NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 1, 2018

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Monday, October 1, 2018

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 1:57 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, October 1, 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
West Coast law force, for short
5
Insurer whose name rhymes with "quack"
10
Q-tip, e.g.
14
Regions
16
Where the Dolphins play
17
Prey for cats
18
Characters in a play, formally
21
Unit of corn
22
Loopy from drugs
23
Some herding dogs
24
Monarch renowned for his wealth
28
N.Y.C. subway inits.
29
Down Under hoppers, informally
30
Overlook rudely
33
Ice cream treat
36
Veer, as a ship
37
Miracle-___ (garden brand)
38
With 39-Across, doomsayer's assertion ... or a phonetic hint to 18-, 24-, 51- and 61-Across
39
See 38-Across
42
Santa ___ winds
43
"How stupid of me!"
46
More tidy
47
Trail mix
49
Japanese noodle
50
61, in old Rome
51
College team from the land of Lincoln
57
How TV series DVDs may be sold
59
DNA sequence
60
Gen ___ (millennial forerunner)
61
Yom Kippur War clash
65
Response from a greatly amused texter
66
Better aligned
67
Goes way, way up
68
Bellow
69
Comic Bruce with a foul mouth
70
Big Board inits.

Down clues & answers

1
Stows, as cargo
2
Pianist Claudio
3
Gem strung on a necklace
4
Beaver's construction
5
Mexican friend
6
Popular Friday feast
7
Once around the track
8
Soul: Fr.
9
Ringling Brothers offering, once
10
Round-the-campfire treats
11
Going off script
12
Smoothie "superfruit"
13
"Subjects" of a queen, not a king
15
Like the climate of the African desert
19
Like some auto windows
20
"Like father, like ___"
25
Beach washer
26
Breath-taking snake
27
Specification on an airline ticket
31
Desire
32
Physics Nobelist Niels
33
Without a date
34
"You might think so, but ..."
35
Grave, as injuries
39
Queued
40
Strictly platonic
41
Hammer's target
43
Bit of an ellipsis
44
Japanese sash
45
Do a surfing maneuver
48
Glock, for one
49
Jewish village of old
52
Dr. Scholl's padding
53
Architect Frank
54
No, in pig Latin
55
Comes closer
56
"And Still ___" (Angelou volume)
57
With competence
58
Uncreative bar order, with "the"
62
Metal before refinement
63
When said three times, a Beach Boys hit
64
Charged particle

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Previous The Crossword answer

Sunday, September 30, 2018

across

1. Outlaw: BAN
4. Electrical systems: GRIDS
9. 2011 N.B.A. champs, for short: MAVS
13. Bahrain bigwigs: EMIRS
18. Flap: ADO
19. Up: RISEN
20. Jesus, for one: ALOU
21. Hawaiian island: LANAI
22. Tease: RIB
23. Nissan Leaf, e.g.: ECOCAR
25. "C'mon, we'll be fine": ROLLWITHIT
27. 1991 Disney heroine: BELLE
29. Like many Rolex watches sold on the street: FAKE
30. Establish a mood: SETTHETONE
31. Epithet for Leona Helmsley: QUEENOFMEAN
34. Sunbeam: RAY
35. Persians, e.g.: RUGS
36. Fishing tool: SPEAR
37. Fishing tool: POLE
38. Lovey: HON
39. 100 centavos: PESO
40. Took the trophy: WON
43. Ear piece?: COB
45. Admiring words: IMAFAN
47. Gave drugs: DOSED
48. Accra-to-Khartoum dir.: ENE
49. Buildup during vacation: EMAIL
51. Fishing tool: ROD
52. Troubles: AILS
53. Daughter of Anakin and Padmé: LEIA
55. Right angle: ELL
56. Not on terra firma, say: ASEA
57. Makeup of many a veggie dog: SOY
58. Watch chain: FOB
61. Like merlot and zinfandel, typically: FULLBODIED
64. Equal chance: FAIRSHAKE
67. Kind of court: APPEALS
68. Back cover?: CAPE
69. Leather-clad TV warrior: XENA
70. In a footnote: CITED
71. Test that's done in ink: RORSCHACH
73. Mary-Kate, to Ashley: TWINSISTER
75. Fictional creature whose name is Old English for "giant": ENT
76. Up on things: HIP
77. Grandiose: EPIC
80. Command to a dog: SPEAK
81. Heist target: SAFE
82. Tide detergent capsules: PODS
83. New Left org.: SDS
84. Basis for a raise: MERIT
86. Qualifiers: IFS
87. Paroxysm: THROE
89. Simba's father in a Disney musical: MUFASA
91. Jets can be found in one: SPA
92. Allow to: LET
93. Churn: ROIL
94. "Mamma Mia!" song that begins "Where are those happy days?": SOS
95. British royal: ANNE
97. It's often served on toasted white bread, for short: BLT
99. Cut: SAWN
100. N.L. Central player: CUB
101. Builder of Israel's first temple: KINGSOLOMON
106. Website feature resembling an odometer: HITCOUNTER
110. Mate of a colorful bird: PEAHEN
111. Hooch: BOOZE
112. Live: INREALTIME
113. Western gas brand: TESORO
115. Popular fruit drink: POM
116. Debunk?: ROUST
117. Sixth of 24: ZETA
118. He might provide assistance after a crash: ITGUY
119. French article: UNE
120. Bit of salon detritus: TRESS
121. Collapsed red giant?: USSR
122. Marina sights: MASTS
123. Item that disturbs sleep four times in this puzzle: PEA

down

1. Backyard get-together, briefly: BARBQ
2. "So long": ADIEU
3. Lofty: NOBLE
4. Environmental advocacy group: GREENPEACE
5. Documentarian Burns who's the brother of Ken: RIC
6. Has a vacation day: ISOFF
7. Leave suddenly: DECAMP
8. Bunkum: SNAKEOIL
9. Home to the 72,000-foot volcano Olympus Mons: MARS
10. Moisturizer ingredient: ALOE
11. 1980s cartoon robot: VOLTRON
12. Islamic sovereign: SULTAN
13. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE
14. Item lain upon four times in this puzzle: MATTRESS
15. Not farmed out: INHOUSE
16. Chaac, to Mayans: RAINGOD
17. Places: SITES
24. Domain: REALM
26. "Who's on First?" left fielder: WHY
28. Jazz's McCann: LES
32. Start of the line that includes "wherefore art thou": OROMEO
33. Approaches: NEARS
38. Tippled: HADAFEW
39. Government study, informally: POLYSCI
40. Government aid: WELFARE
41. Beating by a hole, in match play: ONEUPON
42. Rock star known for his 360-degree drum set: NEILPEART
44. Parts of Mr. Clean and Lex Luthor costumes: BALDCAPS
46. Antagonist: FOE
47. J'adore perfumer: DIOR
50. Concerning a pelvic bone: ILIAC
52. Certain Far Eastern fruits: ASIANPEARS
54. Shakespeare title starter: ALLS
56. Suffix with lime: ADE
58. Feature of a probability distribution where extreme events are more likely: FATTAIL
59. Georgia, in the art world: OKEEFFE
60. Doctor's orders, often: BEDREST
62. Future plan for many an econ major: BSCHOOL
63. Home of the ancient Temple of Artemis: EPHESUS
65. Flavoring in the Mideast drink arak: ANISE
66. Cat-meets-dog sound: HISS
69. "Skylarking" band: XTC
72. Command at a surprise party: HIDE
74. Popular game with 162 cards: SKIPBO
78. Common download: PDF
79. "Wicked Game" vocalist Chris: ISAAK
82. Any of the four people disturbed in this puzzle: PRINCESS
84. Where Karl Benz debuted the world's first auto: MANNHEIM
85. 16-ounce beers, slangily: TALLBOYS
87. Grammy winner Meghan: TRAINOR
88. "Yes, quite": HOWTRUE
89. Unsavory connections: MOBTIES
90. Criticize snidely: SNIPEAT
94. Who wrote "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting": SUNTZU
96. Discharged matter: EGESTA
98. Overly: TOO
99. Top: SHIRT
100. ___-de-sac: CUL
102. Canoodles, in Britain: SNOGS
103. Clean a spill: MOPUP
104. Air supply: OZONE
105. Setting of Hercules' first labor: NEMEA
107. Wild ___: OATS
108. Grp. with a saving plan?: EMTS
109. Parent: REAR
114. Dead-end job, e.g.: RUT

Hints and full breakdown for Sep 30

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.