12/17/25 Answer Crosswords With Friends

12/17/25
Wayback Wednesday

Are you stuck with the Crosswords With Friends Puzzle Today? Stuck No More. We offer complete solutions as well as “no spoiler” mode to give you that little extra push. Or simply use this cheat sheet to help you get the best and fastest completion time possible.

1A
Actor Studi or director Anderson
WES

4A
Planes whose engines don’t have propellers
JETS

8A
Word that can precede “breaker” or “bone”
JAW

11A
Dutch ___ disease
ELM

12A
Try to be in a different place than
AVOID

14A
Group that estimates fuel economy: Abbr.
EPA

15A
Hit duet of 1982 that compares different people to the keys of a piano: 3 wds.
EBONYANDIVORY

18A
What a newspaper reader turns
PAGE

19A
“Doctor ***” (sequel to “The Shining”)
SLEEP

20A
Hit song from decades ago
OLDIE

23A
Golden ___ Bridge
GATE

26A
___ peeve
PET

29A
Internet provider that mailed out more than a billion CDs
AOL

30A
Niña, Pinta, and Santa ___ (Columbus’s ships in 1492)
MARIA

31A
With 33-Across, “Isn’t She Lovely” singer who was one of the two singers of 15-Across
STEVIE

33A
See 31-Across
WONDER

34A
Part of an escalator but not an elevator
STAIR

35A
Cherry’s hard center
PIT

36A
2025 and 2026, for example: Abbr.
YRS

37A
A bit sour
TART

38A
Pledges of loyalty
OATHS

40A
___ Queen (fast-food chain)
DAIRY

42A
Put on ___ (act snobby)
AIRS

46A
“Maybe I’m Amazed” singer who was one of the two singers of 15-Across: 2 wds.
PAULMCCARTNEY

50A
“The Bachelorette” network
ABC

51A
What a comma indicates the reader should do
PAUSE

52A
Aluminum container for soda
CAN

53A
Just out of the bath, say
WET

54A
Command for a dog not to run off
STAY

55A
“What ___ the odds?”
ARE

1D
Bawl
WEEP

2D
“A House of Dynamite” star Idris
ELBA

3D
Pollution over New Delhi
SMOG

4D
Former talk show host Leno
JAY

5D
Actress Longoria
EVA

6D
Small mass in the throat that’s sometimes surgically removed
TONSIL

7D
Move sideways, like a crab
SIDLE

8D
Game show hosted by Alex Trebek for 37 seasons
JEOPARDY

9D
Passover’s month, typically: Abbr.
APR

10D
“Avatar: The ___ of Water” (2022 film)
WAY

13D
Never-say-*** attitude
DIE

16D
Keanu Reeves character revived in “The Matrix Resurrections”
NEO

17D
Person who doesn’t consume any animal products
VEGAN

21D
Animal’s retreat
LAIR

22D
She-deer
DOE

24D
Stadium seating level
TIER

25D
Organs connected to the brain via auditory nerves
EARS

26D
Attention-attracting hiss
PSST

27D
“At Last” singer ___ James
ETTA

28D
Passage from which salty droplets fall from an eye: 2 wds.
TEARDUCT

30D
Insect that might damage a wool sweater
MOTH

32D
Extremely important
VITAL

33D
Clever humor
WIT

35D
Reduction in salary: 2 wds.
PAYCUT

38D
Killer whales
ORCAS

39D
Plopped down on a bench
SAT

41D
Mischievous tyke
IMP

43D
Resident of a former Peruvian civilization
INCA

44D
___ admiral (naval rank)
REAR

45D
“Auld Lang ___” (song for January 1’s start)
SYNE

46D
What a dog does a “handshake” with
PAW

47D
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo ___
ABE