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 (41 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. Buffoons | 5 |
| 2A | 6. Paula of "American Idol" | 5 |
| 3A | 11. Final use for an old T-shirt | 3 |
| 4A | 14. Enraged | 5 |
| 5A | 15. What "my guitar gently" does, in a classic George Harrison song | 5 |
| 6A | 16. Mesozoic or Paleozoic | 3 |
| 7A | 17. Home for a single guy | 11 |
| 8A | 19. Animation sheet | 3 |
| 9A | 20. Hole for threading a lace | 6 |
| 10A | 21. ___ fide (genuine) | 4 |
| 11A | 22. "Please like and subscribe" and the like, on YouTube videos | 6 |
| 12A | 25. Dr. Seuss book with the quote "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." | 8 |
| 13A | 28. ___ Today | 3 |
| 14A | 29. Kind of computer port | 3 |
| 15A | 31. Like the smell of trees | 6 |
| 16A | 32. Showed again | 5 |
| 17A | 34. Zoom past | 6 |
| 18A | 37. Psychotherapy switcheroos ... or what are hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across? | 13 |
| 19A | 41. Text on a red, white and blue sticker | 6 |
| 20A | 42. Gender-neutral possessive | 5 |
| 21A | 44. Ran after | 6 |
| 22A | 47. Opposite of WNW | 3 |
| 23A | 49. To and ___ | 3 |
| 24A | 50. Time machine car in "Back to the Future" | 8 |
| 25A | 53. Made a grand speech | 6 |
| 26A | 55. Brother of Abel | 4 |
| 27A | 56. Times between dusk and dawn | 6 |
| 28A | 58. Had lunch, say | 3 |
| 29A | 59. Fruit with a "bellybutton" | 11 |
| 30A | 64. What planets revolve around | 3 |
| 31A | 65. How often the time is 12:00 each day | 5 |
| 32A | 66. Decorate | 5 |
| 33A | 67. Mini-albums | 3 |
| 34A | 68. ___ of Troy | 5 |
| 35A | 69. Sat for a portrait | 5 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Buffoons"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
- Similar words include: cat, goose, goof
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOZOS
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2A: "6. Paula of "American Idol""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABDUL
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3A: "11. Final use for an old T-shirt"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small piece of cloth or paper
- Similar words include: reprimand, bait, trounce
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAG
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4A: "14. Enraged"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that feeling or showing extreme anger
- Similar words include: ireful
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "15. What "my guitar gently" does, in a classic George Harrison song"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
- Similar words include: cry, weep
- Opposite of: laugh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEEPS
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6A: "16. Mesozoic or Paleozoic"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- Similar words include: epoch, geological era, earned run average
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA
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7A: "17. Home for a single guy"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BACHELORPAD
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8A: "19. Animation sheet"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEL
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9A: "20. Hole for threading a lace"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small hole (usually round and finished around the edges) in cloth or leather for the passage of a cord or hook or bar
- Similar words include: eyehole, grommet, grummet
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYELET
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10A: "21. ___ fide (genuine)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BONA
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11A: "22. "Please like and subscribe" and the like, on YouTube videos"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTROS
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12A: "25. Dr. Seuss book with the quote "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THELORAX
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13A: "28. ___ Today"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that north american republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in north america plus alaska in northwest north america and the hawaiian islands in the pacific ocean; achieved independence in 1776
- Similar words include: the States, America, U.S.A.
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USA
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14A: "29. Kind of computer port"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USB
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15A: "31. Like the smell of trees"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that characteristic or suggestive of woods
- Similar words include: arboreous, arboraceous, woody
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOODSY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "32. Showed again"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that broadcast again, as of a film
- Similar words include: rerun, rebroadcast
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RERAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "34. Zoom past"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACEBY
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18A: "37. Psychotherapy switcheroos ... or what are hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROLEREVERSALS
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19A: "41. Text on a red, white and blue sticker"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVOTED
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20A: "42. Gender-neutral possessive"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THEIR
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21A: "44. Ran after"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who is being chased
- Similar words include: tail, chase, dog
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHASED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "47. Opposite of WNW"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the compass point midway between east and southeast
- Similar words include: east southeast
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "49. To and ___"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRO
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24A: "50. Time machine car in "Back to the Future""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DELOREAN
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25A: "53. Made a grand speech"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that talk pompously
- Similar words include: orate
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATED
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26A: "55. Brother of Abel"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (old testament) cain and abel were the first children of adam and eve born after the fall of man; cain killed abel out of jealousy and was exiled by god
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAIN
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27A: "56. Times between dusk and dawn"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
- Similar words include: night, Night, dark
- Opposite of: day
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGHTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "58. Had lunch, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
- Similar words include: corrode, rust, eat up
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "59. Fruit with a "bellybutton""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAVELORANGE
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30A: "64. What planets revolve around"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
- Similar words include: sunbathe, Dominicus, solarise
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUN
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31A: "65. How often the time is 12:00 each day"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that to double the degree
- Similar words include: doubly, double
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWICE
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32A: "66. Decorate"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
- Similar words include: grace, clothe, invest
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADORN
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33A: "67. Mini-albums"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPS
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34A: "68. ___ of Troy"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of zeus and leda who was abducted by paris; the greek army sailed to troy to get her back which resulted in the trojan war
- Similar words include: Helen of Troy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELEN
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35A: "69. Sat for a portrait"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that assume a posture as for artistic purposes
- Similar words include: beat, impersonate, put
- Opposite of: unposed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POSED
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Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Accessory for a baby in a highchair | 3 |
| 2D | 2. British singer Rita | 3 |
| 3D | 3. Efron of "The Greatest Showman" | 3 |
| 4D | 4. Last multiple-choice option, often | 5 |
| 5D | 5. Rude goodbye to an enemy | 11 |
| 6D | 6. Soldier who has failed to report | 4 |
| 7D | 7. Military cap | 5 |
| 8D | 8. One of the three dimensions | 5 |
| 9D | 9. Kick ___ fuss | 3 |
| 10D | 10. Counterculture drug, in brief | 3 |
| 11D | 11. 4.75 seconds to assemble a Mr. Potato Head, per Guinness | 6 |
| 12D | 12. Concert venues | 6 |
| 13D | 13. Milky Way, e.g. | 6 |
| 14D | 18. Not as much | 4 |
| 15D | 21. "I crushed it!!!" | 6 |
| 16D | 22. Not just my | 3 |
| 17D | 23. ___-friendly | 4 |
| 18D | 24. Root used in making poi | 4 |
| 19D | 26. Large jug | 4 |
| 20D | 27. Cage for crustaceans | 11 |
| 21D | 30. "American Psycho" author ___ Easton Ellis | 4 |
| 22D | 33. Cartoonist Bechdel | 6 |
| 23D | 35. Mass ___ (Boston thoroughfare) | 3 |
| 24D | 36. Give up | 4 |
| 25D | 38. Was a passenger | 4 |
| 26D | 39. Democrats and Socialists, with "the" | 4 |
| 27D | 40. Father | 4 |
| 28D | 43. Axle, e.g. | 3 |
| 29D | 44. Jewel box | 6 |
| 30D | 45. Start to escalate | 6 |
| 31D | 46. Extraterrestrials | 6 |
| 32D | 48. London theater district | 4 |
| 33D | 51. Object hitting people's heads in old cartoons | 5 |
| 34D | 52. Sibling's daughter | 5 |
| 35D | 54. South American barbecue | 5 |
| 36D | 57. Valley | 4 |
| 37D | 59. High degree | 3 |
| 38D | 60. Response to seeing an aurora, maybe | 3 |
| 39D | 61. Rejections | 3 |
| 40D | 62. College sr.'s test | 3 |
| 41D | 63. 63-Down, in this puzzle | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Accessory for a baby in a highchair"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that top part of an apron; covering the chest
- Similar words include: tipple
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. British singer Rita"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
- Similar words include: bone, osmium, OS
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Efron of "The Greatest Showman""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ZAC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Last multiple-choice option, often"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied; - the white queen
- Similar words include: early, former
- Opposite of: same
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTHER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Rude goodbye to an enemy"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEYOUNEVER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Soldier who has failed to report"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one who is away or absent without leave
- Similar words include: truant
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWOL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Military cap"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cap with no brim or bill; made of soft cloth
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BERET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. One of the three dimensions"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the extent downward or backward or inward
- Similar words include: profundity, astuteness, deepness
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEPTH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Kick ___ fuss"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Counterculture drug, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a powerful hallucinogenic drug manufactured from lysergic acid
- Similar words include: lysergic acid diethylamide
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSD
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11D: "11. 4.75 seconds to assemble a Mr. Potato Head, per Guinness"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
- Similar words include: read, immortalize, enter
- Opposite of: erase
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECORD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Concert venues"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a particular environment or walk of life
- Similar words include: sphere, area, arena
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARENAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Milky Way, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
- Similar words include: galax, beetleweed, wandflower
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALAXY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "18. Not as much"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree
- Similar words include: to a lesser extent
- Opposite of: more
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LESS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "21. "I crushed it!!!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOYAH
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16D: "22. Not just my"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUR
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17D: "23. ___-friendly"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
- Similar words include: drug user, substance abuser, exploiter
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "24. Root used in making poi"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants
- Similar words include: dalo, taro plant, eddo
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "26. Large jug"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
- Similar words include: pitcher
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "27. Cage for crustaceans"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOBSTERTRAP
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21D: "30. "American Psycho" author ___ Easton Ellis"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "33. Cartoonist Bechdel"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALISON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "35. Mass ___ (Boston thoroughfare)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVE
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24D: "36. Give up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another
- Similar words include: concede, surrender, grant
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEDE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "38. Was a passenger"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
- Similar words include: bait, drive, depend on
- Opposite of: walk
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RODE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "39. Democrats and Socialists, with "the""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
- Similar words include: forget, leave, will
- Opposite of: right, arrive
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEFT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "40. Father"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a title of address formerly used for a man of rank and authority
- Similar words include: bring forth, mother, get
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "43. Axle, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a long thin implement made of metal or wood
- Similar words include: rod cell, perch, gat
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "44. Jewel box"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CDCASE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "45. Start to escalate"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEATUP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "46. Extraterrestrials"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
- Similar words include: noncitizen, alienate, alien
- Opposite of: acquaintance, citizen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "48. London theater district"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a district in southwestern manhattan noted for its shops and restaurants and galleries and artist's lofts
- Similar words include: South of Houston
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOHO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "51. Object hitting people's heads in old cartoons"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering
- Similar words include: incus
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANVIL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "52. Sibling's daughter"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a daughter of your brother or sister
- Opposite of: nephew
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIECE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "54. South American barbecue"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASADO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "57. Valley"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "59. High degree"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that last or greatest in an indefinitely large series
- Similar words include: n-th
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NTH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "60. Response to seeing an aurora, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
- Similar words include: fear, reverence, veneration
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "61. Rejections"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding curium with carbon ions; 7 isotopes are known
- Similar words include: atomic number 102, nobelium, No
- Opposite of: yes
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
40D: "62. College sr.'s test"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
41D: "63. 63-Down, in this puzzle"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
- Similar words include: destruction, oddment, goal
- Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: END
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
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues
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