NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 20, 2018

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Thursday, December 20, 2018

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 1:54 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, December 20, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

across

1. Hit hard: SLUG
5. Beats it: SPLITS
11. Org. with the Wizards and Warriors: NBA
14. Prefix meaning "wine": OENO
15. Pub spigot: ALETAP
16. Path of a blooper: ARC
17. Rating for many a sitcom: TVPG
18. Ahab's inspiration?: SEAAIR
19. Give a whuppin': TAN
20. *Acts phony: SYCOPHANT
22. Chopin piece: ETUDE
24. Sweat units: BEADS
25. Beehive contents: HAIR
26. Carl who wrote "Contact": SAGAN
29. "WTF With Marc Maron," for one: PODCAST
32. Industry kingpin: CZAR
33. 2002 animated film with a woolly mammoth: ICEAGE
36. Warm, action-oriented sort, they say: LEO
37. Part of S O S, in popular usage: OUR
38. Each asterisked clue vis-à-vis its answer: ANAGRAM
39. Little trickster: IMP
40. Scepter's go-with: ORB
41. Like an evangelical Christian: REBORN
42. Phrase on a yard sale tag: ASIS
43. Kitchen gadgets for mixing: BEATERS
45. Unable to sit still: ANTSY
46. Mother that might have a beard: GOAT
47. Fast-food utensil: SPORK
50. 2000s teen drama set in California: THEOC
52. *Hint: hotel: THEHILTON
56. Sharpshooter's asset: AIM
57. Kevin ___, investor on TV's "Shark Tank": OLEARY
59. As a result: ERGO
60. Rx watchdog: FDA
61. Sweetums: DEARIE
62. Alaska, before 1959: Abbr.: TERR
63. Start of many CB radio codes: TEN
64. Stands in a studio: EASELS
65. "So it may ___": SEEM

down

1. Ones always tossing things back?: SOTS
2. Impose, as a tax: LEVY
3. Potentially offensive, in brief: UNPC
4. Relative of a discotheque: GOGOBAR
5. One of the Obama daughters: SASHA
6. Implore: PLEAD
7. Slants: LEANS
8. "Let's leave ___ that": ITAT
9. Mai ___: TAI
10. Order from a police officer: SPREADEM
11. *A trails nut: NATURALIST
12. Thin fastener: BRAD
13. Target of an astringent: ACNE
21. "The tongue of the mind," per Cervantes: PEN
23. Little jerk: TIC
25. Paul of "Crocodile Dundee": HOGAN
26. Cartoon uncle of Scrappy-Doo, informally: SCOOB
27. Bright blue: AZURE
28. *Bag manager: GARBAGEMAN
29. Catherine who married Henry VIII: PARR
30. Big rigs: SEMIS
31. Young slave girl in "Uncle Tom's Cabin": TOPSY
33. Like gases in the rightmost column of the periodic table: INERT
34. They measure miles in meters: CABS
35. "I" strain?: EGO
38. One of seven for New York City: AREACODE
42. Common wear for female tennis players: ANKLETS
44. Besides: TOO
45. Shapiro of NPR: ARI
47. Social media button: SHARE
48. Danger: PERIL
49. "Absolutely!": OHYES
50. President who later served as chief justice: TAFT
51. Cry to guests at a surprise party: HIDE
52. Twinings products: TEAS
53. One leaving in the spring?: TREE
54. Brutish sort: OGRE
55. Average guy?: NORM
58. Pasture: LEA

Hints and full breakdown for Dec 19

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.