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

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 12, 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. Mentions by username, on social media 4
2A 5. High range 6
3A 11. Hits up on Insta, say 3
4A 14. ___ vez (again, in Spanish) 4
5A 15. Torment 6
6A 16. On the sea, it's akin to "Sí" 3
7A 17. Where Docs and Sheets are stored 11
8A 19. Jordan joined it in 1984, for short 3
9A 20. Pal 5
10A 21. Only number that appears twice in the Fibonacci sequence 3
11A 22. Rip-off 4
12A 23. Measurements of Wi-Fi performance 13
13A 27. Didn't have a match in Go Fish, say 4
14A 28. Feeling little to no amorous attraction, in L.G.B.T.Q.+ lingo 3
15A 29. Identity prefix 3
16A 32. Baldwin with a record 17 appearances as "Saturday Night Live" host 4
17A 35. Unwanted divisions 5
18A 38. Web volume measured in hits ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 49- and 61-Across 15
19A 42. 2024 film that won Best Picture 5
20A 43. Boba tea flavor 4
21A 44. Word with run or resort 3
22A 45. Throw, for instance 3
23A 46. Buddhist leader 4
24A 49. Major consequence of a virus, perhaps 13
25A 55. Extreme craving 4
26A 56. "OK," in Osaka 3
27A 57. "Like ___!" ("Whatever!") 5
28A 60. "Sorry, it's ___ from me" 3
29A 61. Cause of some slow data transfers 11
30A 64. Highly monitored area, for short 3
31A 65. Flowery 6
32A 66. Affinity for something, so to speak 4
33A 67. Home of Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with "the" 3
34A 68. Snipes of "White Men Can't Jump" 6
35A 69. Baking amts. 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Mentions by username, on social media"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a label written or printed on paper, cardboard, or plastic that is attached to something to indicate its owner, nature, price, etc.
  • Similar words include: tail, go after, ticket
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. High range"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the pitch range of the highest female voice
  • Similar words include: threefold, three-fold, double
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Hits up on Insta, say"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria
  • Similar words include: DM, dm, decimeter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. ___ vez (again, in Spanish)"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Torment"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cultivator that pulverizes or smooths the soil
  • Similar words include: disk
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. On the sea, it's akin to "Sí""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Where Docs and Sheets are stored"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Jordan joined it in 1984, for short"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Pal"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friend or comrade
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMIGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Only number that appears twice in the Fibonacci sequence"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: 1, peerless, nonpareil
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Rip-off"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fraudulent business scheme
  • Similar words include: defraud, gyp, con
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Measurements of Wi-Fi performance"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Didn't have a match in Go Fish, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states actor (born in ireland); father of georgiana emma barrymore (1827-1862)
  • Similar words include: thread, trace, pass
  • Opposite of: repel, deposit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Feeling little to no amorous attraction, in L.G.B.T.Q.+ lingo"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Identity prefix"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alliance made up of states that had been soviet socialist republics in the soviet union prior to its dissolution in dec 1991
  • Similar words include: Commonwealth of Independent States, Ci, curie
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Baldwin with a record 17 appearances as "Saturday Night Live" host"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Unwanted divisions"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gap between cloud masses
  • Similar words include: breach, rift, falling out
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIFTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. Web volume measured in hits ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 49- and 61-Across"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. 2024 film that won Best Picture"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Boba tea flavor"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Word with run or resort"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that narrow wood or metal or plastic runners used in pairs for gliding over snow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Throw, for instance"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
  • Similar words include: carpet, carpeting
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Buddhist leader"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tibetan or mongolian priest of lamaism
  • Similar words include: genus Lama
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "49. Major consequence of a virus, perhaps"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "55. Extreme craving"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong sexual desire
  • Similar words include: hunger, lecherousness, crave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "56. "OK," in Osaka"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. "Like ___!" ("Whatever!")"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. "Sorry, it's ___ from me""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a palestinian international terrorist organization that split from the plo in 1974; has conducted terrorist attacks in 20 countries
  • Similar words include: Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims, Abu Nidal Organization, Black September
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Cause of some slow data transfers"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Highly monitored area, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care
  • Similar words include: intensive care unit
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Flowery"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with decorative details; ; -john milton
  • Similar words include: flowery
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORNATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Affinity for something, so to speak"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: wind, poke, olfactory organ
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Home of Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with "the""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come together
  • Similar words include: fill, receive, run across
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Snipes of "White Men Can't Jump""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english clergyman and brother of john wesley who wrote many hymns (1707-1788)
  • Similar words include: John Wesley, Charles Wesley
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WESLEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Baking amts."

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Party wrap 4
2D 2. Bit of chemistry 4
3D 3. Bad thing to pull while running 5
4D 4. Failed under pressure, in a way 6
5D 5. Hot French beverage 3
6D 6. "Sick, dude!" 3
7D 7. What a bug may cause 5
8D 8. Cusp 5
9D 9. Is gaga for 5
10D 10. Farm female 3
11D 11. "Battles" of those busting moves 9
12D 12. "I messed up" 5
13D 13. Lines in mines 5
14D 18. Tolkien fantasy series inits. 4
15D 22. Little flourish on a letter 5
16D 24. Break off gradually 4
17D 25. Barn nestling 5
18D 26. Lawyer's aide, informally 4
19D 29. Org. in the Jack Ryan movies 3
20D 30. Tabard ___, locale in "The Canterbury Tales" 3
21D 31. Leaves in a huff 9
22D 33. Greek letter representing elasticity in economics 3
23D 34. PC "copy" shortcut 5
24D 36. ___Tok 3
25D 37. STEM part: Abbr. 3
26D 39. Go ballistic 5
27D 40. Big name in pasta sauce 4
28D 41. Pride sound 4
29D 47. ___ Marian (English folklore heroine) 4
30D 48. It's on the up and up 6
31D 49. Fraud victim's filing 5
32D 50. Perfumery unit 5
33D 51. "And ... voilà!" 5
34D 52. Comes to deserve 5
35D 53. Measure up to, as in competition 5
36D 54. Nickname for M.L.B.'s Angels 5
37D 58. Feature of one's voice following a loud concert, say 4
38D 59. Potato discards 4
39D 61. Farm female 3
40D 62. It ends in septembre 3
41D 63. Singer Lana Del ___ 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Party wrap"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a one-piece cloak worn by men in ancient rome
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOGA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Bit of chemistry"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
  • Similar words include: speck, molecule, corpuscle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Bad thing to pull while running"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals
  • Similar words include: breakwater, seawall, bulwark
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Failed under pressure, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
  • Similar words include: droop, flag, sag down
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Hot French beverage"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Sick, dude!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material
  • Similar words include: radian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. What a bug may cause"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
  • Similar words include: fault, misplay, erroneous belief
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERROR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Cusp"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a region marking a boundary
  • Similar words include: verge, threshold
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Is gaga for"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
  • Similar words include: roll in the hay, hump, fuck
  • Opposite of: hate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Farm female"

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!

11D: "11. "Battles" of those busting moves"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "I messed up""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Lines in mines"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
  • Similar words include: wrinkle, bed, seam
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Tolkien fantasy series inits."

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Little flourish on a letter"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short line at the end of the main strokes of a character
  • Similar words include: seriph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERIF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Break off gradually"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Barn nestling"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Lawyer's aide, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (obstetrics) the number of liveborn children a woman has delivered
  • Similar words include: Feliz Lusitania, paratrooper, Belem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Org. in the Jack Ryan movies"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent agency of the united states government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest; headed by the director of central intelligence under the supervision of the president and national security council
  • Similar words include: Central Intelligence Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Tabard ___, locale in "The Canterbury Tales""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
  • Similar words include: hostel, lodge, auberge
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Leaves in a huff"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Greek letter representing elasticity in economics"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. PC "copy" shortcut"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. ___Tok"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. STEM part: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Go ballistic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that start abruptly
  • Similar words include: flare up, break, break through
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERUPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Big name in pasta sauce"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Pride sound"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep prolonged loud noise
  • Similar words include: holler, bellow, hollo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. ___ Marian (English folklore heroine)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female domestic
  • Similar words include: maiden, maidservant, housemaid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. It's on the up and up"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
  • Similar words include: upgrade, climb, rising
  • Opposite of: fall, descent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASCENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Fraud victim's filing"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
  • Similar words include: take, call, arrogate
  • Opposite of: forfeit, disclaim
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLAIM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Perfumery unit"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a pound
  • Similar words include: oz., snow leopard, troy ounce
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUNCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. "And ... voilà!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a location other than here; that place
  • Similar words include: at that place, in that respect, in that location
  • Opposite of: here
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Comes to deserve"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
  • Similar words include: realise, bring in, garner
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Measure up to, as in competition"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the contestant you hope to defeat
  • Similar words include: equal, competition, challenger
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Nickname for M.L.B.'s Angels"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint
  • Similar words include: aura, glory, aureole
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Feature of one's voice following a loud concert, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uttering in an irritated tone
  • Similar words include: rasping, wood file
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Potato discards"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that opinion or judgment
  • Similar words include: heart, optic, oculus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Farm female"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult female hog
  • Similar words include: seed, inseminate, sow in
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. It ends in septembre"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "63. Singer Lana Del ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: August 12, 2026 at 05:10 AM

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 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: Moderate

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. Potpourri piece 5
2A 6. Bit of pandemic attire 4
3A 10. Cry from a crib, perhaps 4
4A 14. Came up 5
5A 15. Et ___ (and others) 4
6A 16. Some stadium shouts 4
7A 17. Give friendly bites, as a puppy might 5
8A 18. Heaps 4
9A 19. Wrangler on the road 4
10A 20. Hosp. hookups 3
11A 21. Far from any urban center, colloquially 11
12A 24. Trickster figure in Native American folklore 6
13A 26. Cousin of a cravat 5
14A 27. Add as an afterthought 5
15A 29. Lacking a conscience 6
16A 33. Potentially at risk, metaphorically 10
17A 36. Spanish gold 3
18A 37. Nashville has a "grand ole" one 4
19A 38. ___ Speed Wagon (old vehicle) 3
20A 39. Air passage 4
21A 40. Title for M.L.K. Jr. 3
22A 41. In a soaring mood, so to speak 10
23A 45. "Moving right along ..." 6
24A 47. Kind of fund 5
25A 48. Jump and shout for joy 5
26A 51. Ragamuffin 6
27A 54. Metaphor for a parent whose youngest has "launched" ... like the little bird whose progress is suggested by 21-, 33- and 41-Across 11
28A 58. Poem of praise 3
29A 59. "Captain" on Mount Ararat 4
30A 60. Chew as a beaver might 4
31A 61. "Yay me!" 5
32A 63. Doofus 4
33A 64. To be, in Toulouse 4
34A 65. Assuaged 5
35A 66. Corset component 4
36A 67. Medical measure 4
37A 68. In poor condition 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Potpourri piece"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
  • Similar words include: flower petal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Bit of pandemic attire"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a covering to disguise or conceal the face
  • Similar words include: cloak, disguise, masque
  • Opposite of: unmask
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Cry from a crib, perhaps"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for a mother
  • Similar words include: mom, mamma, ma
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Came up"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: bob up, come up, get up
  • Opposite of: turn in, go to bed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Et ___ (and others)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Some stadium shouts"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Give friendly bites, as a puppy might"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Heaps"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large number or amount
  • Similar words include: slews, a good deal, lashings
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Wrangler on the road"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car suitable for traveling over rough terrain
  • Similar words include: landrover
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Hosp. hookups"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
  • Similar words include: quartet, 4, quaternary
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Far from any urban center, colloquially"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Trickster figure in Native American folklore"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small wolf native to western north america
  • Similar words include: brush wolf, Canis latrans, prairie wolf
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COYOTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Cousin of a cravat"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cravat with wide square ends; secured with an ornamental pin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASCOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Add as an afterthought"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Lacking a conscience"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Potentially at risk, metaphorically"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Spanish gold"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Nashville has a "grand ole" one"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. ___ Speed Wagon (old vehicle)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Air passage"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance
  • Similar words include: channel, epithelial duct, canal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUCT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Title for M.L.K. Jr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rate of revolution of a motor
  • Similar words include: rpm, rev up, revolutions per minute
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REV

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. In a soaring mood, so to speak"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. "Moving right along ...""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Kind of fund"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that partially melted snow
  • Similar words include: splash, slosh, splosh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Jump and shout for joy"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feel extreme happiness or elation
  • Similar words include: triumph, jump for joy, walk on air
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXULT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Ragamuffin"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that poor and often mischievous city child
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URCHIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Metaphor for a parent whose youngest has "launched" ... like the little bird whose progress is suggested by 21-, 33- and 41-Across"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Poem of praise"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. "Captain" on Mount Ararat"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of noah and the flood is told in the book of genesis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Chew as a beaver might"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bite or chew on with the teeth
  • Similar words include: erode, eat at, wear away
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GNAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. "Yay me!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Doofus"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: weed, gage, skunk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. To be, in Toulouse"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Assuaged"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move gently or carefully
  • Similar words include: ease, alleviate, relieved
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Corset component"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that continuing or remaining in a place or state
  • Similar words include: halt, outride, delay
  • Opposite of: change, depart
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Medical measure"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
  • Similar words include: VD, drug, window pane
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. In poor condition"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of seeds
  • Similar words include: poorly, sordid, squalid
  • Opposite of: seedless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Freak out 5
2D 2. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia ___ 5
3D 3. Downside-up 10
4D 4. Happy ___ lark 3
5D 5. "Forgive and forget" 7
6D 6. Barley product 4
7D 7. Hi in HI 5
8D 8. Loci 5
9D 9. Source of some Jumbotron entertainment 7
10D 10. Cuban rum cocktail 6
11D 11. Actor Guinness 4
12D 12. Like the ones who shall inherit the earth, in Matthew 5:5 4
13D 13. Horned vipers 4
14D 22. Like some highlighter colors 4
15D 23. ___ of the Unknown Soldier 4
16D 25. Like some cookies and milk 4
17D 28. Not, colloquially 4
18D 30. Engage in boisterous activity 10
19D 31. St. Louis landmark 4
20D 32. Area to build on 3
21D 33. Request from a dentist 4
22D 34. Floral ring 3
23D 35. Charged particles 4
24D 37. Singer Rita 3
25D 39. Chip shape 4
26D 41. Cunning, like Mr. Tod or Swiper 4
27D 42. Chillaxed, say 7
28D 43. It's binding 4
29D 44. Gets a move on 7
30D 46. Possible pronoun pairing 6
31D 49. Slowly, in scores 5
32D 50. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great 5
33D 52. Did diddly-squat 5
34D 53. Tending to cling 5
35D 54. Winds up 4
36D 55. Debatable 4
37D 56. Cry from a crib, perhaps 4
38D 57. Britishly precious 4
39D 62. Issa of "The Lovebirds" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Freak out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
  • Similar words include: terror, scare, affright
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Downside-up"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Happy ___ lark"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "Forgive and forget""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Barley product"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a milkshake made with malt powder
  • Similar words include: malt liquor, malted milk, malted
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Hi in HI"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is hawaiian and ciao is italian)
  • Similar words include: ciao
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOHA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Loci"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
  • Similar words include: sit, model, ride
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Source of some Jumbotron entertainment"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Cuban rum cocktail"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Actor Guinness"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Like the ones who shall inherit the earth, in Matthew 5:5"

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, tame, mild
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Horned vipers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
  • Similar words include: Naja haje, Egyptian cobra, Vipera aspis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "22. Like some highlighter colors"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: atomic number 10, Ne
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. ___ of the Unknown Soldier"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
  • Similar words include: grave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Like some cookies and milk"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "28. Not, colloquially"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used with singular count nouns) colloquial for `not a' or `not one' or `never a'
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "30. Engage in boisterous activity"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that engage in rough or disorderly play
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROUGHHOUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "31. St. Louis landmark"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
  • Similar words include: puckish, arc, patronising
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Area to build on"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: mickle, mass, stack
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Request from a dentist"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: exposed, undecided, undetermined
  • Opposite of: unreceptive, covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Floral ring"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
  • Similar words include: garland, coronal, leu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Charged particles"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
  • Similar words include: ion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Singer Rita"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "39. Chip shape"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
  • Similar words include: platter, magnetic disk, magnetic disc
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Cunning, like Mr. Tod or Swiper"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by skill in deception
  • Similar words include: tricksy, crafty, tricky
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOXY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Chillaxed, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sit or recline comfortably
  • Similar words include: lollygag, linger, lallygag
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOUNGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. It's binding"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive
  • Similar words include: paste, gum, mucilage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Gets a move on"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
  • Similar words include: hurriedness, rush, hurry
  • Opposite of: delay
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HURRIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Possible pronoun pairing"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Slowly, in scores"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of tempo) slow
  • Similar words include: slowly
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male monarch or emperor (especially of russia prior to 1917)
  • Similar words include: tsar, czar, tzar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Did diddly-squat"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that run disconnected or idle
  • Similar words include: stagnate, tick over, idle
  • Opposite of: work, run
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Tending to cling"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that needy people collectively
  • Similar words include: indigent, impoverished, destitute
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Winds up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: cease, terminate, final stage
  • Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Debatable"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise
  • Similar words include: turn over, arguable, debate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Cry from a crib, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
  • Similar words include: pop, dada, dad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Britishly precious"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affectedly dainty or refined
  • Similar words include: niminy-piminy, dainty, prim
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Issa of "The Lovebirds""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: January 27, 2026 at 04:31 AM