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 (38 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (40 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging
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. Package under a Christmas tree | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Old-fashioned butter maker | 5 |
| 3A | 10. Branded cotton swab | 4 |
| 4A | 14. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan | 4 |
| 5A | 15. In on, as a trend | 5 |
| 6A | 16. Big coffee containers | 4 |
| 7A | 17. 1972 song by Elton John | 10 |
| 8A | 19. Luxury auto whose logo is four overlapping rings | 4 |
| 9A | 20. In progress | 7 |
| 10A | 21. :), ;), :D and others | 7 |
| 11A | 23. Formal "you," in Spanish | 5 |
| 12A | 25. Comedian Wong | 3 |
| 13A | 26. Projects, as a shadow | 5 |
| 14A | 29. 1985 song by John Cougar Mellencamp | 9 |
| 15A | 34. Comes to light | 6 |
| 16A | 36. X minus III, in old Rome | 3 |
| 17A | 37. Cosmonaut Gagarin | 4 |
| 18A | 38. Held the reins | 3 |
| 19A | 39. Spot for a massage | 3 |
| 20A | 41. R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10 | 3 |
| 21A | 43. Element used in bronze | 3 |
| 22A | 44. Sporting blade | 4 |
| 23A | 46. Draft pick? | 3 |
| 24A | 48. Firstborn | 6 |
| 25A | 50. 1987 song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles | 9 |
| 26A | 53. Midsection measurement | 5 |
| 27A | 54. Apt rhyme for "shriek" | 3 |
| 28A | 55. Martial arts studios | 5 |
| 29A | 57. Disheveled | 7 |
| 30A | 61. Caribbean island with a liqueur named for it | 7 |
| 31A | 65. Gently persuade | 4 |
| 32A | 66. Capital of Arkansas ... or a description of 17-, 29- and 50-Across? | 10 |
| 33A | 68. In ___ land (daydreaming) | 4 |
| 34A | 69. "I wish I could ___ that!" | 5 |
| 35A | 70. A second helping, say | 4 |
| 36A | 71. "Excuse me ..." | 4 |
| 37A | 72. Things shifted on a bicycle or in a car | 5 |
| 38A | 73. Winter coaster | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Package under a Christmas tree"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that something acquired without compensation
- Similar words include: indue, invest, endow
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Old-fashioned butter maker"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk
- Similar words include: boil, roil, moil
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "10. Branded cotton swab"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "14. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "15. In on, as a trend"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "16. Big coffee containers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
- Similar words include: urn
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "17. 1972 song by Elton John"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "19. Luxury auto whose logo is four overlapping rings"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "20. In progress"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that currently happening
- Similar words include: on-going
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "21. :), ;), :D and others"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an emoticon of a smiling face
- Similar words include: smiley
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "23. Formal "you," in Spanish"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "25. Comedian Wong"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
- Similar words include: Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Muhammad Ali
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "26. Projects, as a shadow"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the actors in a play
- Similar words include: be sick, put, roll
- Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "29. 1985 song by John Cougar Mellencamp"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "34. Comes to light"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
- Similar words include: grow, spring up, go up
- Opposite of: fall, turn in
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "36. X minus III, in old Rome"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
- Similar words include: 7, sevener, heptad
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "37. Cosmonaut Gagarin"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "38. Held the reins"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
- Similar words include: moderate, precede, conduce
- Opposite of: follow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "39. Spot for a massage"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
- Similar words include: health club, resort hotel, watering place
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "41. R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "43. Element used in bronze"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
- Similar words include: put up, can, atomic number 50
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "44. Sporting blade"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "46. Draft pick?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "48. Firstborn"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the offspring who came first in the order of birth
- Similar words include: firstborn
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "50. 1987 song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "53. Midsection measurement"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the distance around a person's body
- Similar words include: cinch
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "54. Apt rhyme for "shriek""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "55. Martial arts studios"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "57. Disheveled"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not neatly combed
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "61. Caribbean island with a liqueur named for it"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a popular island resort in the netherlands antilles
- Similar words include: curacoa
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "65. Gently persuade"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a transmission line for high-frequency signals
- Similar words include: coax cable, palaver, blarney
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "66. Capital of Arkansas ... or a description of 17-, 29- and 50-Across?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "68. In ___ land (daydreaming)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "69. "I wish I could ___ that!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "70. A second helping, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that english statesman who opposed henry viii's divorce from catherine of aragon and was imprisoned and beheaded; recalled for his concept of utopia, the ideal state
- Similar words include: Sir Thomas More, more than, Thomas More
- Opposite of: fewer, less
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "71. "Excuse me ...""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.
- Similar words include: hem
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "72. Things shifted on a bicycle or in a car"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
- Similar words include: train, cogwheel, geartrain
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38A: "73. Winter coaster"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a vehicle mounted on runners and pulled by horses or dogs; for transportation over snow
- Similar words include: sleigh, sledge
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. ___ Jail (space on a Monopoly board) | 4 |
| 2D | 2. "Sign me up!" | 4 |
| 3D | 3. Vampire's tooth | 4 |
| 4D | 4. Auditions | 7 |
| 5D | 5. "U-S-A! U-S-A! ...," e.g. | 5 |
| 6D | 6. Movable joints on a door | 6 |
| 7D | 7. ___ code (what most product packages have) | 3 |
| 8D | 8. Google Maps options: Abbr. | 4 |
| 9D | 9. Bring into the mainstream | 9 |
| 10D | 10. Counterpart of quantity | 7 |
| 11D | 11. Factual | 4 |
| 12D | 12. Where the N.F.L.'s Colts play, informally | 4 |
| 13D | 13. Letters before omegas | 4 |
| 14D | 18. Insults | 6 |
| 15D | 22. Springfield is its capital: Abbr. | 3 |
| 16D | 24. Org. with notoriously long lines | 3 |
| 17D | 26. Biblical spy for Moses | 5 |
| 18D | 27. South American flatbread | 5 |
| 19D | 28. Lesser-played part of a 45 | 5 |
| 20D | 30. ChatGPT and Google Gemini, for two | 3 |
| 21D | 31. Word before space or Mongolia | 5 |
| 22D | 32. Spot to find a pulse | 5 |
| 23D | 33. Final inning, typically | 5 |
| 24D | 35. Device for starting an engine | 9 |
| 25D | 40. In the style of | 3 |
| 26D | 42. Former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize | 6 |
| 27D | 45. Test taken at the 24-Down | 7 |
| 28D | 47. Finale | 3 |
| 29D | 49. Wins over with charm | 7 |
| 30D | 51. Jewel | 3 |
| 31D | 52. Pete who directed "Up," "Inside Out" and "Soul" | 6 |
| 32D | 56. Novelist Verne | 5 |
| 33D | 57. The N.C.A.A.'s Bruins | 4 |
| 34D | 58. Biblical ark builder | 4 |
| 35D | 59. Dark leafy green | 4 |
| 36D | 60. Fork prong | 4 |
| 37D | 62. Chilly | 4 |
| 38D | 63. Surveyor's measure | 4 |
| 39D | 64. Gave a thumbs-up | 4 |
| 40D | 67. Airport screening grp. | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. ___ Jail (space on a Monopoly board)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. "Sign me up!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Vampire's tooth"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a bantu language spoken in cameroon
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Auditions"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that trying something to find out about it
- Similar words include: test, audition, trial run
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. "U-S-A! U-S-A! ...," e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
- Similar words include: tone, intonate, cantillate
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Movable joints on a door"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
- Similar words include: hinge, flexible joint
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. ___ code (what most product packages have)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Google Maps options: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Bring into the mainstream"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that become normal or return to its normal state
- Similar words include: renormalise, temper, anneal
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Counterpart of quantity"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; --shakespeare
- Similar words include: lineament, prize, timbre
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Factual"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
- Similar words include: truthful, dependable, straight
- Opposite of: false, untruthful
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Where the N.F.L.'s Colts play, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Letters before omegas"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of pressure
- Similar words include: psi, pounds per square inch
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "18. Insults"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that treat, mention, or speak to rudely
- Similar words include: affront, insult, diss
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "22. Springfield is its capital: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
- Similar words include: sick, inauspicious, badly
- Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Org. with notoriously long lines"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Biblical spy for Moses"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "27. South American flatbread"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "28. Lesser-played part of a 45"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "30. ChatGPT and Google Gemini, for two"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
- Similar words include: Bradypus tridactylus, AI, three-toed sloth
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "31. Word before space or Mongolia"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that being on the outside or further from a center
- Similar words include: tabu, verboten, KO'd
- Opposite of: safe, inner
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "32. Spot to find a pulse"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
- Similar words include: carpus, wrist joint, radiocarpal joint
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "33. Final inning, typically"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that position nine in a countable series of things
- Similar words include: 9th, one-ninth
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "35. Device for starting an engine"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "40. In the style 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!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "42. Former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "45. Test taken at the 24-Down"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "47. Finale"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
- Similar words include: death, goal, oddment
- Opposite of: beginning, begin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "49. Wins over with charm"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that remove offensive capability from
- Similar words include: demilitarise, unarm, demilitarize
- Opposite of: arm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "51. Jewel"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
- Similar words include: treasure, precious stone, gemstone
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "52. Pete who directed "Up," "Inside Out" and "Soul""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "56. Novelist Verne"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "57. The N.C.A.A.'s Bruins"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "58. Biblical ark builder"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of noah and the flood is told in the book of genesis
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "59. Dark leafy green"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that informal terms for money
- Similar words include: lolly, colewort, cole
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "60. Fork prong"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that prong on a fork or pitchfork or antler
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "62. Chilly"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the quality of being at a refreshingly low temperature
- Similar words include: cool off, cool down, coolheaded
- Opposite of: warm, heat
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "63. Surveyor's measure"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
- Similar words include: Accho, Akko, Akka
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "64. Gave a thumbs-up"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
40D: "67. Airport screening grp."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
- Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
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
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