This web browser is not supported. Use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox for best results.

New York Times, Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Author:
Peter A. Collins and Bruce Haight
Editor:
Will Shortz
Harsh rule, metaphorically
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
1195/2/20061/15/202414
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
713254116107
RebusCircleScrabblePGramFresh
6331.56449%
Peter A. Collins
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
631/3/201312/6/20237
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
3181812660
CircleScrabblePGramFresh
41.60343%
Bruce Haight

This puzzle:

Rows: 16, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 46 Missing: {JQXZ} Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 118 for Mr. Collins. This is puzzle # 63 for Mr. Haight. Wednesday freshness: 71%
Jim Horne notes:

Every clue starts with the letter H. The only H's in the grid are those in the theme answers. Bryant White had a similar idea in 1994.

1
M
2
A
3
S
4
S
5
S
6
C
7
A
8
M
9
C
10
H
11
O
12
I
13
R
14
E
R
M
A
15
C
O
C
A
16
R
A
N
B
Y
17
H
E
A
V
18
Y
H
A
N
D
19
E
M
C
E
E
20
R
E
V
E
R
E
D
21
W
H
E
T
S
22
K
23
I
T
24
E
M
S
25
A
26
S
N
O
27
A
N
Y
28
S
E
E
29
S
P
E
C
30
T
31
R
32
A
33
R
A
P
34
H
I
C
K
H
O
P
35
A
K
A
36
B
37
A
38
M
39
E
L
K
40
A
S
S
41
C
N
N
42
E
V
O
43
S
T
S
44
T
E
C
45
H
O
T
46
H
E
A
D
47
S
O
O
48
I
T
S
A
T
I
E
49
B
50
O
51
Y
52
S
I
R
53
T
A
L
L
54
E
R
E
55
O
L
E
56
F
57
I
58
S
H
Y
59
S
60
T
E
W
A
61
R
T
62
O
N
E
A
L
63
H
I
G
H
H
O
R
64
S
65
E
66
P
O
L
I
O
67
I
D
E
A
68
C
U
T
S
69
S
T
A
R
R
70
P
E
E
T
71
K
E
E
P
© 2023, The New York Times12/6/23 ( No. 27,056 )
Across
1
Holy service : MASS
5
Hustle : SCAM
9
"Hallelujah!" singers : CHOIR
14
Humorist Bombeck : ERMA
15
Half a soft drink? : COCA
16
Hurried past : RANBY
17
Harsh rule, metaphorically : HEAVYHAND
19
Host : EMCEE
20
Honored : REVERED
21
Hones, as a blade : WHETS
22
Hobbyist's purchase : KIT
24
Hummer's interior? : EMS
25
"… has come ___ surprise" : ASNO
27
"Have you ___ wool?" : ANY
28
Have a gander : SEE
29
Honda Civic competitor from Kia : SPECTRA
33
Heavy D's genre : RAP
34
Hybrid genre of country and 33-Across, pejoratively : HICKHOP
35
Handle letters : AKA
36
Hammer sound : BAM
39
Herd at Yellowstone : ELK
40
Heehawing animal : ASS
41
Home to Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett : CNN
42
High-tech gaming tournament, briefly : EVO
43
Hagiography subjects: Abbr. : STS
44
Hercule Poirot, e.g., for short : TEC
45
Hopping mad sort : HOTHEAD
47
"Hamilton" cast member Phillipa : SOO
48
Holler when the game is deadlocked : ITSATIE
49
"Holy cow!" : BOY
52
Herr, here : SIR
53
Hard to believe, as a tale : TALL
54
Hardy's "before" : ERE
55
"Hurrah!" at a stadium : OLE
56
Hard to believe : FISHY
59
"Harvey" star James : STEWART
62
Heat center of the 2000s : ONEAL
63
Hypocrite's perch, perhaps : HIGHHORSE
66
Health problem now largely eradicated in the U.S. : POLIO
67
"Here's an ___ …" : IDEA
68
Hacks, say : CUTS
69
Hall-of-Fame QB Bart : STARR
70
Hollywood's Amanda : PEET
71
Hang on to : KEEP
Down
1
"Hasn't impressed me much" : MEH
2
"Happy Days ___ Here Again" : ARE
3
Haughty intellectual : SMARTYPANTS
4
Hang on to : SAVE
5
Hatch plans : SCHEME
6
Having a rough texture : COARSE
7
Huge issue for some teens : ACNE
8
Helter-skelter scrambles : MADDASHES
9
Hoodless pullovers often worn with other layers : CREWNECKS
10
Hog part : HAMHOCK
11
Historically : ONCE
12
"Hah!" : IBET
13
Hard drinks similar to bourbons : RYES
18
Haute couture name : YVES
22
Home to more than 20 million Pakistanis : KARACHI
23
How loose strings might end up : INAKNOT
26
Having been sloshed out : SPILT
30
"Hell, yes!" : THATSSOTRUE
31
High-priced perfume ingredient : ROSEOIL
32
H.S. student's test result, on a scale of 1 to 5 : APSCORE
36
Homemaker from Mayberry : BEETAYLOR
37
Help : AVAIL
38
Hobby shop purchase with a large wood or plastic base : MODELSHIP
46
Helmet wearer's potential embarrassment : HATHAIR
49
"How Deep Is Your Love" singer Barry, Maurice or Robin : BEEGEE
50
Huffy response to a threat : ORWHAT
51
"Hooray!" : YEAH
56
Hip dressers : FOPS
57
Having gone to an extra period, for short : INOT
58
"House" actress Ward : SELA
60
Household detergent brand : TIDE
61
Huge gem, slangily : ROCK
64
Hotel room option: Abbr. : STE
65
Helpful skill for guessers? : ESP

Answer summary:
4 unique to this puzzle.

Found bugs or have suggestions? Please let us know.

Like this puzzle? Please share this page on social media to help spread the word about XWord Info. Thanks!

XWord Info Home
XWord Info © 2007-2024, Jim Horne
97 ms