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

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 02, 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. "Melts in your mouth" candies ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme 6
2A 7. Mattress or memo follower 3
3A 10. Maine city near the mouth of the Kennebec River 4
4A 14. Mama Morton of "Chicago," for one 6
5A 15. Meaning of "mono-" 3
6A 16. Marco Polo made his way across it 4
7A 17. Much of Mali 6
8A 18. Meet and glance off a bumper, as a pool ball might 8
9A 20. Multicolored implements in many art drawers 12
10A 22. Markdown on Cyber Monday, e.g. 4
11A 24. Maroon and mahogany, for two 6
12A 25. Man's "monkey suit" 3
13A 26. Mom-to-aunt moniker 3
14A 28. Muscular part of a marathoner 3
15A 29. Marshall Mathers ___ Eminem 3
16A 32. Met melody 4
17A 34. Make sure not to miss it! 3
18A 36. Made eyes at in the manner of a satyr 5
19A 38. Marauder's Map encryption phrase in "Harry Potter" 15
20A 42. Minced-meat cake 5
21A 43. Male meower 3
22A 44. "Mega cool!," in modern lingo 4
23A 45. Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr. 3
24A 46. Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief 3
25A 49. Modern-day name for the American Messenger Co. 3
26A 51. Make free (of), maybe 3
27A 52. Munificent man 6
28A 54. Maximum measure of attractiveness, say 4
29A 56. M.L.B. M.V.P. nicknamed the "Commerce Comet" 12
30A 60. Midwest state that's home to Moline 8
31A 61. Many-toothed metal tool 6
32A 65. Much-heard sound from a horse in motion 4
33A 66. Martial arts master Bruce 3
34A 67. Maneuver a monoplane, e.g. 6
35A 68. Mechanics might provide them for their work: Abbr. 4
36A 69. Modern modem inits. 3
37A 70. Maniacs, maybe 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Melts in your mouth" candies ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Mattress or memo follower"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
  • Similar words include: embellish, fill out, lodgings
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Maine city near the mouth of the Kennebec River"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a constant temperature or to lubricate it)
  • Similar words include: bathtub, bathing tub, bathroom
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Mama Morton of "Chicago," for one"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Meaning of "mono-""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Marco Polo made his way across it"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Much of Mali"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern africa
  • Similar words include: Sahara Desert
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAHARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Meet and glance off a bumper, as a pool ball might"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a glancing rebound
  • Similar words include: carom, resile, bound
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICOCHET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Multicolored implements in many art drawers"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Markdown on Cyber Monday, e.g."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular instance of buying or selling
  • Similar words include: flock, allot, sight
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Maroon and mahogany, for two"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spectacles that are darkened or polarized to protect the eyes from the glare of the sun
  • Similar words include: nuance, shade off, shade
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHADES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Man's "monkey suit""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that semiformal evening dress for men
  • Similar words include: black tie, tuxedo, dinner jacket
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Mom-to-aunt moniker"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female person who has the same parents as another person
  • Similar words include: Si, Systeme International d'Unites, si
  • Opposite of: brother
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Muscular part of a marathoner"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
  • Similar words include: branch, wooden leg, pegleg
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Marshall Mathers ___ Eminem"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Met melody"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an elaborate song for solo voice
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Make sure not to miss it!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech
  • Similar words include: pool cue, prompt, clue
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Made eyes at in the manner of a satyr"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look at with amorous intentions
  • Similar words include: ogle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Marauder's Map encryption phrase in "Harry Potter""

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Minced-meat cake"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small flat mass of chopped food
  • Similar words include: cake
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Male meower"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (ethnic slur) offensive and derogatory name for a black man who is abjectly servile and deferential to whites
  • Similar words include: tomcat, turkey cock, tom turkey
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. "Mega cool!," in modern lingo"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands
  • Similar words include: Associate in Nursing, autonomic nervous system, AN
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lightweight consumer electronic device that looks like a hand-held computer but instead performs specific tasks; can serve as a diary or a personal database or a telephone or an alarm clock etc.
  • Similar words include: organizer, organiser, personal organizer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Modern-day name for the American Messenger Co."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Make free (of), maybe"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relieve from
  • Similar words include: free, disembarrass
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Munificent man"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who has or gives or receives a part or a share
  • Similar words include: partaker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHARER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Maximum measure of attractiveness, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sun (or solar disc) which was the deity of a monotheistic cult under the pharaoh akhenaten
  • Similar words include: Aton
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. M.L.B. M.V.P. nicknamed the "Commerce Comet""

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Midwest state that's home to Moline"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a midwestern state in north-central united states
  • Similar words include: Land of Lincoln, Prairie State, IL
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILLINOIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Many-toothed metal tool"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a handsaw for cutting with the grain of the wood
  • Similar words include: splitsaw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIPSAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Much-heard sound from a horse in motion"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound of a horse's hoofs hitting on a hard surface
  • Similar words include: clippety-clop, clip-clop, clump
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Martial arts master Bruce"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
  • Similar words include: Lee Yuen Kam, lee side, Bruce Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. Maneuver a monoplane, e.g."

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that operate an airplane
  • Similar words include: pilot, fly
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVIATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. Mechanics might provide them for their work: Abbr."

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 5th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern united states
  • Similar words include: EST, Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Time
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "69. Modern modem inits."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a generic name for digital lines that are provided by telephone companies to their local subscribers and that carry data at high speeds
  • Similar words include: digital subscriber line
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DSL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "70. Maniacs, maybe"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an insane person
  • Similar words include: maniac, madman, lunatic
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Metric measurements: Abbr. 3
2D 2. Motorists make up this org. 3
3D 3. Maximum degree in math 3
4D 4. Molière's or Mamet's field 5
5D 5. Maxims discouraging misconduct 6
6D 6. Minor mishap 4
7D 7. Many a mailbox locale 5
8D 8. Marmot or marmoset 6
9D 9. Month multiplied by 120 6
10D 10. Musters support for, as a mission 5
11D 11. Men's tennis champ with a Presidential Medal of Freedom 4
12D 12. Measure of a membership 4
13D 13. Milliners manufacture them 4
14D 19. Milwaukie and Mount Hood are here 6
15D 21. Matter to mull over 5
16D 22. Malodorous Malaysian fruit 6
17D 23. Manifests in the material world 6
18D 25. Major metropolis on a bay of the same name 5
19D 27. Map word in Marseille 3
20D 29. Main man for Bill Clinton, 1993-2001 6
21D 30. Maintain, as movie footage 6
22D 31. Made a basic math calculation 5
23D 33. Magician's or marionettist's performance 3
24D 35. Movement of money digitally from bank to bank, in brief 3
25D 37. Meander mindlessly (about) 3
26D 39. Mild-mannered characteristic? 6
27D 40. Miss badly, maybe 5
28D 41. Music magnifier at a concert 3
29D 47. Made a mere 24 hours ago 6
30D 48. Military groups that meet in battle 6
31D 50. Mouth moistener 6
32D 52. Moves merrily 5
33D 53. Mobile stand at a meeting 5
34D 55. Meh ... or medium-temp 5
35D 56. Miniature maze runners 4
36D 57. Major misfortunes 4
37D 58. Medical mass 4
38D 59. Means of transport in a mine 4
39D 62. Musician Cooke who sang "You Send Me" 3
40D 63. Made a meal of 3
41D 64. Ming-Na of 1998's "Mulan" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Metric measurements: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter
  • Similar words include: millimeter, millimetre, mm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Motorists make up this org."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta associated with old age and hypertension
  • Similar words include: abdominal aortic aneurysm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Maximum degree in math"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Molière's or Mamet's field"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
  • Similar words include: dramatic event, dramatic play, play
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Maxims discouraging misconduct"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • Similar words include: morality, lesson, ethics
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Minor mishap"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp protuberance
  • Similar words include: rip, tear, rent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Many a mailbox locale"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Marmot or marmoset"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
  • Similar words include: fleshly, beast, creature
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANIMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Month multiplied by 120"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 10 years
  • Similar words include: decennary, X, 10
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Musters support for, as a mission"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
  • Similar words include: stake, rear, support
  • Opposite of: advance, front
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BACKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Men's tennis champ with a Presidential Medal of Freedom"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states tennis player who was the first black to win united states and english singles championships (1943-1993)
  • Similar words include: Arthur Ashe, Arthur Robert Ashe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Measure of a membership"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
  • Similar words include: level, grade, tier up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Milliners manufacture them"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
  • Similar words include: lid, hat, chapeau
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "19. Milwaukie and Mount Hood are here"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in northwestern united states on the pacific
  • Similar words include: Beaver State, OR
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREGON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Matter to mull over"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an important question that is in dispute and must be settled
  • Similar words include: yield, outcome, result
  • Opposite of: recall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Malodorous Malaysian fruit"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tree of southeastern asia having edible oval fruit with a hard spiny rind
  • Similar words include: Durio zibethinus, durion, durian tree
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DURIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Manifests in the material world"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have an existence, be extant
  • Similar words include: exist, live, survive
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXISTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Major metropolis on a bay of the same name"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a resort city in western florida; located on tampa bay on the gulf of mexico
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAMPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Map word in Marseille"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Main man for Bill Clinton, 1993-2001"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Maintain, as movie footage"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Made a basic math calculation"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
  • Similar words include: append, tot, summate
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Magician's or marionettist's performance"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
  • Similar words include: work, human activity, routine
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Movement of money digitally from bank to bank, in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a newt in its terrestrial stage of development
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Meander mindlessly (about)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Mild-mannered characteristic?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text
  • Similar words include: dash, hyphenate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYPHEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Miss badly, maybe"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feel sadness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Music magnifier at a concert"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of electric current adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: adenylic acid, A, adenosine monophosphate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Made a mere 24 hours ago"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Military groups that meet in battle"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
  • Similar words include: Army, USA, regular army
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Mouth moistener"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
  • Similar words include: spittle, spit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALIVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Moves merrily"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gait in which steps and hops alternate
  • Similar words include: hop, cut, skip over
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Mobile stand at a meeting"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "55. Meh ... or medium-temp"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that moderately warm
  • Similar words include: halfhearted, half-hearted, lukewarm
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEPID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Miniature maze runners"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
  • Similar words include: computer mouse, mouse, black eye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Major misfortunes"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: ill, ailment, complaint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Medical mass"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lump of material formed from the content of a liquid
  • Similar words include: curdle, coagulate, clog
  • Opposite of: homogenize
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Means of transport in a mine"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
  • Similar words include: trolley car, tramway, tramcar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Musician Cooke who sang "You Send Me""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
  • Similar words include: surface-to-air missile
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "63. Made a meal of"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Ming-Na of 1998's "Mulan""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a common cyst of the skin; filled with fatty matter (sebum) that is secreted by a sebaceous gland that has been blocked
  • Similar words include: sebaceous cyst, steatocystoma, pilar cyst
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEN

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
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: September 02, 2026 at 08:00 AM

Saturday, February 7, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 07, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

Master today's NYT crossword with our expert hint system. We provide synonyms, antonyms, and strategic clues to help you solve without spoiling the fun. Perfect for crossword lovers who want that satisfying "aha!" moment.

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Breakfast bar item 11
2A 12. Summer picnic side dish 13
3A 14. Homo sapiens, e.g. 15
4A 16. Curio shop treasure 6
5A 17. Singer with the 2016 Grammy-winning soul ballad "Cranes in the Sky" 7
6A 18. Losing propositions? 5
7A 19. Keep-on-keeping-on quality 4
8A 21. Cause for getting stuck 4
9A 22. Not, colloquially 4
10A 23. Misdirect 4
11A 24. Airbnb inclusion, usually 5
12A 25. Some control buttons 3
13A 26. Like hand-to-hand fighting 10
14A 28. On the starting line 9
15A 29. Over/under and point spread 10
16A 31. Small squeeze from a tube 3
17A 34. Dome-shaped Buddhist shrine 5
18A 35. Fancy-schmancy 4
19A 36. Pronoun in Texas 4
20A 37. Instrument depicted in paintings by Hals and Caravaggio 4
21A 38. "OMG"-evoking deed 4
22A 39. Use for a yew 5
23A 40. As good as it gets 7
24A 42. Isle of Sappho 6
25A 43. They make low digits smaller 15
26A 46. What a pitcher tries to do 13
27A 47. Former e-book devices, until 2014 11

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Breakfast bar item"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "12. Summer picnic side dish"

13 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "14. Homo sapiens, e.g."

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "16. Curio shop treasure"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that eccentricity that is not easily explained
  • Similar words include: quirk, oddment, crotchet
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Singer with the 2016 Grammy-winning soul ballad "Cranes in the Sky""

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Losing propositions?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prescribed selection of foods
  • Similar words include: diet, dieting
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Keep-on-keeping-on quality"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard coarse-grained siliceous sandstone
  • Similar words include: sand, gumption, guts
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Cause for getting stuck"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  • Similar words include: entangle, quag, grind to a halt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Not, colloquially"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

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!

10A: "23. Misdirect"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who lacks good judgment
  • Similar words include: tomfool, mug, befool
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Airbnb inclusion, usually"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant
  • Similar words include: linen paper
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LINEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Some control buttons"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Like hand-to-hand fighting"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. On the starting line"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Over/under and point spread"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Small squeeze from a tube"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a light touch or stroke
  • Similar words include: swab, splatter, swob
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Dome-shaped Buddhist shrine"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dome-shaped shrine erected by buddhists
  • Similar words include: tope
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Fancy-schmancy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegant and fashionable; ; ; ; - julia child
  • Similar words include: swish, classy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Pronoun in Texas"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "37. Instrument depicted in paintings by Hals and Caravaggio"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it impervious to gas or liquid
  • Similar words include: luting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. "OMG"-evoking deed"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a notable achievement
  • Similar words include: effort, exploit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "39. Use for a yew"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
  • Similar words include: sidestep, hedging, elude
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEDGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "40. As good as it gets"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied
  • Similar words include: optimum
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPTIMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Isle of Sappho"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of eastern greece in the eastern aegean sea; in antiquity it was famous for lyric poetry
  • Similar words include: Lesvos, Mytilene
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LESBOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. They make low digits smaller"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "46. What a pitcher tries to do"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Former e-book devices, until 2014"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Can't keep on topic 7
2D 2. Sharpshooter's asset 6
3D 3. Preps for surgery, perhaps 5
4D 4. Wear out around the edges 4
5D 5. First name in Universal horror 3
6D 6. Seldom-used PC key 3
7D 7. Long shot practice 11
8D 8. "Save me ___!" 5
9D 9. Pauline ___, former New Yorker film critic 4
10D 10. Classic Chevy model 8
11D 11. Not fair, in a way 7
12D 12. Strip down the Interstate 6
13D 13. Student's goal 6
14D 14. "That can't possibly be right!" 5
15D 15. Enjoying recognition 4
16D 19. One of many in a bee, typically 11
17D 20. Reptile with a colorful name 7
18D 23. Having lost all its fizz 4
19D 24. Isn't keeping up 4
20D 26. Michael who plays Allan in "Barbie" 4
21D 27. "Divergent" author Veronica 4
22D 28. Ensnare for, as some undertakings 8
23D 29. A heavy drinker may be found in one 6
24D 30. Woolen leggings, as worn by W.W. I soldiers 7
25D 31. Physiques that have gone a little soft 7
26D 32. Former veep with a Nobel Prize 6
27D 33. "___ This Mess" 5
28D 34. Opening for a mail carrier 4
29D 36. Private reply 6
30D 38. One of Oberon's subjects 5
31D 39. Author of "Steppenwolf' 5
32D 41. Street ending at Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle 4
33D 42. Wrote fiction? 4
34D 44. Many a professional office: Abbr. 3
35D 45. The Hornets, on scoreboards 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Can't keep on topic"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
  • Similar words include: ramble, stray, rove
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WANDERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Sharpshooter's asset"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sharpness of vision; the visual ability to resolve fine detail (usually measured by a snellen chart)
  • Similar words include: sharp-sightedness, keenness, acuteness
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACUITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Preps for surgery, perhaps"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that abstaining from food
  • Similar words include: fasting, fast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FASTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Wear out around the edges"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a noisy fight
  • Similar words include: disturbance, chafe, frazzle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. First name in Universal horror"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Seldom-used PC key"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Long shot practice"

11 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. "Save me ___!""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Pauline ___, former New Yorker film critic"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Classic Chevy model"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Not fair, in a way"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that precipitate as rain
  • Similar words include: rain, rain down
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAINING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Strip down the Interstate"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the value below which 50% of the cases fall
  • Similar words include: average, median value, medial
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEDIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Student's goal"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
  • Similar words include: point, grade, arcdegree
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEGREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. "That can't possibly be right!""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Enjoying recognition"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
  • Similar words include: visualize, meet, encounter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. One of many in a bee, typically"

11 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "20. Reptile with a colorful name"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "23. Having lost all its fizz"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a level tract of land
  • Similar words include: apartment, 2-dimensional, categorical
  • Opposite of: natural, contrasty
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "24. Isn't keeping up"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of slowing down or falling behind
  • Similar words include: incarcerate, gaol, interim
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "26. Michael who plays Allan in "Barbie""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "27. "Divergent" author Veronica"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states writer whose novels portray middle-class jewish life (born in 1933)
  • Similar words include: Philip Roth, Philip Milton Roth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "28. Ensnare for, as some undertakings"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "29. A heavy drinker may be found in one"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
  • Similar words include: grogginess, semiconsciousness, shock
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUPOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "30. Woolen leggings, as worn by W.W. I soldiers"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strip of cloth wound around the leg to form legging; used by soldiers in world war i
  • Similar words include: puttee
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUTTEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "31. Physiques that have gone a little soft"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "32. Former veep with a Nobel Prize"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "33. "___ This Mess""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give a benediction to
  • Similar words include: sign, sanctify, consecrate
  • Opposite of: curse, desecrate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "34. Opening for a mail carrier"

4 letters πŸ’­ 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: one-armed bandit, expansion slot, time slot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "36. Private reply"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "38. One of Oberon's subjects"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
  • Similar words include: pansy, faggot, poof
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAIRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "39. Author of "Steppenwolf'"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that swiss writer (born in germany) whose novels and poems express his interests in eastern spiritual values (1877-1962)
  • Similar words include: Hermann Hesse
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HESSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "41. Street ending at Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any very large body of (salt) water
  • Similar words include: master, independent, chief
  • Opposite of: dependent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "42. Wrote fiction?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a german art song of the 19th century for voice and piano
  • Similar words include: lie down, lie in, lie
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "44. Many a professional office: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "45. The Hornets, on scoreboards"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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

27 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
62 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: February 07, 2026 at 04:51 AM