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 (65 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (75 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. Easy putt | 5 |
| 2A | 6. Clever | 5 |
| 3A | 11. Exam for a future atty. | 4 |
| 4A | 15. Boulderer's safety item | 3 |
| 5A | 18. Muffin alternative | 5 |
| 6A | 19. Sea surrounding Mykonos | 6 |
| 7A | 21. Flour in Indian cooking | 4 |
| 8A | 22. "Mr. Blue Sky" band, in brief | 3 |
| 9A | 23. Some "Star Trek" slang? | 12 |
| 10A | 25. Infamous Russian mystic | 8 |
| 11A | 27. Glow up? | 3 |
| 12A | 28. One might be liquid or frozen | 5 |
| 13A | 29. Street that might run all the way through town | 4 |
| 14A | 31. Like most autographs | 5 |
| 15A | 32. French filmmaker Jacques | 4 |
| 16A | 34. Secrets known only to E.N.T.s? | 14 |
| 17A | 38. Depression formed by a volcano's collapse | 7 |
| 18A | 41. Did a taxing job? | 7 |
| 19A | 42. C.I.A. forerunner | 3 |
| 20A | 43. Listened to "Rigoletto" way too many times? | 12 |
| 21A | 46. Mideast leaders | 5 |
| 22A | 48. Member of the South Asian diaspora | 4 |
| 23A | 49. Ocho menos uno | 5 |
| 24A | 50. Berkeley university, familiarly | 3 |
| 25A | 53. Rubber stamp go-with | 6 |
| 26A | 56. Many a David Foster Wallace piece | 5 |
| 27A | 58. Not gross | 3 |
| 28A | 59. Wild hogs | 5 |
| 29A | 61. "___ y plata" (Montana's motto) | 3 |
| 30A | 62. Sleuth, slangily | 3 |
| 31A | 64. "A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.? | 14 |
| 32A | 69. N.K. ___, "Broken Earth" trilogy author | 7 |
| 33A | 73. Summer in France | 3 |
| 34A | 74. Person discussed in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution | 7 |
| 35A | 75. Spark joy? | 14 |
| 36A | 80. Educational inst. | 3 |
| 37A | 81. "Feast," in Arabic | 3 |
| 38A | 82. Count (up) | 5 |
| 39A | 83. Slippery swimmer | 3 |
| 40A | 85. Daniel ___ (children's TV character) | 5 |
| 41A | 89. "The heart of the internet," per its tagline | 6 |
| 42A | 91. Handful | 3 |
| 43A | 93. Those opposed | 5 |
| 44A | 95. Animated explorer | 4 |
| 45A | 96. Cornea-reshaping surgery | 5 |
| 46A | 98. Diwali or Holi? | 12 |
| 47A | 101. Queen ___ (pop nickname) | 3 |
| 48A | 102. Bouncing | 7 |
| 49A | 105. Some hair products | 7 |
| 50A | 106. Like the world's worst demolition company? | 14 |
| 51A | 110. Rose bowl? | 4 |
| 52A | 111. Status after a leadoff walk | 5 |
| 53A | 112. Drubbing | 4 |
| 54A | 113. Wibbly-wobbly | 5 |
| 55A | 115. Hot stone massage location | 3 |
| 56A | 118. Take a risk | 8 |
| 57A | 120. A whole bunch of ocean detritus? | 12 |
| 58A | 124. Tsp. or tbsp. | 3 |
| 59A | 125. Triumphal monument shape | 4 |
| 60A | 126. Off-target | 6 |
| 61A | 127. Family girl | 5 |
| 62A | 128. Fleur-de-___ | 3 |
| 63A | 129. Luxury goods retailer since 1867 | 4 |
| 64A | 130. Needlessly adorns, in an idiom | 5 |
| 65A | 131. Massachusetts county in which the term "gerrymandering" was first applied | 5 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Easy putt"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "6. Clever"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore
- Similar words include: smarting, impudent, overbold
- Opposite of: stupid
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMART
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "11. Exam for a future atty."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "15. Boulderer's safety item"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
- Similar words include: diggings, digs, launch area
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "18. Muffin alternative"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that small biscuit (rich with cream and eggs) cut into diamonds or sticks and baked in an oven or (especially originally) on a griddle
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCONE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "19. Sea surrounding Mykonos"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an arm of the mediterranean between greece and turkey; a main trade route for the ancient civilizations of crete and greece and rome and persia
- Similar words include: Aegean Sea
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AEGEAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "21. Flour in Indian cooking"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "22. "Mr. Blue Sky" band, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "23. Some "Star Trek" slang?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KLINGONLINGO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "25. Infamous Russian mystic"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that siberian peasant monk who was religious advisor in the court of nicholas ii; was assassinated by russian noblemen who feared that his debauchery would weaken the monarchy (1872-1916)
- Similar words include: Grigori Efimovich Rasputin
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASPUTIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "27. Glow up?"
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: solarise, insolate, Sunday
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "28. One might be liquid or frozen"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a useful or valuable quality
- Similar words include: plus
- Opposite of: liability
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "29. Street that might run all the way through town"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any very large body of (salt) water
- Similar words include: principal, independent, master
- Opposite of: dependent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "31. Like most autographs"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INPEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "32. French filmmaker Jacques"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that french filmmaker (1908-1982)
- Similar words include: Jacques Tati, Jacques Tatischeff
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TATI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "34. Secrets known only to E.N.T.s?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARCANALARCANA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "38. Depression formed by a volcano's collapse"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALDERA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "41. Did a taxing job?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification
- Similar words include: audit, scrutinize, scrutinise
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUDITED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "42. C.I.A. forerunner"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
- Similar words include: os, OS, Os
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "43. Listened to "Rigoletto" way too many times?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERDIDVERDI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "46. Mideast leaders"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an independent ruler or chieftain (especially in africa or arabia)
- Similar words include: emeer, ameer, emir
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMIRS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "48. Member of the South Asian diaspora"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DESI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "49. Ocho menos uno"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIETE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "50. Berkeley university, familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "53. Rubber stamp go-with"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a block of absorbent material saturated with ink; used to transfer ink evenly to a rubber stamp
- Similar words include: stamp pad, pad, inking pad
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INKPAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "56. Many a David Foster Wallace piece"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an analytic or interpretive literary composition
- Similar words include: attempt, seek, test
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESSAY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "58. Not gross"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the tcp/ip network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
- Similar words include: net profit, nett, network
- Opposite of: gross
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "59. Wild hogs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that old world wild swine having a narrow body and prominent tusks from which most domestic swine come; introduced in united states
- Similar words include: boar, Sus scrofa, wild boar
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOARS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "61. "___ y plata" (Montana's motto)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "62. Sleuth, slangily"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a police officer who investigates crimes
- Similar words include: police detective, investigator, detective
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "64. "A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAPERCUTAPERCU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "69. N.K. ___, "Broken Earth" trilogy author"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JEMISIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "73. Summer in France"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "74. Person discussed in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a citizen who has a legal right to vote
- Similar words include: voter
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELECTOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "75. Spark joy?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELICITFELICITY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "80. Educational inst."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "81. "Feast," in Arabic"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38A: "82. Count (up)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
- Similar words include: count, numeration, tot
- Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALLY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39A: "83. Slippery swimmer"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
40A: "85. Daniel ___ (children's TV character)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fierce or audacious person
- Similar words include: Panthera tigris
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIGER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
41A: "89. "The heart of the internet," per its tagline"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDDIT
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42A: "91. Handful"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small elite group
- Opposite of: many
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
43A: "93. Those opposed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who is opposed (to an action or policy or practice etc.)
- Similar words include: anti
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
44A: "95. Animated explorer"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DORA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
45A: "96. Cornea-reshaping surgery"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a refractive surgery procedure that reshapes the cornea
- Similar words include: laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASIK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
46A: "98. Diwali or Holi?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HINDISHINDIG
Remember this word for future puzzles!
47A: "101. Queen ___ (pop nickname)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (formerly) a title of respect for a man in turkey or egypt
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
48A: "102. Bouncing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the act of ejecting someone or forcing them out
- Similar words include: throw out, expel, oust
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUSTING
Remember this word for future puzzles!
49A: "105. Some hair products"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that hairdressing consisting of a perfumed oil or ointment
- Similar words include: pomatum, pomade
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POMADES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
50A: "106. Like the world's worst demolition company?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASTINBLASTING
Remember this word for future puzzles!
51A: "110. Rose bowl?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an open jar of glass or porcelain used as an ornament or to hold flowers
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VASE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
52A: "111. Status after a leadoff walk"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONEON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
53A: "112. Drubbing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a disorderly crowd of people
- Similar words include: root, expel, spread-eagle
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROUT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
54A: "113. Wibbly-wobbly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
55A: "115. Hot stone massage location"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
- Similar words include: resort hotel, watering hole, health club
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
56A: "118. Take a risk"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHANCEIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
57A: "120. A whole bunch of ocean detritus?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTSAFLOTSAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
58A: "124. Tsp. or tbsp."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
59A: "125. Triumphal monument shape"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
- Similar words include: mischievous, arc, patronising
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
60A: "126. Off-target"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that straying from the right course or from accepted standards
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRANT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
61A: "127. Family girl"
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!
62A: "128. Fleur-de-___"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals
- Similar words include: lithium, Li, atomic number 3
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
63A: "129. Luxury goods retailer since 1867"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAKS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
64A: "130. Needlessly adorns, in an idiom"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a formal association of people with similar interests
- Similar words include: begild, gild, engild
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GILDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
65A: "131. Massachusetts county in which the term "gerrymandering" was first applied"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a county in southeastern england on the north sea and the thames estuary
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESSEX
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Disapproving sounds | 4 |
| 2D | 2. "Dissent is patriotic" grp. | 4 |
| 3D | 3. Anti-matter? | 9 |
| 4D | 4. Overnight stop | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Made irrelevant | 7 |
| 6D | 6. ___ serif | 4 |
| 7D | 7. Free-for-all | 5 |
| 8D | 8. Stress-induced discomfort | 5 |
| 9D | 9. Stimpy's TV partner | 3 |
| 10D | 10. Make it? | 3 |
| 11D | 11. Roundup rope | 6 |
| 12D | 12. Comics legend behind the Fantastic Four | 7 |
| 13D | 13. Calls out on social media, slangily | 3 |
| 14D | 14. Odd-toed ungulate | 5 |
| 15D | 15. Document used for a travel companion who might sit under a seat | 11 |
| 16D | 16. Many characters in Pixar's "Elio" | 6 |
| 17D | 17. "The Bear" matriarch played by Jamie Lee Curtis | 5 |
| 18D | 20. Rootless | 7 |
| 19D | 24. Green Egyptian god | 6 |
| 20D | 26. Get into, as a cab, say | 6 |
| 21D | 30. DiFranco who made her Broadway debut in "Hadestown" | 3 |
| 22D | 33. Northernmost arm of the Mediterranean | 8 |
| 23D | 35. Like a blue moon or blue steak | 4 |
| 24D | 36. Something to chew on | 3 |
| 25D | 37. Ship brass | 8 |
| 26D | 38. Work with Python, say | 4 |
| 27D | 39. Park and Fifth, e.g.: Abbr. | 4 |
| 28D | 40. Tennis score following deuce | 4 |
| 29D | 44. Second-in-command | 4 |
| 30D | 45. ___ Place, female companion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 4 |
| 31D | 47. Closely examine | 7 |
| 32D | 51. "Dancing With the Stars" network | 3 |
| 33D | 52. Cardinals legend Brock | 3 |
| 34D | 54. With the bow, in music | 4 |
| 35D | 55. Sullen | 4 |
| 36D | 57. "Indeed!" | 7 |
| 37D | 60. Performed exceptionally, in slang | 3 |
| 38D | 63. Bibliography listing | 8 |
| 39D | 65. Louvre Pyramid architect | 3 |
| 40D | 66. Mail Boxes ___ | 3 |
| 41D | 67. Chain that sells climbing gear | 3 |
| 42D | 68. Only egg-laying mammals besides platypuses | 8 |
| 43D | 69. Mocking cry | 4 |
| 44D | 70. "Night" memoirist Wiesel | 4 |
| 45D | 71. They might be the last to be booked on an airplane | 11 |
| 46D | 72. Grp. for Commanders and Chiefs | 3 |
| 47D | 76. Holiday classic starring Will Ferrell | 3 |
| 48D | 77. Soapmaker's supply | 3 |
| 49D | 78. Be inclined | 4 |
| 50D | 79. Cryptid with a Tibetan name | 4 |
| 51D | 84. Speech therapist's target | 4 |
| 52D | 86. Frigg and Freyja, e.g. | 9 |
| 53D | 87. One of the Great Lakes | 4 |
| 54D | 88. Cleaning cloths | 4 |
| 55D | 90. Home of the N.C.A.A.'s Flyers | 6 |
| 56D | 92. Train sound | 7 |
| 57D | 93. Home services website | 4 |
| 58D | 94. Dig up dirt, say | 6 |
| 59D | 97. "Barry Lyndon" director | 7 |
| 60D | 99. QB's worry: Abbr. | 3 |
| 61D | 100. Statement by someone who's out of date? | 7 |
| 62D | 101. Vietnamese sandwich | 6 |
| 63D | 103. Animals known for their slow metabolism | 6 |
| 64D | 104. Capital of ancient Troy? | 3 |
| 65D | 106. Alternative to express | 5 |
| 66D | 107. Ancient Andeans | 5 |
| 67D | 108. Like some allergy sprays | 5 |
| 68D | 109. Splendid | 5 |
| 69D | 114. Young newts | 4 |
| 70D | 116. A runner may need to pick it up | 4 |
| 71D | 117. Charger's option, informally | 4 |
| 72D | 119. Flop ___ (period of failure) | 3 |
| 73D | 121. Part of NGO: Abbr. | 3 |
| 74D | 122. Prefix with cycle | 3 |
| 75D | 123. Christmas carol contraction | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Disapproving sounds"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
- Similar words include: tsk, tut-tut, tut
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSKS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. "Dissent is patriotic" grp."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACLU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Anti-matter?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not having a point especially a sharp point
- Similar words include: purposeless, unpointed, senseless
- Opposite of: pointed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POINTLESS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Overnight stop"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
- Similar words include: hostel, hostelry, auberge
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Made irrelevant"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that be in contradiction with
- Similar words include: neutralize, contravene, contradict
- Opposite of: affirm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEGATED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. ___ serif"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. 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!)
Answer: MELEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Stress-induced discomfort"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGITA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Stimpy's TV partner"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Make it?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a label written or printed on paper, cardboard, or plastic that is attached to something to indicate its owner, nature, price, etc.
- Similar words include: track, tag end, rag
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAG
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11D: "11. Roundup rope"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a long noosed rope used to catch animals
- Similar words include: riata, lasso, reata
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARIAT
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12D: "12. Comics legend behind the Fantastic Four"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STANLEE
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13D: "13. Calls out on social media, slangily"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series); a decay product of uranium and thorium
- Similar words include: atomic number 85, at, At
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATS
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14D: "14. Odd-toed ungulate"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that large inoffensive chiefly nocturnal ungulate of tropical america and southeast asia having a heavy body and fleshy snout
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPIR
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15D: "15. Document used for a travel companion who might sit under a seat"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETPASSPORT
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16D: "16. Many characters in Pixar's "Elio""
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, extraterrestrial being, extraterrestrial
- Opposite of: acquaintance, citizen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENS
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17D: "17. "The Bear" matriarch played by Jamie Lee Curtis"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an italian woman of rank
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DONNA
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18D: "20. Rootless"
Solving Hints:
- Similar words include: wandering, mobile, peregrine
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOMADIC
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19D: "24. Green Egyptian god"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead; husband and brother of isis; father of horus
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSIRIS
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20D: "26. Get into, as a cab, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that draw the cork from (bottles)
- Opposite of: cork
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNCORK
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21D: "30. DiFranco who made her Broadway debut in "Hadestown""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that black tropical american cuckoo
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANI
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22D: "33. Northernmost arm of the Mediterranean"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an arm of the mediterranean between slovenia and croatia and montenegro and albania on the east and italy on the west
- Similar words include: Adriatic Sea
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADRIATIC
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23D: "35. Like a blue moon or blue steak"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
- Similar words include: uncommon, rarefied, rarified
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RARE
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24D: "36. Something to chew on"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that food of a ruminant regurgitated to be chewed again
- Similar words include: chew, rechewed food, plug
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUD
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25D: "37. Ship brass"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
- Similar words include: admiral, full admiral
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADMIRALS
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26D: "38. Work with Python, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)
- Similar words include: codification, encrypt, cypher
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CODE
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27D: "39. Park and Fifth, e.g.: Abbr."
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
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28D: "40. Tennis score following deuce"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADIN
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29D: "44. Second-in-command"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VEEP
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30D: "45. ___ Place, female companion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETTA
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31D: "47. Closely examine"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that look over carefully
- Similar words include: audit, visit, scrutinise
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSPECT
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32D: "51. "Dancing With the Stars" network"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
- Similar words include: ABC's, alphabet, first rudiment
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABC
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33D: "52. Cardinals legend Brock"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOU
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34D: "54. With the bow, in music"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (of instruments in the violin family) to be played with the bow
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCO
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35D: "55. Sullen"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that stubbornly unyielding; ; ; ; - t.s.eliot
- Similar words include: glowering, grim, sour
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOUR
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36D: "57. "Indeed!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YESITIS
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37D: "60. Performed exceptionally, in slang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
- Similar words include: feed, corrode, rust
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE
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38D: "63. Bibliography listing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement
- Similar words include: mention, credit, cite
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CITATION
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39D: "65. Louvre Pyramid architect"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states architect (born in china in 1917)
- Similar words include: Ieoh Ming Pei, I. M. Pei
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEI
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40D: "66. Mail Boxes ___"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETC
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41D: "67. Chain that sells climbing gear"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REI
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42D: "68. Only egg-laying mammals besides platypuses"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to new guinea
- Similar words include: echidna, anteater, spiny anteater
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECHIDNAS
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43D: "69. Mocking cry"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that showing your contempt by derision
- Similar words include: jeering, flout, gibe
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JEER
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44D: "70. "Night" memoirist Wiesel"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELIE
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45D: "71. They might be the last to be booked on an airplane"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIDDLESEATS
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46D: "72. Grp. for Commanders and Chiefs"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NFL
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47D: "76. Holiday classic starring Will Ferrell"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
- Similar words include: pixy, brownie, imp
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELF
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48D: "77. Soapmaker's supply"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYE
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49D: "78. Be inclined"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined
- Similar words include: lean, be given, incline
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEND
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50D: "79. Cryptid with a Tibetan name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the himalayas
- Similar words include: abominable snowman
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YETI
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51D: "84. Speech therapist's target"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a speech defect that involves pronouncing `s' like voiceless `th' and `z' like voiced `th'
- Similar words include: list-processing language
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LISP
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52D: "86. Frigg and Freyja, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a female deity
- Similar words include: goddess
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GODDESSES
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53D: "87. One of the Great Lakes"
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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54D: "88. Cleaning cloths"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small piece of cloth or paper
- Similar words include: get at, get to, bother
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGS
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55D: "90. Home of the N.C.A.A.'s Flyers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a city in southwest ohio; manufacturing center
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYTON
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56D: "92. Train sound"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture
- Similar words include: sing, tin whistle, whistling
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHISTLE
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57D: "93. Home services website"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGI
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58D: "94. Dig up dirt, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle
- Similar words include: excavator, digger, shovelful
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOVEL
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59D: "97. "Barry Lyndon" director"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states filmmaker (born in 1928)
- Similar words include: Stanley Kubrick
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KUBRICK
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60D: "99. QB's worry: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INT
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61D: "100. Statement by someone who's out of date?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMALONE
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62D: "101. Vietnamese sandwich"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BANHMI
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63D: "103. Animals known for their slow metabolism"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a disinclination to work or exert yourself
- Similar words include: acedia, tree sloth, laziness
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOTHS
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64D: "104. Capital of ancient Troy?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the 19th letter of the greek alphabet
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAU
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65D: "106. Alternative to express"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops
- Similar words include: topical anaesthetic, local anesthetic, local anaesthetic
- Opposite of: national, express
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCAL
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66D: "107. Ancient Andeans"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
- Similar words include: Inca, Inka, Incan
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCAS
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67D: "108. Like some allergy sprays"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a consonant produced through the nose with the mouth closed
- Similar words include: adenoidal, pinched, os nasale
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NASAL
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68D: "109. Splendid"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
- Similar words include: rarified, K, gilded
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRAND
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69D: "114. Young newts"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a newt in its terrestrial stage of development
- Similar words include: eft
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EFTS
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70D: "116. A runner may need to pick it up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
- Similar words include: footstep, step, gait
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACE
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71D: "117. Charger's option, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a stock exchange in new york
- Similar words include: Curb, American Stock Exchange
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEX
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72D: "119. Flop ___ (period of failure)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- Similar words include: earned run average, geological era, epoch
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA
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73D: "121. Part of NGO: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORG
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74D: "122. Prefix with cycle"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRI
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75D: "123. Christmas carol contraction"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
- Similar words include: te, atomic number 22, ti
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIS
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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
65 Across Clues
75 Down Clues
140 Total Clues
More NYT Crossword Help
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