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Showing posts sorted by date for query ABEL. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, April 27, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 27, 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: Medium

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. Paths for lobbed tennis balls 4
2A 5. Tribe of Arizona 4
3A 9. Flinch, say 5
4A 14. Short blast from a horn 4
5A 15. Actor McGregor of "Trainspotting" 4
6A 16. Han Solo's response to Leia's "I love you" 5
7A 17. Singer's recovery period 9
8A 19. "Catch my drift?" 5
9A 20. Shop 5
10A 21. Spot for a soak 3
11A 23. Dear ___ (letter start) 3
12A 24. Pumice or basalt 12
13A 29. Chemical that speeds up a fruit's aging process 7
14A 32. Film director Coen 5
15A 33. "Our Lips ___ Sealed" (hit by the Go-Go's) 3
16A 34. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly 3
17A 36. Betraying surprise, in a way 5
18A 39. Spinoff of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" 15
19A 44. Big name in microprocessors 5
20A 45. "Who's Who in the Cast" blurb 3
21A 46. Tie-breaking periods, for short 3
22A 47. How a picture book may be read at bedtime 5
23A 50. ___ of hand (magician's skill) 7
24A 53. Congressional history 12
25A 56. Palindrome akin to "Aha!" 3
26A 57. Work well together 3
27A 58. Florida's ___-Dade County 5
28A 62. Jousting weapon 5
29A 65. Device worn by a video gamer ... or a hint to 17-, 24-, 39- and 53-Across 9
30A 68. Basic piano chord 5
31A 69. Notes of indebtedness 4
32A 70. Gets eyes on 4
33A 71. Sends frisky messages 5
34A 72. Strong soapmaking solutions 4
35A 73. Like bourbon 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Paths for lobbed tennis balls"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field
  • Similar words include: arc, bow, spark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Tribe of Arizona"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the shoshonean people of northeastern arizona
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOPI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Flinch, say"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that show a response or a reaction to something
  • Similar words include: respond, oppose
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Short blast from a horn"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blast of a horn
  • Similar words include: carousal, beep, booze-up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Actor McGregor of "Trainspotting""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Han Solo's response to Leia's "I love you""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Singer's recovery period"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. "Catch my drift?""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Shop"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
  • Similar words include: computer storage, memory board, put in
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Spot for a soak"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body
  • Similar words include: tubful, bath, bathing tub
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Dear ___ (letter start)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that term of address for a man
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Pumice or basalt"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VOLCANICROCK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Chemical that speeds up a fruit's aging process"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "32. Film director Coen"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. "Our Lips ___ Sealed" (hit by the Go-Go's)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
  • Similar words include: equal, ar, be
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Betraying surprise, in a way"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Spinoff of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills""

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VANDERPUMPRULES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "44. Big name in microprocessors"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "45. "Who's Who in the Cast" blurb"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "46. Tie-breaking periods, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "47. How a picture book may be read at bedtime"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that using the voice; not silently
  • Similar words include: loud, loudly, out loud
  • Opposite of: softly
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOUD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "50. ___ of hand (magician's skill)"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that adroitness in using the hands
  • Similar words include: manual dexterity, dexterity
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEIGHT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "53. Congressional history"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VOTINGRECORD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "56. Palindrome akin to "Aha!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "57. Work well together"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colloid in a more solid form than a sol
  • Similar words include: gelatin, colloidal gel, mousse
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "58. Florida's ___-Dade County"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the extinct algonquian people formerly living in northern indiana and southern michigan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIAMI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "62. Jousting weapon"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
  • Similar words include: spear, shaft, fizgig
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "65. Device worn by a video gamer ... or a hint to 17-, 24-, 39- and 53-Across"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "68. Basic piano chord"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
  • Similar words include: trine, trey, triple
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "69. Notes of indebtedness"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal debt instrument; representing `i owe you'
  • Similar words include: IOU
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "70. Gets eyes on"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
  • Similar words include: fancy, take in, understand
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "71. Sends frisky messages"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fourth of the seven canonical hours; about noon
  • Similar words include: sext
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEXTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "72. Strong soapmaking solutions"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
  • Similar words include: lye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "73. Like bourbon"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAKY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Four-wheelers, in brief 4
2D 2. Word before beer or after square 4
3D 3. Pixar film with the Oscar-winning song "Remember Me" 4
4D 4. "Feed a cold, ___ a fever" (dubious medical advice) 6
5D 5. That girl 3
6D 6. Have debts 3
7D 7. Many an Olive Garden entree 5
8D 8. Sounding good, as a musical instrument 6
9D 9. 18-wheeler 3
10D 10. Barely get (by) 3
11D 11. Snack with celery, peanut butter and raisins 10
12D 12. "Peanuts" or "Pickles" 5
13D 13. Do some booty-shaking 5
14D 18. Spinks who defeated Muhammad Ali 4
15D 22. One-eighth of a byte 3
16D 25. Titular Shakespearean king 4
17D 26. Remove outer parts from, as a photo 4
18D 27. Burn until black 4
19D 28. Prego alternative 4
20D 29. Sitar virtuoso Shankar 4
21D 30. Tehran's land 4
22D 31. Grammy-winning a cappella group famous for their Christmas albums 10
23D 35. Chicago slugger 3
24D 37. "Late Night" host Meyers 4
25D 38. "Hey! Over here!" 4
26D 40. Place to purchase pastrami 4
27D 41. North Carolina university 4
28D 42. Catchall category: Abbr. 4
29D 43. Sport on a horse 4
30D 48. Sheepskin boot brand 3
31D 49. Role for Mike Myers in the Austin Powers movies 6
32D 51. Columnist Bombeck 4
33D 52. Doubling-down assertion 6
34D 53. Battery measure 5
35D 54. Chicago airport 5
36D 55. "The Jetsons" boy 5
37D 59. On the waves 4
38D 60. Gentle and submissive 4
39D 61. ___-bitsy 4
40D 63. Garfield in the funny pages, e.g. 3
41D 64. Magazine bigwigs, in brief 3
42D 66. Gradation of color 3
43D 67. Letter before tee 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Four-wheelers, in brief"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Word before beer or after square"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
  • Similar words include: rootage, theme, ancestor
  • Opposite of: descendant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Pixar film with the Oscar-winning song "Remember Me""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics
  • Similar words include: coco palm, cocoa palm, coconut tree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "Feed a cold, ___ a fever" (dubious medical advice)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be hungry; go without food
  • Similar words include: hunger, famish, lust
  • Opposite of: feed, be full
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STARVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. That girl"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Have debts"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be obliged to pay or repay
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Many an Olive Garden entree"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dish that contains pasta as its main ingredient
  • Similar words include: alimentary paste
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Sounding good, as a musical instrument"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. 18-wheeler"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gear (including necessary machinery) for a particular enterprise
  • Similar words include: fishing rig, semi, set
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Barely get (by)"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Snack with celery, peanut butter and raisins"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTSONALOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Peanuts" or "Pickles""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a professional performer who tells jokes and performs comical acts
  • Similar words include: risible, funny, amusing
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Do some booty-shaking"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Spinks who defeated Muhammad Ali"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a historical area and former kingdom in northwestern spain
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. One-eighth of a byte"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece or quantity of something
  • Similar words include: seize with teeth, scrap, morsel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Titular Shakespearean king"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that british artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
  • Similar words include: Edward Lear, King Lear
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Remove outer parts from, as a photo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the yield from plants in a single growing season
  • Similar words include: dress, craw, cut back
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Burn until black"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a charred substance
  • Similar words include: cleaning lady, woman, sear
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Prego alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Sitar virtuoso Shankar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAVI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Tehran's land"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a theocratic islamic republic in the middle east in western asia; iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as persia until 1935; rich in oil
  • Similar words include: Persia, Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Grammy-winning a cappella group famous for their Christmas albums"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PENTATONIX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Chicago slugger"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an awkward and inexperienced youth
  • Similar words include: greenhorn, sonny, lad
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. "Late Night" host Meyers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) third son of adam and eve; given by god in place of the murdered abel
  • Similar words include: Set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. "Hey! Over here!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. Place to purchase pastrami"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shop selling ready-to-eat food products
  • Similar words include: delicatessen, food shop
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DELI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. North Carolina university"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Catchall category: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MISC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Sport on a horse"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that venetian traveler who explored asia in the 13th century and served kublai khan (1254-1324)
  • Similar words include: Marco Polo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Sheepskin boot brand"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Role for Mike Myers in the Austin Powers movies"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Columnist Bombeck"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Doubling-down assertion"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Battery measure"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt; equivalent to the potential difference across a resistance of 1 ohm when 1 ampere of current flows through it
  • Similar words include: volt, V
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VOLTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Chicago airport"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. "The Jetsons" boy"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. On the waves"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in the direction of the sea
  • Similar words include: seaward, seawards
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Gentle and submissive"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
  • Similar words include: modest, spiritless, mild
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. ___-bitsy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "63. Garfield in the funny pages, e.g."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: computerized tomography, computed axial tomography, barf
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Magazine bigwigs, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid automatic system to detect plastic explosives in passengers' luggage using x-ray technology and computers; designed for use in airports
  • Similar words include: male erecticle dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, ED
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "66. Gradation of color"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
  • Similar words include: imbue, chromaticity
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "67. Letter before tee"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons
  • Similar words include: einsteinium, Es, atomic number 99
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: April 27, 2026 at 06:14 AM

Monday, February 23, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 23, 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. Buffoons 5
2A 6. Paula of "American Idol" 5
3A 11. Final use for an old T-shirt 3
4A 14. Enraged 5
5A 15. What "my guitar gently" does, in a classic George Harrison song 5
6A 16. Mesozoic or Paleozoic 3
7A 17. Home for a single guy 11
8A 19. Animation sheet 3
9A 20. Hole for threading a lace 6
10A 21. ___ fide (genuine) 4
11A 22. "Please like and subscribe" and the like, on YouTube videos 6
12A 25. Dr. Seuss book with the quote "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." 8
13A 28. ___ Today 3
14A 29. Kind of computer port 3
15A 31. Like the smell of trees 6
16A 32. Showed again 5
17A 34. Zoom past 6
18A 37. Psychotherapy switcheroos ... or what are hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across? 13
19A 41. Text on a red, white and blue sticker 6
20A 42. Gender-neutral possessive 5
21A 44. Ran after 6
22A 47. Opposite of WNW 3
23A 49. To and ___ 3
24A 50. Time machine car in "Back to the Future" 8
25A 53. Made a grand speech 6
26A 55. Brother of Abel 4
27A 56. Times between dusk and dawn 6
28A 58. Had lunch, say 3
29A 59. Fruit with a "bellybutton" 11
30A 64. What planets revolve around 3
31A 65. How often the time is 12:00 each day 5
32A 66. Decorate 5
33A 67. Mini-albums 3
34A 68. ___ of Troy 5
35A 69. Sat for a portrait 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Buffoons"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
  • Similar words include: cat, goose, goof
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOZOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Paula of "American Idol""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Final use for an old T-shirt"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece of cloth or paper
  • Similar words include: reprimand, bait, trounce
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Enraged"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feeling or showing extreme anger
  • Similar words include: ireful
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. What "my guitar gently" does, in a classic George Harrison song"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
  • Similar words include: cry, weep
  • Opposite of: laugh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEEPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Mesozoic or Paleozoic"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
  • Similar words include: epoch, geological era, earned run average
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Home for a single guy"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Animation sheet"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Hole for threading a lace"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hole (usually round and finished around the edges) in cloth or leather for the passage of a cord or hook or bar
  • Similar words include: eyehole, grommet, grummet
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYELET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. ___ fide (genuine)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BONA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "Please like and subscribe" and the like, on YouTube videos"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Dr. Seuss book with the quote "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.""

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. ___ Today"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that north american republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in north america plus alaska in northwest north america and the hawaiian islands in the pacific ocean; achieved independence in 1776
  • Similar words include: the States, America, U.S.A.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Kind of computer port"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Like the smell of trees"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that characteristic or suggestive of woods
  • Similar words include: arboreous, arboraceous, woody
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOODSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Showed again"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that broadcast again, as of a film
  • Similar words include: rerun, rebroadcast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RERAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Zoom past"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Psychotherapy switcheroos ... or what are hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across?"

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROLEREVERSALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Text on a red, white and blue sticker"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Gender-neutral possessive"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Ran after"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who is being chased
  • Similar words include: tail, chase, dog
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "47. Opposite of WNW"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the compass point midway between east and southeast
  • Similar words include: east southeast
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "49. To and ___"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Time machine car in "Back to the Future""

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Made a grand speech"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Similar words include: orate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Brother of Abel"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) cain and abel were the first children of adam and eve born after the fall of man; cain killed abel out of jealousy and was exiled by god
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. Times between dusk and dawn"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
  • Similar words include: night, Night, dark
  • Opposite of: day
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Had lunch, say"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: corrode, rust, eat up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Fruit with a "bellybutton""

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. What planets revolve around"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
  • Similar words include: sunbathe, Dominicus, solarise
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. How often the time is 12:00 each day"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to double the degree
  • Similar words include: doubly, double
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Decorate"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
  • Similar words include: grace, clothe, invest
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADORN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Mini-albums"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. ___ of Troy"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of zeus and leda who was abducted by paris; the greek army sailed to troy to get her back which resulted in the trojan war
  • Similar words include: Helen of Troy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Sat for a portrait"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that assume a posture as for artistic purposes
  • Similar words include: beat, impersonate, put
  • Opposite of: unposed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Accessory for a baby in a highchair 3
2D 2. British singer Rita 3
3D 3. Efron of "The Greatest Showman" 3
4D 4. Last multiple-choice option, often 5
5D 5. Rude goodbye to an enemy 11
6D 6. Soldier who has failed to report 4
7D 7. Military cap 5
8D 8. One of the three dimensions 5
9D 9. Kick ___ fuss 3
10D 10. Counterculture drug, in brief 3
11D 11. 4.75 seconds to assemble a Mr. Potato Head, per Guinness 6
12D 12. Concert venues 6
13D 13. Milky Way, e.g. 6
14D 18. Not as much 4
15D 21. "I crushed it!!!" 6
16D 22. Not just my 3
17D 23. ___-friendly 4
18D 24. Root used in making poi 4
19D 26. Large jug 4
20D 27. Cage for crustaceans 11
21D 30. "American Psycho" author ___ Easton Ellis 4
22D 33. Cartoonist Bechdel 6
23D 35. Mass ___ (Boston thoroughfare) 3
24D 36. Give up 4
25D 38. Was a passenger 4
26D 39. Democrats and Socialists, with "the" 4
27D 40. Father 4
28D 43. Axle, e.g. 3
29D 44. Jewel box 6
30D 45. Start to escalate 6
31D 46. Extraterrestrials 6
32D 48. London theater district 4
33D 51. Object hitting people's heads in old cartoons 5
34D 52. Sibling's daughter 5
35D 54. South American barbecue 5
36D 57. Valley 4
37D 59. High degree 3
38D 60. Response to seeing an aurora, maybe 3
39D 61. Rejections 3
40D 62. College sr.'s test 3
41D 63. 63-Down, in this puzzle 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Accessory for a baby in a highchair"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that top part of an apron; covering the chest
  • Similar words include: tipple
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. British singer Rita"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: bone, osmium, OS
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Efron of "The Greatest Showman""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Last multiple-choice option, often"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied; - the white queen
  • Similar words include: early, former
  • Opposite of: same
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Rude goodbye to an enemy"

11 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Soldier who has failed to report"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one who is away or absent without leave
  • Similar words include: truant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Military cap"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cap with no brim or bill; made of soft cloth
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BERET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. One of the three dimensions"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the extent downward or backward or inward
  • Similar words include: profundity, astuteness, deepness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEPTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Kick ___ fuss"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Counterculture drug, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a powerful hallucinogenic drug manufactured from lysergic acid
  • Similar words include: lysergic acid diethylamide
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. 4.75 seconds to assemble a Mr. Potato Head, per Guinness"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
  • Similar words include: read, immortalize, enter
  • Opposite of: erase
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECORD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Concert venues"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular environment or walk of life
  • Similar words include: sphere, area, arena
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARENAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Milky Way, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
  • Similar words include: galax, beetleweed, wandflower
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALAXY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Not as much"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree
  • Similar words include: to a lesser extent
  • Opposite of: more
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. "I crushed it!!!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Not just my"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. ___-friendly"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
  • Similar words include: drug user, substance abuser, exploiter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "24. Root used in making poi"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants
  • Similar words include: dalo, taro plant, eddo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Large jug"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
  • Similar words include: pitcher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Cage for crustaceans"

11 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. "American Psycho" author ___ Easton Ellis"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Cartoonist Bechdel"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Mass ___ (Boston thoroughfare)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Give up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another
  • Similar words include: concede, surrender, grant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Was a passenger"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
  • Similar words include: bait, drive, depend on
  • Opposite of: walk
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Democrats and Socialists, with "the""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
  • Similar words include: forget, leave, will
  • Opposite of: right, arrive
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Father"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a title of address formerly used for a man of rank and authority
  • Similar words include: bring forth, mother, get
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Axle, e.g."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin implement made of metal or wood
  • Similar words include: rod cell, perch, gat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Jewel box"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Start to escalate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Extraterrestrials"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
  • Similar words include: noncitizen, alienate, alien
  • Opposite of: acquaintance, citizen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. London theater district"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a district in southwestern manhattan noted for its shops and restaurants and galleries and artist's lofts
  • Similar words include: South of Houston
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Object hitting people's heads in old cartoons"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering
  • Similar words include: incus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANVIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Sibling's daughter"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a daughter of your brother or sister
  • Opposite of: nephew
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIECE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. South American barbecue"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Valley"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. High degree"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that last or greatest in an indefinitely large series
  • Similar words include: n-th
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Response to seeing an aurora, maybe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
  • Similar words include: fear, reverence, veneration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Rejections"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding curium with carbon ions; 7 isotopes are known
  • Similar words include: atomic number 102, nobelium, No
  • Opposite of: yes
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. College sr.'s test"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "63. 63-Down, in this puzzle"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: destruction, oddment, goal
  • Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: END

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 23, 2026 at 05:13 AM