60. Former: ONETIME
- 61. Like the Canadian flag's maple leaf: RED
- 62. Verb with "thou": ART
- 63. Verbally attack, with "at": LASHOUT
down
- 1. Big purveyor of vitamin supplements: GNC
- 2. ___ Majesty: HER
- 3. Be behind: OWE
- 4. Observatory activity: STARGAZING
- 5. Byes: TATAS
- 6. Barely made, with out: EKED
- 7. Lucy's guy: DESI
- 8. Tousled: MUSSED
- 9. Bit of a lark: ANTIC
- 10. ___ pickle: DILL
- 11. Leave, slangily: BOUNCE
- 12. One of the Nixons: TRICIA
- 13. Vote out: UNSEAT
- 16. Iowa college: COE
- 20. Memorable 1995 hurricane: OPAL
- 21. ___ in arms: BABE
- 22. Tube traveler: OVUM
- 23. Egyptian tourist spot: GIZA
- 27. Set off a polygraph: LIED
- 28. Up there in years: OLD
- 29. Procrastinator's promise: SOON
- 30. Six for dinner?: WORDLENGTH
- 32. Paul who painted "Fish Magic": KLEE
- 33. For whom "it is not possible either to trick or escape the mind," per Hesiod: ZEUS
- 35. Great deal: GOB
- 36. "How's it ___?": GOIN
- 37. Supposing that: IFSO
- 38. Many miles away: AFAR
- 40. "Star Trek" role for George Takei: SULU
- 41. W.'s father: BUSHSR
- 42. Significant: OFNOTE
- 43. Entrenched: ROOTED
- 44. Capital of Tasmania: HOBART
- 47. Bob with the Silver Bullet Band: SEGER
- 48. Pledge drive giveaways: TOTES
- 50. "Hey!" from Jesús: OYE
- 51. Author Émile: ZOLA
- 52. Hammer or sickle: TOOL
- 53. "Chicken of the sea": TUNA
- 56. 2016 Olympics host, informally: RIO
- 57. Bird whose name is also the initials of a school in Ypsilanti: EMU
- 58. Dampen: WET
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.