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 (69 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (78 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. Do a little too well? | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Tops | 4 |
| 3A | 9. Resident of Ayrshire or Lanarkshire | 4 |
| 4A | 13. No time at all | 6 |
| 5A | 19. Discouraged action | 4 |
| 6A | 20. Mouthy? | 4 |
| 7A | 21. "What a relief!" | 4 |
| 8A | 22. Brought (out) | 7 |
| 9A | 24. Completely destroy with a blast | 17 |
| 10A | 27. Gaia, by another name | 11 |
| 11A | 28. Something typically taken every 10 years | 6 |
| 12A | 29. Doodled | 4 |
| 13A | 30. Certain bridge positions | 5 |
| 14A | 32. Segment of a timeline, perhaps | 3 |
| 15A | 33. The moon's "maria" | 4 |
| 16A | 36. Circa | 6 |
| 17A | 38. "Rhoda" actress Valerie | 6 |
| 18A | 40. Version of a textbook designed for instruction | 14 |
| 19A | 44. Salon substance | 6 |
| 20A | 45. Muppet who loves pigeons | 4 |
| 21A | 46. "My life is over" | 8 |
| 22A | 47. Sharpness | 4 |
| 23A | 48. Sarcastic response to a show-off | 8 |
| 24A | 52. Walked gingerly | 6 |
| 25A | 53. Product with Pro, Air and Mini varieties | 4 |
| 26A | 55. Conical shelter | 6 |
| 27A | 57. Use salt instead of sugar while baking, say | 3 |
| 28A | 58. Skewered Indonesian dish | 5 |
| 29A | 60. ___ Winter, basketball coach who famously innovated the "triangle offense" | 3 |
| 30A | 61. Had a brain fart | 7 |
| 31A | 66. Top-left PC key | 3 |
| 32A | 69. Like some simple repair jobs, in brief | 3 |
| 33A | 70. Grilled South American fare | 5 |
| 34A | 72. Smoothed (out) | 6 |
| 35A | 73. "Things are only going to get worse" ... or a hint to answering the seven italicized clues in this puzzle | 22 |
| 36A | 78. Science-and-nature magazine, familiarly | 6 |
| 37A | 79. Muckety-muck | 5 |
| 38A | 80. Frequently, poetically | 3 |
| 39A | 81. Fair-hiring inits. | 3 |
| 40A | 82. Chemical element whose use led to the first known law against poisoning | 7 |
| 41A | 84. Herman ___ (potato chip entrepreneur) | 3 |
| 42A | 85. More sardonic | 5 |
| 43A | 87. Rest area? | 3 |
| 44A | 90. Speeds of slow-moving traffic | 6 |
| 45A | 92. "It's ___ real" | 4 |
| 46A | 93. Delicate, as beauty | 8 |
| 47A | 96. Photo-editing technique used to create a smooth transition | 11 |
| 48A | 100. Wear (out) | 4 |
| 49A | 102. Middle-of-the-night woe | 8 |
| 50A | 104. Duchess of ___ (noted Spanish title) | 4 |
| 51A | 105. Made younger-looking in an editing studio, say | 6 |
| 52A | 107. Reality TV franchise created by Tyra Banks | 8 |
| 53A | 108. Philosophy symbolized by yin and yang | 6 |
| 54A | 111. Ruby lookalike | 6 |
| 55A | 112. Throw, in modern slang | 4 |
| 56A | 113. Fort Collins sch. | 3 |
| 57A | 114. Calls to task? | 5 |
| 58A | 116. Company behind the machine used to make Slurpees | 4 |
| 59A | 118. Kind of paper in a lab | 6 |
| 60A | 123. In back | 9 |
| 61A | 125. "Wait, are we done?" | 16 |
| 62A | 129. Queen of the fairies | 7 |
| 63A | 130. Dueling weapon | 4 |
| 64A | 131. Skin softener | 4 |
| 65A | 132. Fruit also known as a "uniq" | 4 |
| 66A | 133. Largest bird in North America | 6 |
| 67A | 134. X-ray units | 4 |
| 68A | 135. Immodest | 4 |
| 69A | 136. "You can't make me!," e.g. | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Do a little too well?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a charred substance
- Similar words include: blacken, cleaning woman, coal
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Tops"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
- Similar words include: chapeau, palpebra, hat
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "9. Resident of Ayrshire or Lanarkshire"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native or inhabitant of scotland
- Similar words include: Scotchman, Scotsman
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "13. No time at all"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFLASH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "19. Discouraged action"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NONO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "20. Mouthy?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an examination conducted by spoken communication
- Similar words include: oral exam, oral examination, viva voce
- Opposite of: anal, aboral
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "21. "What a relief!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHEW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "22. Brought (out)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that run at a moderately swift pace
- Similar words include: clip, trot, jog
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROTTED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "24. Completely destroy with a blast"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOWTOSMITHEREENS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "27. Gaia, by another name"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOTHEREARTH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "28. Something typically taken every 10 years"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a periodic count of the population
- Similar words include: nosecount, nose count
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CENSUS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "29. Doodled"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states actor (born in ireland); father of georgiana emma barrymore (1827-1862)
- Similar words include: draw in, draw off, describe
- Opposite of: repel, deposit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "30. Certain bridge positions"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
- Similar words include: due east, eastward, Orient
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "32. Segment of a timeline, perhaps"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- Similar words include: geological era, earned run average, epoch
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "33. The moon's "maria""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
- Similar words include: sea, ocean
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "36. Circa"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that in the area or vicinity
- Similar words include: roughly, or so, close to
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROUND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "38. "Rhoda" actress Valerie"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone who plays the harp
- Similar words include: harpist
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARPER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "40. Version of a textbook designed for instruction"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEACHEREDITION
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "44. Salon substance"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a rich, frothy, creamy dessert made with whipped egg whites and heavy cream
- Similar words include: gel, hair mousse, hair gel
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUSSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "45. Muppet who loves pigeons"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BERT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "46. "My life is over""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMRUINED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "47. Sharpness"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the basic human power of intelligent thought and perception
- Similar words include: wag, wittiness, marbles
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WITS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "48. Sarcastic response to a show-off"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAHDIDAH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "52. Walked gingerly"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
- Similar words include: hobble, limp, hitch
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIMPED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "53. Product with Pro, Air and Mini varieties"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IPAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "55. Conical shelter"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native american tent; usually of conical shape
- Similar words include: tepee, tipi
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEPEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "57. Use salt instead of sugar while baking, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
- Similar words include: drift, stray, mistake
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "58. Skewered Indonesian dish"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATAY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "60. ___ Winter, basketball coach who famously innovated the "triangle offense""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEX
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "61. Had a brain fart"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that keep the opposing (baseball) team from winning
- Similar words include: blank
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLANKED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "66. Top-left PC key"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESC
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32A: "69. Like some simple repair jobs, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "70. Grilled South American fare"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREPA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "72. Smoothed (out)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that press and smooth with a heated iron
- Similar words include: press, iron, iron out
- Opposite of: unironed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRONED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "73. "Things are only going to get worse" ... or a hint to answering the seven italicized clues in this puzzle"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITSALLDOWNHILLFROMHERE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "78. Science-and-nature magazine, familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NATGEO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "79. Muckety-muck"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a governor in india during the mogul empire
- Similar words include: nawab
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NABOB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38A: "80. Frequently, poetically"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that many times at short intervals
- Similar words include: often, oftentimes, ofttimes
- Opposite of: infrequently, rarely
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39A: "81. Fair-hiring inits."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EOE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
40A: "82. Chemical element whose use led to the first known law against poisoning"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a white powdered poisonous trioxide of arsenic; used in manufacturing glass and as a pesticide (rat poison) and weed killer
- Similar words include: As, ratsbane, arsenous anhydride
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARSENIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
41A: "84. Herman ___ (potato chip entrepreneur)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
- Similar words include: put down, place, position
- Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
42A: "85. More sardonic"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that humorously sarcastic or mocking
- Similar words include: dry, ironical, ironic
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRIER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
43A: "87. Rest area?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
- Similar words include: eff, bang, jazz
- Opposite of: get up, turn out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
44A: "90. Speeds of slow-moving traffic"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a very slow movement
- Similar words include: creeping, Australian crawl, grovel
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAWLS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
45A: "92. "It's ___ real""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
- Similar words include: personify, cost, exist
- Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
46A: "93. Delicate, as beauty"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air; - thomas carlyle
- Similar words include: aeriform, celestial, aery
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHEREAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
47A: "96. Photo-editing technique used to create a smooth transition"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a thin tapering edge
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEATHEREDGE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
48A: "100. Wear (out)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that hoop that covers a wheel
- Similar words include: jade, tire out, outwear
- Opposite of: refresh, interest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
49A: "102. Middle-of-the-night woe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an inability to sleep; chronic sleeplessness
- Opposite of: hypersomnia
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSOMNIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
50A: "104. Duchess of ___ (noted Spanish title)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
51A: "105. Made younger-looking in an editing studio, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAGED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
52A: "107. Reality TV franchise created by Tyra Banks"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOPMODEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
53A: "108. Philosophy symbolized by yin and yang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a chinese sect claiming to follow the teaching of lao-tzu but incorporating pantheism and sorcery in addition to taoism
- Similar words include: Daoism, Hsuan Chiao
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAOISM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
54A: "111. Ruby lookalike"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of a group of hard glassy minerals (silicates of various metals) used as gemstones and as an abrasive
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GARNET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
55A: "112. Throw, in modern slang"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
56A: "113. Fort Collins sch."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CSU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
57A: "114. Calls to task?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
- Similar words include: page, Sir Frederick Handley Page, pageboy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
58A: "116. Company behind the machine used to make Slurpees"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
59A: "118. Kind of paper in a lab"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a coloring material (obtained from lichens) that turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions; used as a very rough acid-base indicator
- Similar words include: litmus test
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LITMUS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
60A: "123. In back"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTHEREAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
61A: "125. "Wait, are we done?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISTHATALLTHEREIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
62A: "129. Queen of the fairies"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a white powder used as a pigment for its high covering power and durability
- Similar words include: titanium dioxide, titanic oxide, titanium oxide
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TITANIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
63A: "130. Dueling weapon"
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!)
Answer: EPEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
64A: "131. Skin softener"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
65A: "132. Fruit also known as a "uniq""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that large sweet juicy hybrid between tangerine and grapefruit having a thick wrinkled skin
- Similar words include: ugli fruit, tangelo
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UGLI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
66A: "133. Largest bird in North America"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the largest flying birds in the western hemisphere
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CONDOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
67A: "134. X-ray units"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material
- Similar words include: rad, radian
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
68A: "135. Immodest"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
- Similar words include: libidinous, lustful, raunchy
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEWD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
69A: "136. "You can't make me!," e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
- Similar words include: lip, backtalk, back talk
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. "The Exchange" airer | 4 |
| 2D | 2. Flaw in an argument | 4 |
| 3D | 3. Unknown author, for short | 4 |
| 4D | 4. Squabbles | 4 |
| 5D | 5. Unresolved parts of a plot | 9 |
| 6D | 6. Org. to which you might provide your bank account info | 3 |
| 7D | 7. Renewable energy structure | 3 |
| 8D | 8. Lost traction | 4 |
| 9D | 9. Globelike shape | 8 |
| 10D | 10. Dress down | 7 |
| 11D | 11. Poetic contraction | 3 |
| 12D | 12. Many middle schoolers | 6 |
| 13D | 13. Ones pressed for cash? | 4 |
| 14D | 14. Top of a latte | 5 |
| 15D | 15. Mucho | 5 |
| 16D | 16. M.L.B. team that once went by OAK on scoreboards | 3 |
| 17D | 17. In hot water? | 7 |
| 18D | 18. Fashion designer Carolina | 7 |
| 19D | 23. Shortage | 6 |
| 20D | 25. Behind | 6 |
| 21D | 26. Certain public transit network | 7 |
| 22D | 31. Singer whose "Hello" was the fastest video ever to reach 1 billion views on YouTube | 5 |
| 23D | 34. "People ___ Strange" (the Doors song) | 3 |
| 24D | 35. Conduct inciting an insurrection | 8 |
| 25D | 37. World's first billion-dollar corporation | 7 |
| 26D | 39. Sac fly result | 3 |
| 27D | 40. Game piece in Rummikub | 4 |
| 28D | 41. Royal title | 4 |
| 29D | 42. Where jet-setters may rub elbows | 8 |
| 30D | 43. Chalice | 3 |
| 31D | 49. P.D. alert | 3 |
| 32D | 50. Prefix meaning "sun" | 5 |
| 33D | 51. "Heavens to Betsy!" | 6 |
| 34D | 54. Subscription-only website feature | 7 |
| 35D | 56. Look into | 7 |
| 36D | 59. Contribute | 3 |
| 37D | 60. Chicago paper, informally | 4 |
| 38D | 62. N.Y.C. neighborhood that's home to the Grey Art Museum | 4 |
| 39D | 63. Lower-body exercise | 8 |
| 40D | 64. Occupational suffix | 3 |
| 41D | 65. J.F.K. predecessor | 3 |
| 42D | 67. Aromatic herb | 4 |
| 43D | 68. Hold tightly | 6 |
| 44D | 70. Mariner's greeting | 4 |
| 45D | 71. Natural attraction | 8 |
| 46D | 73. Two peas ___ pod | 3 |
| 47D | 74. Pitch | 3 |
| 48D | 75. French wine region | 5 |
| 49D | 76. LeBron James or Nikola Jokic | 7 |
| 50D | 77. Delivery person's assignment: Abbr. | 3 |
| 51D | 83. "Wheels" | 3 |
| 52D | 85. Beverage infused with THC | 7 |
| 53D | 86. Fixed, as a "m-i-t-s-a-k-e" | 9 |
| 54D | 88. County in western New York | 4 |
| 55D | 89. Deck out? | 4 |
| 56D | 91. Shoe with a thick sole | 5 |
| 57D | 92. Part of an equestrian's ensemble | 8 |
| 58D | 94. Small songbird | 6 |
| 59D | 95. Benefit plan option, in brief | 3 |
| 60D | 96. Wealthy sort | 6 |
| 61D | 97. Stretchy | 7 |
| 62D | 98. "Next on my list" | 7 |
| 63D | 99. ___ chi | 3 |
| 64D | 101. Lit up, in a way | 7 |
| 65D | 103. ___ Valley (San Francisco neighborhood) | 3 |
| 66D | 106. Less challenging | 6 |
| 67D | 109. Shell out | 5 |
| 68D | 110. Video game character aptly celebrated on Mar. 10 | 5 |
| 69D | 115. Bicyclist's setting | 4 |
| 70D | 117. Latin list ender | 4 |
| 71D | 119. Lead-in to a conclusion | 4 |
| 72D | 120. ___ Millions (multistate lottery) | 4 |
| 73D | 121. Some addresses | 4 |
| 74D | 122. Dos + cuatro | 4 |
| 75D | 124. China's largest ethnic group | 3 |
| 76D | 126. Wellness resort offering | 3 |
| 77D | 127. Horn contents at a Viking feast | 3 |
| 78D | 128. Depressed | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. "The Exchange" airer"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CNBC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Flaw in an argument"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an opening into or through something
- Similar words include: mess, kettle of fish, fix
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOLE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Unknown author, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that at another time
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANON
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4D: "4. Squabbles"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
- Similar words include: dustup, words, quarrel
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROWS
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5D: "5. Unresolved parts of a plot"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOSEENDS
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6D: "6. Org. to which you might provide your bank account info"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
- Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRS
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7D: "7. Renewable energy structure"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
- Similar words include: dam up, dekametre, dike
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAM
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8D: "8. Lost traction"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
- Similar words include: slew, skid, slue
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLID
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9D: "9. Globelike shape"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a shape that is generated by rotating an ellipse around one of its axes
- Similar words include: ellipsoid of revolution
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPHEROID
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10D: "10. Dress down"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHEWOUT
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11D: "11. Poetic contraction"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OER
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12D: "12. Many middle schoolers"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWEENS
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13D: "13. Ones pressed for cash?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
- Similar words include: atmosphere, automated teller machine, cash dispenser
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATMS
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14D: "14. Top of a latte"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid
- Similar words include: form bubbles, spume, sparkle
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FROTH
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15D: "15. Mucho"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTSA
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16D: "16. M.L.B. team that once went by OAK on scoreboards"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATH
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17D: "17. In hot water?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that devote (oneself) fully to
- Similar words include: immerse, engross, infuse
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEEPED
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18D: "18. Fashion designer Carolina"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERRERA
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19D: "23. Shortage"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an acute insufficiency
- Similar words include: shortage, famine, paucity
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEARTH
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20D: "25. Behind"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUSHIE
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21D: "26. Certain public transit network"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
- Similar words include: cable tramway, tramline, streetcar track
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAMWAY
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22D: "31. Singer whose "Hello" was the fastest video ever to reach 1 billion views on YouTube"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADELE
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23D: "34. "People ___ Strange" (the Doors song)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
- Similar words include: personify, cost, exist
- Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE
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24D: "35. Conduct inciting an insurrection"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority and tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEDITION
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25D: "37. World's first billion-dollar corporation"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USSTEEL
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26D: "39. Sac fly result"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a run that is the result of the batter's performance
- Similar words include: run batted in
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RBI
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27D: "40. Game piece in Rummikub"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
- Similar words include: roofing tile
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILE
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28D: "41. Royal title"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an independent ruler or chieftain (especially in africa or arabia)
- Similar words include: amir, ameer, emeer
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMIR
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29D: "42. Where jet-setters may rub elbows"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a support for the arm
- Similar words include: armrest
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMRESTS
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30D: "43. Chalice"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
- Similar words include: cupful, transfuse, loving cup
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUP
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31D: "49. P.D. alert"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APB
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32D: "50. Prefix meaning "sun""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELIO
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33D: "51. "Heavens to Betsy!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEARME
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34D: "54. Subscription-only website feature"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAYWALL
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35D: "56. Look into"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that inquire into
- Similar words include: research, search
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXPLORE
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36D: "59. Contribute"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
- Similar words include: contribute, hyperkinetic syndrome, tot up
- Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADD
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37D: "60. Chicago paper, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIB
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38D: "62. N.Y.C. neighborhood that's home to the Grey Art Museum"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOHO
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39D: "63. Lower-body exercise"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEEBEND
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40D: "64. Occupational suffix"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EER
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41D: "65. J.F.K. predecessor"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DDE
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42D: "67. Aromatic herb"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
- Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE
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43D: "68. Hold tightly"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small slip noose made with seizing
- Similar words include: grasp, clutch, grip
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLENCH
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44D: "70. Mariner's greeting"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHOY
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45D: "71. Natural attraction"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody
- Similar words include: chemical attraction, kinship, phylogenetic relation
- Opposite of: consanguinity
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFFINITY
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46D: "73. Two peas ___ pod"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INA
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47D: "74. Pitch"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
- Similar words include: seafarer, gob, sea dog
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAR
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48D: "75. French wine region"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the longest french river; rises in the massif central and flows north and west to the atlantic ocean
- Similar words include: Loire River
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOIRE
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49D: "76. LeBron James or Nikola Jokic"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NBASTAR
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50D: "77. Delivery person's assignment: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RTE
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51D: "83. "Wheels""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
- Similar words include: machine, automobile, railway car
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAR
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52D: "85. Beverage infused with THC"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEEDTEA
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53D: "86. Fixed, as a "m-i-t-s-a-k-e""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESPELLED
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54D: "88. County in western New York"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a member of an iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of lake erie in northern ohio and northwest pennsylvania and western new york
- Similar words include: Lake Erie
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERIE
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55D: "89. Deck out?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a particular instance of buying or selling
- Similar words include: consider, care, quite a little
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAL
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56D: "91. Shoe with a thick sole"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any shape that is triangular in cross section
- Similar words include: Cuban sandwich, squeeze, Italian sandwich
- Opposite of: dislodge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEDGE
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57D: "92. Part of an equestrian's ensemble"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that trousers ending above the knee
- Similar words include: knickerbockers, knickers, knee breeches
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREECHES
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58D: "94. Small songbird"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that widely distributed european titmouse with bright cobalt blue wings and tail and crown of the head
- Similar words include: Parus caeruleus, blue tit
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMTIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
59D: "95. Benefit plan option, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that group insurance that entitles members to services of participating hospitals and clinics and physicians
- Similar words include: health maintenance organization
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HMO
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60D: "96. Wealthy sort"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FATCAT
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61D: "97. Stretchy"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a narrow band of elastic rubber used to hold things (such as papers) together
- Similar words include: pliable, elastic band, rubber band
- Opposite of: inelastic
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELASTIC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
62D: "98. "Next on my list""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABOUTTO
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63D: "99. ___ chi"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native or inhabitant of thailand
- Similar words include: Thai, Siamese
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAI
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64D: "101. Lit up, in a way"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat
- Similar words include: light, stir up, ignite
- Opposite of: extinguish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGNITED
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65D: "103. ___ Valley (San Francisco neighborhood)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOE
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66D: "106. Less challenging"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
- Similar words include: light, easygoing, promiscuous
- Opposite of: uneasy, difficult
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASIER
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67D: "109. Shell out"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that pass time in a specific way
- Similar words include: pass, expend, drop
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPEND
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68D: "110. Video game character aptly celebrated on Mar. 10"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARIO
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69D: "115. Bicyclist's setting"
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: paraphernalia, gear mechanism, appurtenance
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEAR
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70D: "117. Latin list ender"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETAL
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71D: "119. Lead-in to a conclusion"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an aromatic gum resin obtained from various arabian or east african trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation
- Similar words include: therefore, frankincense, olibanum
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THUS
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72D: "120. ___ Millions (multistate lottery)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEGA
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73D: "121. Some addresses"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the address of a web page on the world wide web
- Similar words include: universal resource locator, URL, uniform resource locator
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URLS
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74D: "122. Dos + cuatro"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEIS
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75D: "124. China's largest ethnic group"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that imperial dynasty that ruled china (most of the time from 206 bc to ad 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of chinese civilization
- Similar words include: Han dynasty
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAN
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76D: "126. Wellness resort offering"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
- Similar words include: watering place, resort hotel, watering hole
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA
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77D: "127. Horn contents at a Viking feast"
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!)
Answer: ALE
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78D: "128. Depressed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation
- Similar words include: blue, low-pitched, dispirited
- Opposite of: high
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOW
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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
69 Across Clues
78 Down Clues
147 Total Clues
More NYT Crossword Help
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