Master today's NYT crossword with our expert hint system. We provide synonyms, antonyms, and strategic clues to help you solve without spoiling the fun. Perfect for crossword lovers who want that satisfying "aha!" moment.
Quick Navigation - Table of Contents
- Today's Puzzle Difficulty
- Across Clues Table (35 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (39 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Tricky
Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!
Across Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1. Home in Havana | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Cheese town in northern Holland | 4 |
| 3A | 9. One on Santa's team | 5 |
| 4A | 14. Too fanciful | 15 |
| 5A | 17. Fixture above a bathroom sink | 15 |
| 6A | 18. Chicago's ___ B. Wells Drive | 3 |
| 7A | 19. Singles | 4 |
| 8A | 20. Bit of writing of Nathaniel Hawthorne | 4 |
| 9A | 21. They bite | 7 |
| 10A | 23. "No problem!" | 7 |
| 11A | 26. Viewing spot for the Grand Canyon | 3 |
| 12A | 27. Hookup for an undercover agent | 4 |
| 13A | 28. Cry accompanying a flamenco dance | 3 |
| 14A | 29. Like volume measures | 5 |
| 15A | 32. Film title character from the "glorious nation of Kazakhstan" | 5 |
| 16A | 33. Overrule | 3 |
| 17A | 34. Redding who wrote the song "Respect" | 4 |
| 18A | 35. Purchase on "Wheel of Fortune" ... or every other letter of this puzzle's grid | 5 |
| 19A | 36. One may be drop-down | 4 |
| 20A | 37. Brooks with an EGOT | 3 |
| 21A | 38. Put on the payroll | 5 |
| 22A | 39. Bonds tightly | 5 |
| 23A | 40. Disco ___ (1970s) | 3 |
| 24A | 41. Like some coffee and hockey pucks | 4 |
| 25A | 42. Rabbit's residence | 3 |
| 26A | 43. Beyond repair, say | 7 |
| 27A | 45. Hercules, e.g. | 7 |
| 28A | 49. Country singer Church | 4 |
| 29A | 50. Hawaiian dance | 4 |
| 30A | 51. In the manner of | 3 |
| 31A | 52. "Hold that thought ..." | 15 |
| 32A | 56. "And switching gears …" | 15 |
| 33A | 57. Blush or rose | 5 |
| 34A | 58. First, second or third | 4 |
| 35A | 59. 401(k) alternatives | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Home in Havana"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Cheese town in northern Holland"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that mild yellow dutch cheese made in balls encased in a red covering
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "9. One on Santa's team"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (roman mythology) god of love; counterpart of greek eros
- Similar words include: Amor
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUPID
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4A: "14. Too fanciful"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERIMAGINATIVE
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5A: "17. Fixture above a bathroom sink"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEDICINECABINET
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6A: "18. Chicago's ___ B. Wells Drive"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an agency of the united nations affiliated with the world bank
- Similar words include: International Development Association
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "19. Singles"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
- Similar words include: unity, ace, single
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "20. Bit of writing of Nathaniel Hawthorne"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
- Similar words include: story, tarradiddle, fib
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "21. They bite"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one of the four pointed conical teeth (two in each jaw) located between the incisors and the premolars
- Similar words include: cuspid, canine tooth, canine
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANINES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "23. "No problem!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SURECAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "26. Viewing spot for the Grand Canyon"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object
- Similar words include: lip, flange, brim
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "27. Hookup for an undercover agent"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
- Similar words include: cable, conducting wire, electrify
- Opposite of: unwire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "28. Cry accompanying a flamenco dance"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "29. Like volume measures"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that having three dimensions
- Similar words include: three-dimensional
- Opposite of: linear
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUBIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "32. Film title character from the "glorious nation of Kazakhstan""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BORAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "33. Overrule"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a quantity of no importance
- Similar words include: interdict, zip, proscribe
- Opposite of: allow, permit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIX
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "34. Redding who wrote the song "Respect""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
- Similar words include: genus Otis, Elisha Graves Otis
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "35. Purchase on "Wheel of Fortune" ... or every other letter of this puzzle's grid"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a speech sound made with the vocal tract open
- Similar words include: vowel sound
- Opposite of: consonant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VOWEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "36. One may be drop-down"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a list of dishes available at a restaurant
- Similar words include: computer menu, card, bill of fare
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MENU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "37. Brooks with an EGOT"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "38. Put on the payroll"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that engage or hire for work
- Similar words include: leased, engage, hire
- Opposite of: unchartered, fire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIRED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "39. Bonds tightly"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an electrical device that can interrupt the flow of electrical current when it is overloaded
- Similar words include: priming, safety fuse, mix
- Opposite of: defuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FUSES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "40. Disco ___ (1970s)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- Similar words include: earned run average, geological era, epoch
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "41. Like some coffee and hockey pucks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that decorate with frosting
- Similar words include: ice, frost
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "42. Rabbit's residence"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
- Similar words include: lair, hideaway, hideout
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "43. Beyond repair, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that add up in number or quantity
- Similar words include: total, come, add
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTALED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "45. Hercules, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person with great powers and abilities
- Similar words include: daemon, Ubermensch, superman
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEMIGOD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "49. Country singer Church"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "50. Hawaiian dance"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a polynesian rain dance performed by a woman
- Similar words include: Hawaiian dancing, hula-hula
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HULA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "51. In the manner of"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "52. "Hold that thought ...""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORETOCOMELATER
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32A: "56. "And switching gears …""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONASEPARATENOTE
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33A: "57. Blush or rose"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
- Similar words include: discolor, colourize, vividness
- Opposite of: discolor, colorlessness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COLOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "58. First, second or third"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that installation from which a military force initiates operations
- Similar words include: foundation, nucleotide, alkali
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "59. 401(k) alternatives"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
- Similar words include: Irish Republican Army, Provisional Irish Republican Army, Provisional IRA
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Crack expert? | 5 |
| 2D | 2. Cosmetics brand | 5 |
| 3D | 3. Four-door, typically | 5 |
| 4D | 4. "The Beat With ___ Melber" | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Who rapped "I've created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more" | 6 |
| 6D | 6. Some "Beowulf" characters | 5 |
| 7D | 7. Develops, as bourbon in a barrel | 4 |
| 8D | 8. ___ drop | 3 |
| 9D | 9. Club with dinner and dancing | 7 |
| 10D | 10. Handy | 5 |
| 11D | 11. Some winter decorations | 9 |
| 12D | 12. "What ___ Done" (Linkin Park song) | 3 |
| 13D | 13. The Motor City, on scoreboards | 3 |
| 14D | 15. Well-known by everyone | 6 |
| 15D | 16. Not taught | 7 |
| 16D | 22. Body part that might be blue | 4 |
| 17D | 23. Begat | 5 |
| 18D | 24. Skirt style | 5 |
| 19D | 25. Hub | 5 |
| 20D | 27. Blew away | 5 |
| 21D | 29. One on Santa's team | 5 |
| 22D | 30. In ___ (not yet born) | 5 |
| 23D | 31. Like some treaties | 9 |
| 24D | 32. Daydreaming, say | 5 |
| 25D | 35. Narco nabber | 7 |
| 26D | 36. Local bond, informally | 4 |
| 27D | 38. Brand of neon markers | 7 |
| 28D | 39. F on a biology quiz? | 6 |
| 29D | 42. Erase | 6 |
| 30D | 44. Playground retort | 5 |
| 31D | 45. "The Count of Monte Cristo" author | 5 |
| 32D | 46. It bites | 5 |
| 33D | 47. Soul singer Adams | 5 |
| 34D | 48. Starts of some pranks | 5 |
| 35D | 50. Jewish wedding dance | 4 |
| 36D | 52. Comfy bit of footwear | 3 |
| 37D | 53. Plastic ___ Band | 3 |
| 38D | 54. Taxi | 3 |
| 39D | 55. What might precede Phone, commercially? | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Crack expert?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a professional performer who tells jokes and performs comical acts
- Similar words include: laughable, comedian, amusing
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Cosmetics brand"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVEDA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Four-door, typically"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a car that is closed and that has front and rear seats and two or four doors
- Similar words include: sedan chair, saloon
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEDAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. "The Beat With ___ Melber""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Who rapped "I've created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMINEM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Some "Beowulf" characters"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native or inhabitant of denmark
- Similar words include: Dane
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Develops, as bourbon in a barrel"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that how long something has existed
- Similar words include: years, geezerhood, old age
- Opposite of: rejuvenate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. ___ drop"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Club with dinner and dancing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink
- Similar words include: floorshow, floor show, club
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CABARET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Handy"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that being of use or service
- Similar words include: useful
- Opposite of: useless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTILE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Some winter decorations"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the seed-producing cone of a pine tree
- Similar words include: pinecone
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PINECONES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. "What ___ Done" (Linkin Park song)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. The Motor City, on scoreboards"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "15. Well-known by everyone"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that relating to or having the characteristics on an icon
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICONIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "16. Not taught"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone regarded as certain to succeed
- Similar words include: instinctive, innate, lifelike
- Opposite of: artificial, supernatural
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NATURAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "22. Body part that might be blue"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
- Similar words include: flag, iris diaphragm, fleur-de-lis
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "23. Begat"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make children
- Similar words include: sire, bring forth, engender
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIRED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "24. Skirt style"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that place in a line or arrange so as to be parallel or straight
- Similar words include: line up, align, adjust
- Opposite of: skew
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALINE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "25. Hub"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the means of connection between things linked in series
- Similar words include: link
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEXUS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "27. Blew away"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that impress greatly
- Similar words include: wow
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOWED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "29. One on Santa's team"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "30. In ___ (not yet born)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTERO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "31. Like some treaties"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that having identical parts on each side of an axis
- Similar words include: two-sided, bilaterally symmetrical, isobilateral
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BILATERAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "32. Daydreaming, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cause to be bored
- Similar words include: bore, tire, blase
- Opposite of: interest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BORED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "35. Narco nabber"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VICECOP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "36. Local bond, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUNI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "38. Brand of neon markers"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HILITER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "39. F on a biology quiz?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa)
- Similar words include: distaff, female person
- Opposite of: androgynous, male
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEMALE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "42. Erase"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that remove or make invisible
- Similar words include: edit, blue-pencil, cancel
- Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DELETE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "44. Playground retort"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARESO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "45. "The Count of Monte Cristo" author"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that french writer remembered for his swashbuckling historical tales (1802-1870)
- Similar words include: Duma, Alexandre Dumas
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUMAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "46. It bites"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts
- Similar words include: alligator
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GATOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "47. Soul singer Adams"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLETA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "48. Starts of some pranks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
- Similar words include: defy, presume, daring
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "50. Jewish wedding dance"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "52. Comfy bit of footwear"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "53. Plastic ___ Band"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states musician (born in japan) who married john lennon and collaborated with him on recordings (born in 1933)
- Similar words include: Yoko Ono
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "54. Taxi"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
- Similar words include: cabriolet, taxi, taxicab
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "55. What might precede Phone, commercially?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that black tropical american cuckoo
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Expert Solving Strategies
Start Smart
Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.
Decode the Clues
Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.
Use Cross-References
Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.
Build Vocabulary
Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.
Today's Puzzle Stats
35 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
74 Total Clues
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