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Monday, October 5, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers October 05, 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: 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. Write on stone, maybe 4
2A 5. Request at the bottom of an invitation 4
3A 9. Follower of Jah, informally 5
4A 14. "Me neither" 4
5A 15. Great Plains tribe 4
6A 16. Set of moral principles 5
7A 17. Famous ___ cookies 4
8A 18. Downfall in pinball 4
9A 19. Course for future therapists, for short 5
10A 20. Spot to work out knotted muscles 12
11A 23. U.F.O. occupants, in brief 3
12A 24. Yank 3
13A 25. Reach quickly, as a conclusion 6
14A 29. Internet meme feline 6
15A 31. "___ your mouth!" 4
16A 33. Stadium cheer 3
17A 34. Holiday at the end of Ramadan, informally 3
18A 35. Memphis barbecue staple 9
19A 37. Military rank above cpl. 3
20A 38. Tusked animals 5
21A 39. Squiggle shape 3
22A 40. Key to Aladdin's success 9
23A 42. ___ Paulo, Brazil 3
24A 43. Before, poetically 3
25A 44. Acorn growers 4
26A 45. Dress seen at Oktoberfest 6
27A 48. Black ___ (some spiders) 6
28A 50. Mental cloud 3
29A 51. Drag performer's accessory 3
30A 52. "Ah, that's where things get difficult" ... or what can be said about 20-, 35- and 40-Across? 12
31A 56. Singer Baker 5
32A 59. When Fantine sings "I Dreamed a Dream" in "Les Misérables" 4
33A 60. Block toy with its own chain of theme parks 4
34A 61. Bathroom door sign 5
35A 62. Occasion for a teen to rent a tux 4
36A 63. Spot for a wolf pack 4
37A 64. Weapon in a scabbard 5
38A 65. Manager of an apt. bldg. 4
39A 66. Squeaks (by) 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Write on stone, maybe"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make an etching of
  • Similar words include: engrave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Request at the bottom of an invitation"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Follower of Jah, informally"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that follower of rastafarianism
  • Similar words include: Rastafarian
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. "Me neither""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Great Plains tribe"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the platte and missouri rivers in nebraska
  • Similar words include: Oto
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Set of moral principles"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group
  • Similar words include: value orientation, ethical code, moral principle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Famous ___ cookies"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
  • Similar words include: Book of Amos
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Downfall in pinball"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances
  • Similar words include: angle, disceptation, leaning
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Course for future therapists, for short"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Spot to work out knotted muscles"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. U.F.O. occupants, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Yank"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden abrupt pull
  • Similar words include: tugboat, labour, tower
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Reach quickly, as a conclusion"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Internet meme feline"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. "___ your mouth!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
  • Similar words include: shut out, keep out, closed
  • Opposite of: admit, open
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Stadium cheer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Holiday at the end of Ramadan, informally"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Memphis barbecue staple"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that baked or roasted with a spicy sauce
  • Similar words include: sparerib, barbecued spareribs
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPARERIBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Military rank above cpl."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Tusked animals"

5 letters Category: Common Word

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!

21A: "39. Squiggle shape"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Key to Aladdin's success"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. ___ Paulo, Brazil"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "43. Before, poetically"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "44. Acorn growers"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
  • Similar words include: oak, oak tree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Dress seen at Oktoberfest"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a full skirt with a gathered waistband
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIRNDL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "48. Black ___ (some spiders)"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
  • Similar words include: widow woman, widow
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIDOWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. Mental cloud"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
  • Similar words include: murkiness, obnubilate, obscure
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Drag performer's accessory"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur
  • Similar words include: feather boa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "52. "Ah, that's where things get difficult" ... or what can be said about 20-, 35- and 40-Across?"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "56. Singer Baker"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "59. When Fantine sings "I Dreamed a Dream" in "Les Misérables""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "60. Block toy with its own chain of theme parks"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (trademark) a child's plastic construction set for making mechanical models
  • Similar words include: Lego set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "61. Bathroom door sign"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
  • Similar words include: womanhood, charwoman, fair sex
  • Opposite of: man
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. Occasion for a teen to rent a tux"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
  • Similar words include: promenade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Spot for a wolf pack"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
  • Similar words include: den
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. Weapon in a scabbard"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
  • Similar words include: blade, brand, steel
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWORD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "65. Manager of an apt. bldg."

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "66. Squeaks (by)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Tooth covering 6
2D 2. Fruit, botanically, that's treated as a vegetable 6
3D 3. One way to sit while meditating 11
4D 4. Snake's warning 4
5D 5. Cheap hooch 6
6D 6. ___ Larsson, author of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" 5
7D 7. Bygone electric Chevy 4
8D 8. Org. that advocates for "cruelty-free" products 4
9D 9. Filled to the gills 7
10D 10. Completely lost 5
11D 11. Not likely to make the first move, say 3
12D 12. Unconscious mannerism 3
13D 13. German outburst 3
14D 21. Slightly 4
15D 22. Things you might see when you're not wearing glasses 5
16D 26. Escape from jail 11
17D 27. Clickables at the top of a computer screen 4
18D 28. Exclamations of surprise 3
19D 30. Commercial lead-in to card 4
20D 31. Inundates with junk mail 5
21D 32. Musical instrument in the Guinness logo 4
22D 35. Luxuriate in a bathtub 4
23D 36. "___ Window" 4
24D 37. South Asian dress 4
25D 38. Nonchalant 5
26D 40. Kitten's call 3
27D 41. Ranch worker 7
28D 42. [Oh, well] 4
29D 45. Serve a jail sentence 6
30D 46. Dance craze of the 2010s 6
31D 47. Hercules had 12 of these 6
32D 49. Playful aquatic animal 5
33D 50. Camera lens setting 5
34D 53. Emulates Big Boi and Lil' Kim 4
35D 54. Light beige 4
36D 55. Woods of "Legally Blonde" 4
37D 56. Reactions to something adorable 3
38D 57. "Immediately!" 3
39D 58. "If you ask me ...," to a texter 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tooth covering"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hard white substance covering the crown of a tooth
  • Similar words include: tooth enamel
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENAMEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Fruit, botanically, that's treated as a vegetable"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mildly acid red or yellow pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable
  • Similar words include: Lycopersicon esculentum, tomato plant, love apple
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. One way to sit while meditating"

11 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Snake's warning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
  • Similar words include: razz, fizzle, hushing
  • Opposite of: applaud
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HISS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Cheap hooch"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any alcoholic beverage of inferior quality
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTGUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. ___ Larsson, author of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Bygone electric Chevy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Org. that advocates for "cruelty-free" products"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Filled to the gills"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill to satisfaction
  • Similar words include: sate, full, instinct
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REPLETE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Completely lost"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Not likely to make the first move, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quick throw
  • Similar words include: diffident, timid, unsure
  • Opposite of: confident
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Unconscious mannerism"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a local and habitual twitching especially in the face
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. German outburst"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Slightly"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Things you might see when you're not wearing glasses"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hazy or indistinct representation
  • Similar words include: slur, blur, obnubilate
  • Opposite of: focus
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLURS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Escape from jail"

11 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an escape from jail
  • Similar words include: breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRISONBREAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Clickables at the top of a computer screen"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bill in a restaurant
  • Similar words include: tabloid, chit, tablet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Exclamations of surprise"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a midwestern state in north central united states in the great lakes region
  • Similar words include: Ohio, OH, Buckeye State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Commercial lead-in to card"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Inundates with junk mail"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a canned meat made largely from pork
  • Similar words include: Spam, spam, junk e-mail
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Musical instrument in the Guinness logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers
  • Similar words include: mouth organ, mouth harp, dwell
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Luxuriate in a bathtub"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid)
  • Similar words include: surcharge, sop, dowse
  • Opposite of: undercharge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. "___ Window""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the back of a military formation or procession
  • Similar words include: tooshie, tail end, hind end
  • Opposite of: front, head
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. South Asian dress"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dress worn primarily by hindu women; consists of several yards of light material that is draped around the body
  • Similar words include: saree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Nonchalant"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that very sophisticated especially because of surfeit; versed in the ways of the world
  • Similar words include: bored, worldly
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. Kitten's call"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
  • Similar words include: sea mew, miaou, meow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Ranch worker"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
  • Similar words include: cowherd, puncher, cowpuncher
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COWHAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. [Oh, well]"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an utterance made by exhaling audibly
  • Similar words include: suspire, suspiration
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Serve a jail sentence"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Dance craze of the 2010s"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Hercules had 12 of these"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: Labour, task, labor movement
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Playful aquatic animal"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fur of an otter
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Camera lens setting"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Emulates Big Boi and Lil' Kim"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
  • Similar words include: knap, pink, knock
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Light beige"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light brown
  • Similar words include: beige
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECRU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Woods of "Legally Blonde""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Reactions to something adorable"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. "Immediately!""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the momentary present
  • Similar words include: straightaway, straight off, nowadays
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. "If you ask me ...," to a texter"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the united nations agency concerned with international maritime activities
  • Similar words include: International Maritime Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMO

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.

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: October 05, 2026 at 10:40 AM

Sunday, May 31, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 31, 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. Sacsayhuamán fortress builders 5
2A 6. Literary forerunner of Captain Hook 4
3A 10. Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds" 4
4A 14. Help-wanted letters 3
5A 17. Fermented vegan protein 6
6A 19. Wrestler/actor John 4
7A 20. Coin with 12 stars around the border 4
8A 21. Align 4
9A 22. Home of the legendary folk hero at 116-Across 11
10A 24. One involved with checks and balances 9
11A 26. Without 4
12A 27. Green spaces 8
13A 29. Hero of Arabian tales 7
14A 30. In the past 3
15A 31. ___ Mahal 3
16A 32. Expertise demonstrated by 116-Across in a fabled feat of precision 12
17A 34. Home Run ___ (annual M.L.B. event) 5
18A 36. D.O.J. agency 3
19A 39. Fuel-efficient Toyota 5
20A 40. Main ideas 5
21A 41. Athletic skill mastered by 116-Across 7
22A 44. W-9 fig. 3
23A 45. Banned substance, in sports lingo 3
24A 46. Diego Rivera project 5
25A 48. Apt name for a lawyer 3
26A 49. Laughed loudly 6
27A 52. N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse 3
28A 53. Like the Statue of Liberty at night 5
29A 55. Beatle who sang "Yellow Submarine" 5
30A 57. Sailor's septet 4
31A 60. Go-getter's opposite 8
32A 62. Through 3
33A 63. "Drat!," in Dortmund 3
34A 65. "The Situation Room" airer 3
35A 66. Chirruping bird 7
36A 67. Pat down 5
37A 69. City sobriquet that might describe the target for 116-Across, as depicted in this puzzle 11
38A 71. Stuff in a puff 3
39A 72. She-ep? 3
40A 73. Home to the Burj Khalifa, in brief 3
41A 74. Appointments that may lead to better contacts 8
42A 76. Dampens 4
43A 78. "Whoa, ___!" 5
44A 80. Bel ___ cheese 5
45A 81. Instinctive 3
46A 82. Religious dissent 6
47A 84. $5 bill, slangily 3
48A 85. Actress Spacek 5
49A 87. Negative logic gate in electrical engineering 3
50A 88. Cartesian conclusion 3
51A 91. Composer of an overture dedicated to 116-Across 7
52A 93. Gets lost 5
53A 96. Came to a conclusion 5
54A 98. "Doctor ___" 3
55A 99. Start of an encrypted URL 5
56A 103. Streaker in the night sky ... or a punny description of 116-Across 12
57A 106. Acid 3
58A 108. Unprocessed, as data 3
59A 109. Inspiration for many seasonal festivals 7
60A 110. Oscar-winning 2019 film directed by Bong Joon Ho 8
61A 113. Smoke, perhaps 4
62A 114. What may begin at the end 9
63A 116. Legendary figure who's the subject of this puzzle 11
64A 118. Orchard selection 4
65A 119. Lot calculation 4
66A 120. "All's well with me" 4
67A 121. Human 6
68A 122. Masthead figs. 3
69A 123. Timid 4
70A 124. Quibbles 4
71A 125. Ruses 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sacsayhuamán fortress builders"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
  • Similar words include: Incan, Inca, Inka
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Literary forerunner of Captain Hook"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that according to the old testament he was a pagan king of israel and husband of jezebel (9th century bc)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person trained to compete in sports
  • Similar words include: jockstrap, supporter, athlete
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JOCK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Help-wanted letters"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an internationally recognized distress signal in radio code
  • Similar words include: soh, sol, so
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Fermented vegan protein"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "19. Wrestler/actor John"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Coin with 12 stars around the border"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit of most members of the european union (introduced in 1999); in 2002 twelve european nations (germany, france, belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, italy, spain, portugal, ireland, greece, austria, finland) adopted the euro as their basic unit of money and abandoned their traditional currencies
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EURO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Align"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make synchronous and adjust in time or manner
  • Similar words include: synchronize, synchronise
  • Opposite of: desynchronize, desynchronise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYNC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Home of the legendary folk hero at 116-Across"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a landlocked federal republic in central europe
  • Similar words include: Svizzera, Swiss Confederation, Schweiz
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWITZERLAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "24. One involved with checks and balances"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an officer charged with receiving and disbursing funds
  • Similar words include: financial officer
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREASURER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Without"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Green spaces"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
  • Similar words include: browse, grazing land, range
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTURES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Hero of Arabian tales"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. In the past"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gone by; or in the past
  • Similar words include: agone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. ___ Mahal"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Expertise demonstrated by 116-Across in a fabled feat of precision"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that skill in shooting
  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARKSMANSHIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Home Run ___ (annual M.L.B. event)"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
  • Similar words include: plug hat, bowler hat, bowler
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DERBY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. D.O.J. agency"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the law enforcement and tax collection agency of the treasury department that enforces federal laws concerning alcohol and tobacco products and firearms and explosives and arson
  • Similar words include: Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Fuel-efficient Toyota"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Main ideas"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
  • Similar words include: heart, meat, sum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GISTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Athletic skill mastered by 116-Across"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sport of shooting arrows with a bow
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCHERY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. W-9 fig."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Banned substance, in sports lingo"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Diego Rivera project"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a painting that is applied to a wall surface
  • Similar words include: wall painting
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MURAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Apt name for a lawyer"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french writer whose novels described the sordid side of city life (1804-1857)
  • Similar words include: action, Eugene Sue, process
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Laughed loudly"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
  • Similar words include: howl, yawl, bellow
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROARED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Like the Statue of Liberty at night"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Beatle who sang "Yellow Submarine""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rock star and drummer for the beatles (born in 1940)
  • Similar words include: Richard Starkey, Starkey, Ringo Starr
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STARR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. Sailor's septet"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
  • Similar words include: sea, ocean
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Go-getter's opposite"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who fails to meet a financial obligation
  • Similar words include: defaulter
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEADBEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Through"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. "Drat!," in Dortmund"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. "The Situation Room" airer"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Chirruping bird"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
  • Similar words include: Prunella modularis, dunnock, hedge sparrow
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPARROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Pat down"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of searching someone for concealed weapons or illegal drugs
  • Similar words include: rollick, run around, frisking
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRISK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. City sobriquet that might describe the target for 116-Across, as depicted in this puzzle"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "71. Stuff in a puff"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
  • Similar words include: send, air travel, melody
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "72. She-ep?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "73. Home to the Burj Khalifa, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "74. Appointments that may lead to better contacts"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "76. Dampens"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: moisture, wet
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "78. "Whoa, ___!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "80. Bel ___ cheese"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "81. Instinctive"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus
  • Similar words include: intestine, bowel, catgut
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "82. Religious dissent"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position
  • Similar words include: heterodoxy, unorthodoxy
  • Opposite of: orthodoxy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERESY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "84. $5 bill, slangily"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "85. Actress Spacek"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
  • Similar words include: sissyish, cissy, emasculate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SISSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "87. Negative logic gate in electrical engineering"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "88. Cartesian conclusion"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "91. Composer of an overture dedicated to 116-Across"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian composer remembered for his operas (1792-1868)
  • Similar words include: Giloacchino Antonio Rossini
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSSINI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "93. Gets lost"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument
  • Similar words include: scat, bunk, scarper
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "96. Came to a conclusion"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
  • Similar words include: terminate, over, terminated
  • Opposite of: begin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "98. "Doctor ___""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
  • Similar words include: World Health Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "99. Start of an encrypted URL"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protocol (utilizing tcp) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • Similar words include: HTTP, hypertext transfer protocol
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HTTPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "103. Streaker in the night sky ... or a punny description of 116-Across"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "106. Acid"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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!

58A: "108. Unprocessed, as data"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for nakedness
  • Similar words include: in the raw, bleak, crude
  • Opposite of: cooked
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "109. Inspiration for many seasonal festivals"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the yield from plants in a single growing season
  • Similar words include: harvest time, harvesting, crop
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARVEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "110. Oscar-winning 2019 film directed by Bong Joon Ho"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host
  • Similar words include: sponge, leech, sponger
  • Opposite of: host
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARASITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "113. Smoke, perhaps"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieve pain
  • Similar words include: heal, curative, therapeutic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62A: "114. What may begin at the end"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that life after death
  • Similar words include: hereafter
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFTERLIFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63A: "116. Legendary figure who's the subject of this puzzle"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64A: "118. Orchard selection"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
  • Similar words include: Pyrus communis, pear tree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

65A: "119. Lot calculation"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: country, expanse, orbit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66A: "120. "All's well with me""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67A: "121. Human"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human being
  • Similar words include: somebody, person, deadly
  • Opposite of: immortal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORTAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68A: "122. Masthead figs."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

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, ED, explosive detection system
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69A: "123. Timid"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

70A: "124. Quibbles"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a luminance unit equal to 1 candle per square meter measured perpendicular to the rays from the source
  • Similar words include: nit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

71A: "125. Ruses"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker
  • Similar words include: ploy, stratagem, gambit
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. "What a bummer" 6
2D 2. À la Enya 6
3D 3. Key with three flats 6
4D 4. Studios and penthouses: Abbr. 4
5D 5. "___ me!" 3
6D 6. Knee parts, for short 4
7D 7. Part of a track meet 4
8D 8. Per ___ (accounting term) 5
9D 9. Undeserved condemnation 6
10D 10. Watercraft that leave "rooster tails" in their wakes 7
11D 11. "___ home and native land!" 3
12D 12. Absolutely whomps, in sports lingo 6
13D 13. "Bear" that's not a bear 5
14D 14. Some red wines 6
15D 15. Smallest quantity of digital data 6
16D 16. Abandons, as a project 6
17D 18. Purifying filter acronym 4
18D 21. Eases 8
19D 23. Jasmine's tiger companion in "Aladdin" 5
20D 25. Big name in sewing machines 6
21D 28. Messes up 4
22D 31. TV host Banks 4
23D 33. Longtime jazz bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name 5
24D 35. Where Cary Grant orders a Gibson in a classic scene from "North by Northwest" 6
25D 37. Magnetic unit named for an inventor 5
26D 38. Productive ... or a punny description of the feat performed by 116-Across? 8
27D 42. Many a liquor license applicant 9
28D 43. As of now 3
29D 45. Board game with ancient origins 9
30D 46. Gooey chocolate dessert 6
31D 47. Discover 7
32D 50. Holds forth 6
33D 51. Tenth, in Latin 7
34D 54. Small flycatchers named for their call, not their size 6
35D 55. Bro kin 3
36D 56. What 116-Across did before and after this puzzle's feat? 8
37D 58. Dread-full? 6
38D 59. Popular beverage brand 7
39D 61. Dr. ___ 3
40D 62. Compete 3
41D 64. Bad spelling? 3
42D 66. Lead-in to bones or bucks 3
43D 68. Sunbeam 3
44D 70. Abandons a project, slangily 6
45D 75. "Oy!" 5
46D 77. Forwarded 8
47D 79. Full of tall tales 5
48D 80. It's better than a bogey 3
49D 83. Team lineup 6
50D 86. Like most modern TV broadcasts 4
51D 89. "Money-back guarantee" and "Limited-time offer" 7
52D 90. Self-referential 4
53D 92. Conductor Georg 5
54D 93. Snaky double curve 6
55D 94. Really irritated 6
56D 95. Main lines 6
57D 96. Full 6
58D 97. Australian city named for a scientist 6
59D 100. Closely following 6
60D 101. Gambler's combo bet 6
61D 102. Waves sought by surfers 6
62D 104. Five Pillars religion 5
63D 105. "Spider-Man" director Sam 5
64D 107. Stitcher's line 4
65D 111. Tee time or airtime, e.g. 4
66D 112. Sorts 4
67D 113. Corner key 4
68D 115. Toll 3
69D 117. Bucket list item? 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. "What a bummer""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. À la Enya"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Key with three flats"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Studios and penthouses: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "___ me!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Knee parts, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Part of a track meet"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
  • Similar words include: oestrus, heating, rut
  • Opposite of: coldness, cool
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Per ___ (accounting term)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (latin) year
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Undeserved condemnation"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Watercraft that leave "rooster tails" in their wakes"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "___ home and native land!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Absolutely whomps, in sports lingo"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the best people or things in a group
  • Similar words include: clobber, drub, lick
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "Bear" that's not a bear"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sluggish tailless australian arboreal marsupial with grey furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark
  • Similar words include: kangaroo bear, koala bear, native bear
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KOALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Some red wines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Smallest quantity of digital data"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "16. Abandons, as a project"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
  • Similar words include: fighting, combat, altercate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCRAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "18. Purifying filter acronym"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "21. Eases"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wear off or die down
  • Similar words include: subside, lessen, sink
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUBSIDES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "23. Jasmine's tiger companion in "Aladdin""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prince or king in india
  • Similar words include: raja
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAJAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "25. Big name in sewing machines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who sings
  • Similar words include: Isaac Merrit Singer, Isaac M. Singer, vocalizer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINGER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Messes up"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Similar words include: mistake, stray, err
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. TV host Banks"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Longtime jazz bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Where Cary Grant orders a Gibson in a classic scene from "North by Northwest""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Magnetic unit named for an inventor"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Productive ... or a punny description of the feat performed by 116-Across?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that productive or conducive to producing in abundance
  • Opposite of: unfruitful
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRUITFUL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Many a liquor license applicant"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. As of now"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that up to the present time
  • Similar words include: notwithstanding, even so, nonetheless
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Board game with ancient origins"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a modern board game based on pachisi
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARCHEESI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Gooey chocolate dessert"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Discover"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bring to light
  • Similar words include: excavate
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNEARTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Holds forth"

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: ORATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Tenth, in Latin"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Small flycatchers named for their call, not their size"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small olive-colored woodland flycatchers of eastern north america
  • Similar words include: pewit, wood pewee, peewit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEWEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Bro kin"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female person who has the same parents as another person
  • Similar words include: International System, SI, sister
  • Opposite of: brother
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. What 116-Across did before and after this puzzle's feat?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Dread-full?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Popular beverage brand"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Dr. ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. Compete"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
  • Similar words include: contend, compete
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Bad spelling?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil spell
  • Similar words include: enchant, glamour, curse
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "66. Lead-in to bones or bucks"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
  • Similar words include: get wind, view, fancy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "68. Sunbeam"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: beam of light, shaft, irradiate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "70. Abandons a project, slangily"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45D: "75. "Oy!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46D: "77. Forwarded"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47D: "79. Full of tall tales"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
  • Similar words include: fabrication, lie, lie down
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48D: "80. It's better than a bogey"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (golf) the standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course
  • Similar words include: equivalence, equality, equation
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49D: "83. Team lineup"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a list of names
  • Similar words include: roll
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50D: "86. Like most modern TV broadcasts"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51D: "89. "Money-back guarantee" and "Limited-time offer""

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52D: "90. Self-referential"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53D: "92. Conductor Georg"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54D: "93. Snaky double curve"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55D: "94. Really irritated"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
  • Similar words include: annoy, galled, get at
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAFED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56D: "95. Main lines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the large trunk artery that carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to branch arteries
  • Similar words include: aorta
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AORTAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57D: "96. Full"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uncastrated adult male horse
  • Similar words include: total, full, intact
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58D: "97. Australian city named for a scientist"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
  • Similar words include: Charles Robert Darwin, Charles Darwin
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARWIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59D: "100. Closely following"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60D: "101. Gambler's combo bet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a series of wagers in which the winnings from one wager are used as a stake for the subsequent wagers
  • Similar words include: double up
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARLAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61D: "102. Waves sought by surfers"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
  • Similar words include: dude, fop, crestless wave
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWELLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62D: "104. Five Pillars religion"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the civilization of muslims collectively which is governed by the muslim religion
  • Similar words include: Muhammadanism, Muslimism, Mohammedanism
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63D: "105. "Spider-Man" director Sam"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64D: "107. Stitcher's line"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
  • Similar words include: wrinkle, furrow, crinkle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

65D: "111. Tee time or airtime, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position in a grammatical linguistic construction in which a variety of alternative units are interchangeable
  • Similar words include: expansion slot, time slot, one-armed bandit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66D: "112. Sorts"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a kind of person
  • Similar words include: ilk, like
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67D: "113. Corner key"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68D: "115. Toll"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
  • Similar words include: tip, bung
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69D: "117. Bucket list item?"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
  • Similar words include: swob, pout, mop up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOP

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

71 Across Clues
69 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 31, 2026 at 07:09 AM