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 (37 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (39 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Modern lead-in to quit or bait | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents | 5 |
| 3A | 10. Act all teenagerly, say | 4 |
| 4A | 14. [I have something to say ...] | 4 |
| 5A | 15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders | 5 |
| 6A | 16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre | 4 |
| 7A | 17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x) | 10 |
| 8A | 19. Rip apart | 4 |
| 9A | 20. Something to belly up to | 3 |
| 10A | 21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly | 4 |
| 11A | 22. Cautious | 4 |
| 12A | 23. "My guess is ..." | 5 |
| 13A | 25. Teach, playfully (3x) | 9 |
| 14A | 29. Pinocchio's tell | 4 |
| 15A | 31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born | 7 |
| 16A | 32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name) | 4 |
| 17A | 33. PC key | 3 |
| 18A | 34. Wait for it! | 3 |
| 19A | 35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x) | 13 |
| 20A | 39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo | 3 |
| 21A | 40. Call, as a poker bet | 3 |
| 22A | 41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses" | 4 |
| 23A | 42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry | 7 |
| 24A | 45. Tech review site | 4 |
| 25A | 46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x) | 9 |
| 26A | 48. Bundles in a stationery shop | 5 |
| 27A | 52. Pointed remarks | 4 |
| 28A | 53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur | 4 |
| 29A | 55. Church fixture | 3 |
| 30A | 56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief | 4 |
| 31A | 57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise? | 10 |
| 32A | 60. Never Have I ___ (party game) | 4 |
| 33A | 61. April's ___ Day | 5 |
| 34A | 62. Bug on a pug | 4 |
| 35A | 63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" | 4 |
| 36A | 64. Acrimonious, as a breakup | 5 |
| 37A | 65. Units of verse | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Modern lead-in to quit or bait"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
- Similar words include: storm, furore, craze
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that molten rock in the earth's crust
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "10. Act all teenagerly, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone who wastes time
- Similar words include: dilly-dallier, mope around, moon around
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "14. [I have something to say ...]"
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!
5A: "15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) a titan who was forced by zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders
- Similar words include: telamon, atlas vertebra, book of maps
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a river in southwestern england rising in gloucestershire and flowing through bristol to empty into the estuary of the severn
- Similar words include: Upper Avon, River Avon, Upper Avon River
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "19. Rip apart"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that tear or be torn violently
- Similar words include: rip, pull, rive
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "20. Something to belly up to"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
- Similar words include: streak, cake, Browning automatic rifle
- Opposite of: unbar
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "22. Cautious"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
- Similar words include: leery, mistrustful, suspicious
- Opposite of: unwary
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "23. "My guess is ...""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "25. Teach, playfully (3x)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "29. Pinocchio's tell"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
- Similar words include: nozzle, intrude, olfactory organ
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the capital and largest city of venezuela
- Similar words include: capital of Venezuela
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the second largest of the hawaiian islands
- Similar words include: Maui Island
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "33. PC key"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
- Similar words include: EL, elevation, altitude
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "34. Wait for it!"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
- Similar words include: peak, lead, tip off
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo"
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!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "40. Call, as a poker bet"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
- Similar words include: insure, find, go steady
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that roman poet remembered for his elegiac verses on love (43 bc - ad 17)
- Similar words include: Publius Ovidius Naso
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "45. Tech review site"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any tree of the genus macadamia
- Similar words include: macadamia tree
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "48. Bundles in a stationery shop"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a large quantity of written matter
- Similar words include: ream
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "52. Pointed remarks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
- Similar words include: thrusting, dig, thrust
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
- Similar words include: Book of Amos
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "55. Church fixture"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that long bench with backs; used in church by the congregation
- Similar words include: church bench
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "60. Never Have I ___ (party game)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that at any time
- Similar words include: e'er, ever so, always
- Opposite of: never
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "61. April's ___ Day"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that tree (as opposed to shrub)
- Similar words include: pergola, spindle, arbour
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "62. Bug on a pug"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)
- Similar words include: fuel pod, seedpod, cod
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "64. Acrimonious, as a breakup"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that dirty and disorderly
- Similar words include: mussy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "65. Units of verse"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
- Similar words include: base, groundwork, metrical unit
- Opposite of: head
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Torah scholar | 5 |
| 2D | 2. Bridge Out ___ (sign) | 5 |
| 3D | 3. They have teeth but don't bite | 5 |
| 4D | 4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Chichén Itzá builders | 4 |
| 6D | 6. Taking charge? | 6 |
| 7D | 7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp. | 5 |
| 8D | 8. Scuff up, say | 3 |
| 9D | 9. Set, as a price | 3 |
| 10D | 10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa? | 6 |
| 11D | 11. Was a ham | 9 |
| 12D | 12. Scrunchied hairstyle | 8 |
| 13D | 13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road") | 3 |
| 14D | 18. Audition | 6 |
| 15D | 22. Word that can precede cry or baby | 3 |
| 16D | 24. Picky, picky, picky | 4 |
| 17D | 26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate) | 4 |
| 18D | 27. Housemother | 6 |
| 19D | 28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief | 3 |
| 20D | 30. Day break? | 6 |
| 21D | 32. Got it all off his chest? | 9 |
| 22D | 33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one | 3 |
| 23D | 35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" | 8 |
| 24D | 36. Consider | 4 |
| 25D | 37. Disinclined | 6 |
| 26D | 38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name | 4 |
| 27D | 39. "Well, let me think" | 3 |
| 28D | 43. Herculean tasks | 6 |
| 29D | 44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time | 3 |
| 30D | 45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances | 6 |
| 31D | 47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example | 5 |
| 32D | 49. Gift from a teacher's pet | 5 |
| 33D | 50. Free-for-all | 5 |
| 34D | 51. Result of a hot pursuit? | 5 |
| 35D | 54. Grand Ole ___ | 4 |
| 36D | 56. One leg press, say | 3 |
| 37D | 57. Uncle ___ | 3 |
| 38D | 58. Minecraft resource | 3 |
| 39D | 59. Command to a jumpy dog | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Torah scholar"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that spiritual leader of a jewish congregation; qualified to expound and apply jewish law
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Bridge Out ___ (sign)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that having the leading position or higher score in a contest
- Similar words include: onwards, leading, forward
- Opposite of: backward, back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. They have teeth but don't bite"
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: geared wheel, gear wheel, train
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism
- Similar words include: Dromaius novaehollandiae, electromagnetic unit, Emu novaehollandiae
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Chichén Itzá builders"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a member of an american indian people of yucatan and belize and guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between ad 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy
- Similar words include: Mayan language, Mayan
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Taking charge?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Scuff up, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
- Similar words include: spoil, vitiate, mutilate
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Set, as a price"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that inquire about
- Similar words include: inquire, need, involve
- Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow gourd containing pebbles or beans; often played in pairs
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Was a ham"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that exaggerate one's acting
- Similar words include: ham it up, overact, ham
- Opposite of: underact
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Scrunchied hairstyle"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hair style that draws the hair back so that it hangs down in back of the head like a pony's tail
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road")"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
- Similar words include: remainder, final stage, closing
- Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "18. Audition"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that trying something to find out about it
- Similar words include: audition, trial, trial run
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "22. Word that can precede cry or baby"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
- Similar words include: warfare, state of war
- Opposite of: peace, make peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Picky, picky, picky"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that of or related to the anus
- Similar words include: anal retentive
- Opposite of: oral
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "27. Housemother"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
- Similar words include: second sight, E.S.P., extrasensory perception
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "30. Day break?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a nap in the early afternoon (especially in hot countries)
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "32. Got it all off his chest?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
- Similar words include: genius, nail, Allied Command Europe
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that capital and largest city of bosnia; scene of the assassination of francis ferdinand in 1914 which precipitated world war i
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "36. Consider"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
- Similar words include: view as, hold, take for
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "37. Disinclined"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (usually followed by `to') strongly opposed
- Similar words include: loath, loth, antipathetic
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a slight but appreciable amount
- Similar words include: pinch, touch, soupcon
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "39. "Well, let me think""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "43. Herculean tasks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
- Similar words include: parturiency, trade union movement, drive
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a public promotion of some product or service
- Similar words include: ad, advertising, advertisement
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that engraving or carving in low relief on a stone (as in a brooch or ring)
- Similar words include: cameo
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables
- Similar words include: iamb, iambus
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "49. Gift from a teacher's pet"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
- Similar words include: Malus pumila, orchard apple tree
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "50. Free-for-all"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a noisy riotous fight
- Similar words include: scrimmage, battle royal
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "51. Result of a hot pursuit?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
- Similar words include: travail, sudate, swither
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "54. Grand Ole ___"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "56. One leg press, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that informal abbreviation of `representative'
- Similar words include: repp
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "57. Uncle ___"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
- Similar words include: surface-to-air missile
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "58. Minecraft resource"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "59. Command to a jumpy dog"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that kill intentionally and with premeditation
- Similar words include: polish off, murder, forth
- Opposite of: on
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.
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