Search Clues

Saturday, September 26, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 26, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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: 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. Prepares, as shumai 6
2A 7. Paste commonly simulated by a blend of horseradish, mustard and green dye 6
3A 13. Rounded, say 7
4A 15. Late hour 6
5A 16. Pair's reassurance 8
6A 18. N.F.C. West team, informally 6
7A 19. "Go right ahead ..." 9
8A 21. Pecan, but not pumpkin 4
9A 22. Selena Gomez or BeyoncΓ©, by birth 5
10A 23. Runaround? 3
11A 24. John ___, singer with the hit albums "Perfectly Good Guitar" and "Mystic Pinball" 5
12A 25. Withdraw (from) 4
13A 26. Part of an asymmetrical hairstyle 9
14A 28. Early giant in punch-card tabulating systems 3
15A 29. Giggle 9
16A 30. Element of economic globalization 9
17A 31. Desserts that may feature frangipane 9
18A 32. Part of what makes you you 3
19A 35. Online show pieces 9
20A 36. Result of a shopping spree 4
21A 37. Kite feature 5
22A 38. The Marlins, on scoreboards 3
23A 39. ___-corner 5
24A 40. Assert 4
25A 41. STEM field concern 9
26A 43. It's in the eye of the beholder 6
27A 45. Pull it together 8
28A 47. Rang 6
29A 48. Camp distribution 7
30A 49. Toasts 6
31A 50. Verse from Emily Dickinson or Emma Lazarus 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Prepares, as shumai"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water at boiling temperature diffused in the atmosphere
  • Similar words include: steamer, steam clean, steam
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Paste commonly simulated by a blend of horseradish, mustard and green dye"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a japanese plant of the family cruciferae with a thick green root
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WASABI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "13. Rounded, say"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a well-proportioned and pleasing shape
  • Opposite of: unshapely
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAPELY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Late hour"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and one
  • Similar words include: 11, football team, XI
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELEVEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Pair's reassurance"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEREGOOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. N.F.C. West team, informally"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
  • Similar words include: 9, IX, ennead
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NINERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. "Go right ahead ...""

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEMYGUEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Pecan, but not pumpkin"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
  • Similar words include: Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, shoetree, corner
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Selena Gomez or BeyoncΓ©, by birth"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or resident of texas
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEXAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. Runaround?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
  • Similar words include: circle, lick, swoosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. John ___, singer with the hit albums "Perfectly Good Guitar" and "Mystic Pinball""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIATT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Withdraw (from)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother's milk
  • Similar words include: ablactate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Part of an asymmetrical hairstyle"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIDEBANGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Early giant in punch-card tabulating systems"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IBM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Giggle"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEHEEHEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Element of economic globalization"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRADEDEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. Desserts that may feature frangipane"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEARTARTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Part of what makes you you"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: desoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. Online show pieces"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEBISODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "36. Result of a shopping spree"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of drawing or hauling something
  • Similar words include: hale, drag, cart
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAUL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "37. Kite feature"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hooked claw especially on a bird of prey
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "38. The Marlins, on scoreboards"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "39. ___-corner"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various units of weight used in southeastern asia (especially a chinese measure equal to 500 grams)
  • Similar words include: bitchy, cattie, cattish
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "40. Assert"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  • Similar words include: swan, avouch, verify
  • Opposite of: disavow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "41. STEM field concern"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GENDERGAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "43. It's in the eye of the beholder"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the innermost light-sensitive membrane covering the back wall of the eyeball; it is continuous with the optic nerve
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETINA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "45. Pull it together"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GETAGRIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "47. Rang"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
  • Similar words include: phone, call, ring
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHONED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "48. Camp distribution"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the food allowance for one day (especially for service personnel)
  • Similar words include: ration out, ration
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RATIONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "49. Toasts"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a surface burn
  • Similar words include: whistle, sear, singe
  • Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "50. Verse from Emily Dickinson or Emma Lazarus"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
  • Similar words include: sise, sextet, hexad
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SESTET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Duluth-to-Minneapolis dir. 3
2D 2. Broadcaster with a onetime coat-of-arms logo, informally 7
3D 3. Otoscopy, e.g. 7
4D 4. Anthropopithecus, e.g. 6
5D 5. Actress Price of the 2000s sitcom "Grounded for Life" 5
6D 6. Labor 4
7D 7. Took a turn 4
8D 8. Subject of the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings" 3
9D 9. Watch party? 8
10D 10. Mean 7
11D 11. Some Basque headwear 6
12D 12. Exclave's spot in an atlas, often 5
13D 14. Critical response concerning a piece of fiction? 11
14D 17. Riding free as an employee, in airline lingo 11
15D 20. Real page-turner? 11
16D 22. Lead-in to light 3
17D 24. Gag reflexes? 5
18D 26. Scorches 5
19D 27. Roots for vegan burgers 5
20D 29. Part of a bridal outfit 5
21D 30. Signature QB move included as a feature in 2012's Madden NFL 13 video game 8
22D 31. Main pack in a bicycle race 7
23D 32. A bit corrupt, perhaps? 7
24D 33. Evergreen whose cones bear edible seeds 7
25D 34. Olympic gymnast Raisman 3
26D 35. Silently greet someone 6
27D 36. Pudding typically served with "neeps and tatties" 6
28D 37. Highly prized rewards on "Survivor" 5
29D 39. "This Side Up" container 5
30D 41. Roves 4
31D 42. HHH 4
32D 44. Once called 3
33D 46. Lake Tahoe winter hrs. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Duluth-to-Minneapolis dir."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the compass point midway between south and southwest
  • Similar words include: south southwest, sou'-sou'-west
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SSW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Broadcaster with a onetime coat-of-arms logo, informally"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THEBEEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Otoscopy, e.g."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAREXAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Anthropopithecus, e.g."

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APEMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Actress Price of the 2000s sitcom "Grounded for Life""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEGYN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Labor"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that work doggedly or persistently
  • Similar words include: footslog, trudge, peg away
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Took a turn"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
  • Similar words include: get going, go bad, depart
  • Opposite of: come, be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Subject of the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
  • Similar words include: Muhammad Ali, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Cassius Clay
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Watch party?"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
  • Similar words include: lookout, spotter, scout
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENTINEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Mean"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statistic describing the location of a distribution
  • Similar words include: median, intermediate, norm
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVERAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Some Basque headwear"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cap with no brim or bill; made of soft cloth
  • Similar words include: beret
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BERETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Exclave's spot in an atlas, often"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small picture inserted within the bounds or a larger one
  • Similar words include: gusset, insert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Critical response concerning a piece of fiction?"

11 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YOULIEDTOME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Riding free as an employee, in airline lingo"

11 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEADHEADING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "20. Real page-turner?"

11 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPEEDREADER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Lead-in to light"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Gag reflexes?"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAHAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Scorches"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make very hot and dry
  • Similar words include: sear, singe, parch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Roots for vegan burgers"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that biennial eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root; widely cultivated as a food crop
  • Similar words include: beetroot, common beet, beet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Part of a bridal outfit"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
  • Similar words include: take, string, civilise
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Signature QB move included as a feature in 2012's Madden NFL 13 video game"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEBOWING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Main pack in a bicycle race"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PELOTON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. A bit corrupt, perhaps?"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DATAROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Evergreen whose cones bear edible seeds"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NUTPINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. Olympic gymnast Raisman"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. Silently greet someone"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAVEHI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. Pudding typically served with "neeps and tatties""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that made of sheep's or calf's viscera minced with oatmeal and suet and onions and boiled in the animal's stomach
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAGGIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "37. Highly prized rewards on "Survivor""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that waterproofed canvas
  • Similar words include: tarp, tarpaulin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. "This Side Up" container"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rugged box (usually made of wood); used for shipping
  • Similar words include: crateful
  • Opposite of: uncrate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "41. Roves"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling or lightheadedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months
  • Similar words include: generalized anxiety disorder, GAD, gallivant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "42. HHH"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Basque Homeland and Freedom, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, ETA
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. Once called"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (meaning literally `born') used to indicate the maiden or family name of a married woman
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Lake Tahoe winter hrs."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 8th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 120th meridian west; used in far western states of the united states
  • Similar words include: Pacific Standard Time, Pacific Time
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PST

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

31 Across Clues
33 Down Clues
64 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: September 26, 2026 at 08:43 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment