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 (33 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (35 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. Set unambitious goals | 6 |
| 2A | 7. One playing beerball, perhaps | 7 |
| 3A | 14. Tolkien ring bearer | 7 |
| 4A | 16. Precious person | 7 |
| 5A | 17. Phrase you might say while pointing at a photograph | 7 |
| 6A | 18. Goes against the rule? | 7 |
| 7A | 19. Musical set in Alphabet City | 4 |
| 8A | 20. Term of endearment appropriated from 9-Down | 3 |
| 9A | 22. Part of a Blues Brothers outfit | 6 |
| 10A | 23. Animated friend of Sebastian the crab | 5 |
| 11A | 25. Some arm muscles, informally | 4 |
| 12A | 27. Cassiterite is a source of it | 3 |
| 13A | 28. Robert Frost's middle name | 3 |
| 14A | 29. ___ Allen Express, Amtrak train from New York City to Burlington, Vt. | 5 |
| 15A | 31. Innermost moon of Neptune | 5 |
| 16A | 33. Pressure gauge? | 11 |
| 17A | 35. Past, colloquially | 11 |
| 18A | 36. Symbols used to group blocks of computer code | 11 |
| 19A | 37. Was on the sidelines | 5 |
| 20A | 38. Breathlessness | 5 |
| 21A | 39. Polynesian staple | 3 |
| 22A | 42. Not mainstream, as some music genres | 3 |
| 23A | 43. Fuss | 4 |
| 24A | 44. Weakens, as an overly strong character, in video game lingo | 5 |
| 25A | 46. Angora fabric | 6 |
| 26A | 49. Utmost | 3 |
| 27A | 51. ___ Tung, star of cable TV's "The Summer I Turned Pretty" | 4 |
| 28A | 52. Did a bedtime task | 7 |
| 29A | 54. Modern banking convenience | 7 |
| 30A | 56. Musical sample added for excitement | 7 |
| 31A | 57. Animals in an early-2000s virtual fad | 7 |
| 32A | 58. Entered again | 7 |
| 33A | 59. One might play at home | 6 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Set unambitious goals"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIMLOW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "7. One playing beerball, perhaps"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRATBOY
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3A: "14. Tolkien ring bearer"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMEAGOL
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4A: "16. Precious person"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEARONE
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5A: "17. Phrase you might say while pointing at a photograph"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THATSME
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6A: "18. Goes against the rule?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another
- Similar words include: gross out, uprising, insurrection
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REVOLTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "19. Musical set in Alphabet City"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a payment or series of payments made by the lessee to an owner for use of some property, facility, equipment, or service
- Similar words include: let, lease, snag
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "20. Term of endearment appropriated from 9-Down"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAE
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9A: "22. Part of a Blues Brothers outfit"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hat made of felt with a creased crown
- Similar words include: felt hat, homburg, Stetson
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEDORA
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10A: "23. Animated friend of Sebastian the crab"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARIEL
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11A: "25. Some arm muscles, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIS
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12A: "27. Cassiterite is a source of it"
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: can, Sn, put up
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIN
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13A: "28. Robert Frost's middle name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
- Similar words include: Bruce Lee, Tsung Dao Lee, leeward
- Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "29. ___ Allen Express, Amtrak train from New York City to Burlington, Vt."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "31. Innermost moon of Neptune"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers; of fresh or brackish water
- Similar words include: water nymph
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAIAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "33. Pressure gauge?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STRESSLEVEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "35. Past, colloquially"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEFORETIMES
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18A: "36. Symbols used to group blocks of computer code"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURLYBRACES
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19A: "37. Was on the sidelines"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATBY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "38. Breathlessness"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that transient cessation of respiration
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APNEA
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21A: "39. Polynesian staple"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "42. Not mainstream, as some music genres"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
- Similar words include: elevation, altitude, EL
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "43. Fuss"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that agitation resulting from active worry
- Similar words include: sweat, gall, swither
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "44. Weakens, as an overly strong character, in video game lingo"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERFS
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25A: "46. Angora fabric"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fabric made with yarn made from the silky hair of the angora goat
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOHAIR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "49. Utmost"
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!
27A: "51. ___ Tung, star of cable TV's "The Summer I Turned Pretty""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOLA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "52. Did a bedtime task"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
- Similar words include: napped, fleecy, sweep
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUSHED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "54. Modern banking convenience"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUTOPAY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "56. Musical sample added for excitement"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRHORN
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31A: "57. Animals in an early-2000s virtual fad"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEOPETS
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32A: "58. Entered again"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETYPED
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33A: "59. One might play at home"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that reproducer in which two microphones feed two or more loudspeakers to give a three-dimensional effect to the sound
- Similar words include: two-channel, stereophonic, stereo system
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEREO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Kind of projection | 6 |
| 2D | 2. Call at a roll call | 6 |
| 3D | 3. Big jerk | 6 |
| 4D | 4. Drink often sipped | 5 |
| 5D | 5. Rap pioneers, slangily | 3 |
| 6D | 6. Space to develop as a person? | 4 |
| 7D | 7. In brief, to whom Grover Cleveland once said "I am making a strange wish for you ... that you may never be president of the United States" | 3 |
| 8D | 8. School houses? | 5 |
| 9D | 9. Dialect that is responsible for a large majority of Gen Z slang | 4 |
| 10D | 10. Put one's foot down | 4 |
| 11D | 11. Decorative items worn at Western galas | 8 |
| 12D | 12. Like defendants at court | 7 |
| 13D | 13. Principle of improv comedy | 6 |
| 14D | 15. Gay nightlife spot with a dress requirement | 10 |
| 15D | 21. Error correction tool | 9 |
| 16D | 24. Uncork, so to speak | 6 |
| 17D | 26. Body bronzer | 10 |
| 18D | 30. ___ Story (punny nickname for the "Iliad") | 4 |
| 19D | 31. Like the lion killed by Hercules | 6 |
| 20D | 32. Scientific classification for birds | 4 |
| 21D | 33. Tesla, for one | 4 |
| 22D | 34. Affliction treated with a nit comb | 4 |
| 23D | 35. Acting like a sore loser, informally | 8 |
| 24D | 36. ___ counter | 7 |
| 25D | 37. South Indian lentil stew | 6 |
| 26D | 39. Following etiquette | 6 |
| 27D | 40. Recently | 6 |
| 28D | 41. Declaration after "because" | 6 |
| 29D | 43. French relative | 5 |
| 30D | 45. Skip the ceremony, say | 5 |
| 31D | 47. Like some unmoisturized skin | 4 |
| 32D | 48. Blue-roofed restaurant | 4 |
| 33D | 50. Coral and sand, for two | 4 |
| 34D | 53. Popular role-playing game since 1974, informally | 3 |
| 35D | 55. One whose eyes are "all aglow" in "The Christmas Song" | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Kind of projection"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that being or relating to or resembling or emanating from stars
- Similar words include: stellar
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTRAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Call at a roll call"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMHERE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Big jerk"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person of mean disposition
- Similar words include: unkind person, meany
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEANIE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Drink often sipped"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that strong espresso coffee with a topping of frothed steamed milk
- Similar words include: caffe latte
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LATTE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Rap pioneers, slangily"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Space to develop as a person?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hollow muscular organ in the pelvic cavity of females; contains the developing fetus
- Similar words include: uterus
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOMB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. In brief, to whom Grover Cleveland once said "I am making a strange wish for you ... that you may never be president of the United States""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that 32nd president of the united states; elected four times; instituted new deal to counter the great depression and led country during world war ii (1882-1945)
- Similar words include: F. D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt, President Roosevelt
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FDR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. School houses?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
- Similar words include: Witwatersrand, reef, Reef
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEFS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Dialect that is responsible for a large majority of Gen Z slang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a nonstandard form of american english characteristically spoken by african americans in the united states
- Similar words include: Black English Vernacular, African American English, Ebonics
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Put one's foot down"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that put down or press the foot, place the foot
- Similar words include: step, trample, tread
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Decorative items worn at Western galas"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOLOTIES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Like defendants at court"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONTRIAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Principle of improv comedy"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YESAND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "15. Gay nightlife spot with a dress requirement"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEATHERBAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "21. Error correction tool"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASERPEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Uncork, so to speak"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LETFLY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Body bronzer"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSTANTTAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "30. ___ Story (punny nickname for the "Iliad")"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a system of weights used for precious metals and gemstones; based on a 12-ounce pound and an ounce of 480 grains
- Similar words include: Ilium, troy weight, Ilion
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "31. Like the lion killed by Hercules"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEMEAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "32. Scientific classification for birds"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (ornithology) the class of birds
- Similar words include: class Aves
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "33. Tesla, for one"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a member of a slavic people who settled in serbia and neighboring areas in the 6th and 7th centuries
- Similar words include: Serbian
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "34. Affliction treated with a nit comb"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals
- Similar words include: insect, biting louse, bird louse
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LICE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "35. Acting like a sore loser, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUTTHURT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "36. ___ counter"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure; used by nutritionists to characterize the energy-producing potential in food
- Similar words include: large calorie, small calorie, kilogram calorie
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALORIE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "37. South Indian lentil stew"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a deer of southern asia with antlers that have three tines
- Similar words include: Cervus unicolor, sambur
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAMBAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "39. Following etiquette"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
- Similar words include: right
- Opposite of: improper
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROPER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "40. Recently"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFLATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "41. Declaration after "because""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISAYSO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "43. French relative"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRERE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "45. Skip the ceremony, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that run away secretly with one's beloved
- Similar words include: run off
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELOPE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "47. Like some unmoisturized skin"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that of a light grey
- Similar words include: ash-grey, ash-gray
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "48. Blue-roofed restaurant"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IHOP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "50. Coral and sand, for two"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
- Similar words include: imbue, hue, chromaticity
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "53. Popular role-playing game since 1974, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "55. One whose eyes are "all aglow" in "The Christmas Song""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small amount (especially of a drink)
- Similar words include: yearling, summate, tote up
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOT
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
33 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
68 Total Clues
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