NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 31, 2018
Friday, August 31, 2018
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, August 31, 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
- 7
- 18
Down clues & answers
- 24
- 33
- 38
- 39
- 50
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, August 30, 2018
across
- 1. Classic video game hero a.k.a. the Blue Bomber: MEGAMAN
- 8. Word after "be" or "end": ALL
- 11. Light lunch choice: SAL
- 14. Seeing someone, say: ONADATE
- 15. Like the services of many financial planners: FEEBASED
- 18. Class that doesn't require in-person attendance: WEBINAR
- 19. Place in 1861 news, for short: FTSUMTER
- 20. Abbr. on a college entrance sign: ESTD
- 21. Neighbor of N.Z.: AUST
- 22. 'Fore: ERE
- 23. Temporary, as a store: POPUP
- 26. "Let's go to the next one": SKIPIT
- 28. Dorm V.I.P.s: RAS
- 29. Genre for Panic! at the Disco: EMO
- 30. Pinker, say: RARER
- 32. Biases: SLANTS
- 34. Place for pilots: RANGETOP
- 36. Dorm V.I.P.: BMOC
- 37. Like zombies: UNDE
- 38. Program for reducing litter on highways: OPTARO
- 40. Lines screenwriters didn't write: LIBS
- 44. Ignore, with "out": TUNE
- 46. Ride taken for a spin?: CAROUSEL
- 48. Bother: HASSLE
- 51. Real stunner: TASER
- 52. It borders B.C.: IDA
- 53. Magic, on scoreboards: ORL
- 54. Movie camera settings: TSTOPS
- 56. Casey who voiced Shaggy: KASEM
- 58. Pot leaves?: TEA
- 59. Some brewery offerings, in brief: IPAS
- 60. Regain hit points, in video games: HEAL
- 62. Part of a pope's title: HOLINESS
- 64. Popular browser extension ... or a literal description of four black squares in this puzzle: ADBLOCK
- 68. Stretch: ELONGATE
- 69. Common fish in aquaculture: TILAPIA
- 70. Number 2 or 6: AMS
- 71. Playwright Thomas who predated Shakespeare: KYD
- 72. Educational toy with a spinning arrow: SEENSAY
down
- 1. Trim, in a way: MOW
- 2. Phoenix-to-Albuquerque dir.: ENE
- 3. Yak: GAB
- 4. Word akin to sayonara: ADIEU
- 5. Annoyance from a subway seatmate: MANSPRE
- 6. Rat-___: ATAT
- 7. Crunchy candy with a gummy string center: NERDSROPE
- 8. Dalliance: AFFAIR
- 9. Go easier: LETUP
- 10. Philosophy of simplicity: LESSISMORE
- 11. Yosemite ___: SAM
- 12. Rudderward: ASTERN
- 13. Watch wolfishly: LEERAT
- 16. Whole lot, slangily: BUTTLO
- 17. Speak to: DRESS
- 23. Home of the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere (founded in 1551): PERU
- 24. Home of a sultan: OMAN
- 25. Polliwog's place: POND
- 27. Held on to: KEPT
- 31. Performing flawlessly: ATONESPEAK
- 33. Nonprofit org. since 1920: ACLU
- 35. Understands: GETS
- 36. High-ranking officers: BRASSHATS
- 39. Put ___ on (limit): ACAP
- 41. Ancient mother goddess: ISIS
- 42. Sainted English historian: BEDE
- 43. Roast: SLAM
- 45. Doing grown-up things, in modern lingo: ULTING
- 47. Endearingly awkward, in slang: ORKABLE
- 48. Easily angered sort: HOTHE
- 49. Colored body part: AREOLA
- 50. Event that looks like its first letter?: SLALOM
- 51. Put in the trash: TOSSED
- 55. Lip-smacking: TASTY
- 57. Bloom who wrote "The Closing of the American Mind": ALLAN
- 61. Actress Falco: EDIE
- 63. People whom it's helpful to know: INS
- 65. Black ___: OPS
- 66. Secretive org.: CIA
- 67. King Arthur's foster brother: KAY
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.