NYT Crossword Hints December 17 2023

Our NYT Crossword Hints for December 17, 2023 puzzle will help you move through the grid if you’ve found yourself stuck on a clue. The NYT Crossword is a daily crossword that tests solvers’ knowledge and vocabulary. It’s one of the most popular crosswords in the world, known for its challenging clues and clever wordplay. The puzzle is published in the print edition of the paper and is also available online.

NYT Crossword Hints, December 17, 2023

You’ll find hints for all of the crossword clues for the NYT Crossword on 12/17/23. The clues are listed below, and you can click/tap on a clue to go to its page for more detail, including definitions, but if you don’t want to be immediately spoiled, you can reveal letter by letter to still offer yourself more of a challenge before revealing the full solution.

« December 16 2023 Hints


  • Delights

  • Seesaw-powered vehicle on railroad tracks

  • They may be wireless

  • Mass approvals

  • Bay Area start-up mecca

  • Powered (by)

  • Where Lords Byron and Tennyson studied

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  • Site of a claw machine

  • Private meeting

  • Add, as cilantro to guacamole

  • “___ of course!”

  • Alternative to Google

  • Failed web venture, in slang

  • Previously, in poetry

  • Biggest club in Vegas?

  • Flabbergast

  • Real dump

  • Features of Russian Orthodox churches

  • Trekker to Mecca

  • Org. that employed W.W. II-era Donald Duck as a spokesperson

  • Murals or graffiti, e.g.

  • How one might sing an R&B ballad

  • It might make your hair stand on end

  • Whales swim in them

  • Declaration upon arrival

  • Mormon Church inits.

  • Sensational reading material

  • ___-repeated

  • Longstanding rivalries

  • Stir up

  • Expansive

  • Recreational ___

  • 1937 Steinbeck novella

  • Pedicure target

  • Count on one hand?

  • Airer of the morning show “Get Up”

  • Do the bare minimum

  • Olive in old comics

  • “You!?,” whimsically

  • Former M.L.B. left-handed pitchers Jackson and Leiter

  • Like the moon in a solar eclipse

  • Malicious Mr. of fiction

  • A regular in Italian clubs?

  • 2002 hit song for No Doubt

  • Cry for a spell?

  • Angsty and brooding

  • Significant piece

  • In the heart of, poetically

  • Due ÷ due

  • Fast-food chain with a sunrise in its logo

  • Call in a ring, for short

  • Dweller in a tree hollow

  • Obnoxiously fratty sort

  • “Allow me to demonstrate?”

  • Be an ambassador for, in brief

  • “It all makes sense now”

  • Like some economies and moisturizers

  • Left-wing protest group

  • Past disagreements that are no longer of concern … or each block of shaded squares in this puzzle?

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  • Don’t give up on

  • How ancient mariners relied on the stars

  • Actress Witherspoon

  • Sport

  • Apt word spelled from this puzzle’s “covered” letters, top to bottom

  • Office monitor, in brief

  • Son of Isaac

  • Citizen neighboring 3-Down

  • Nation across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Djibouti

  • Make out, in London

  • Must

  • Drink from the tap?

  • Negative connector

  • They often need new suits for work, for short

  • Move up

  • “___ girl!”

  • “Succession” TV family

  • Left jobs on bad terms, say

  • Remote button

  • Home of the Rosa Parks Museum

  • Siren, for one

  • Space heater?

  • Alternative to a cab

  • “Sounds reasonable”

  • Abominate

  • Go-aheads

  • “Hi there, friend”

  • Practices diplomacy

  • How Reubens are made

  • O.R. V.I.P.s

  • Suffer

  • Put together

  • Fad figurine with colorful unkempt hair

  • What takes a toll?

  • Chooses sidewalk over subway, say

  • Long story short?

  • Au ___ (menu phrase)

  • Dum-dum

  • Life partner

  • It’s a lot for a lord to manage

  • “I mean … uh … it’s just …”

  • Don Juan

  • Adler who outwitted Sherlock Holmes

  • Worn ___ frazzle

  • “Go ahead and decide”

  • Co-star of “Airplane!” and “Hot Shots!”

  • Left quickly, with “out”

  • “The Crown” actress Claire

  • How some Cajuns converse

  • Crumb lugger

  • Required E.M.T. skill

  • Much of it is junk

  • “Cómo ___ usted?”

  • Mastodons’ defenses

  • Taking after

  • Lapis ___, blue gem pulverized for paint during the Renaissance

  • “Arabian Nights” prince

  • 1950s school dance

  • Over the line, so to speak

  • Texter’s “To me …”

  • Sludge

  • Operator of the Texas Eagle and Southwest Chief

  • Perfectly refurbished

  • Rescue dog, e.g.

  • School email ender

  • Some low-risk government issues, informally

  • Take for ___ (bamboozle)

  • Natalie with 12 Top 40 hits

  • “Are you serious?!”

  • Unlink from a social media post, say

  • California’s San ___ County

  • Barbecue leftovers

  • “Hoo-boy!”

  • Brainstorm

  • Lowly deckhand

  • What one star may mean

  • [shiver]

  • Bitter brew, in brief

  • Cause of a swollen head

  • Air … or chair

  • Illegal car maneuver, often

We also recommend trying your hand at the NYT Mini Crossword, which is definitely easier (on all days!) as it is a 5×5, compared to the full-sized crossword (which is 15×15, and the Sunday edition is 21×21!). New crosswords are released at 10PM ET on weekdays and 6PM ET on weekends.

The New York Times crossword was first published in The New York Times in 1942 and has been a daily feature ever since. It is known for its high level of difficulty and for its clever, often playful, clues and themes. The puzzles range in size from 15×15 grids on weekdays to larger 21×21 grids on Sundays, with varying levels of difficulty.


The New York Times crossword is created by a team of skilled puzzle constructors and editors, who work to ensure that each puzzle is both entertaining and challenging for solvers. The puzzles are often themed, with clues and answers related to a particular subject or concept, and they frequently feature wordplay and puns.


NYT Crossword (Main Grid)
Image via NYT Crossword

Solving the New York Times crossword has become a beloved pastime for many, and there are even competitions and clubs devoted to crossword puzzle solving. The New York Times crossword is available in print in the newspaper and online, and it has a dedicated following of loyal solvers who eagerly await each day’s puzzle.

If you’re still struggling to solve your NYT crosswords, consider practicing with the Eugene Sheffer and Thomas Joseph dailies first. If you’re looking for similarly challenging crosswords, we recommend the WSJ Crossword and LA Times Crossword.