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Wednesday, September 9, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 09, 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. "OK," in modern slang 3
2A 4. Develop 5
3A 9. Postlarval insects 5
4A 14. Prefix with skeleton 3
5A 15. Ewok's home 5
6A 16. Blow, as 13-Down does repeatedly 5
7A 17. Top starter 3
8A 18. Unsecured artillery that can slide across the deck 11
9A 20. "Semper Fidelis," for one 5
10A 22. Advantage 5
11A 23. Me-time destination 3
12A 24. Creature of Egyptian myth 6
13A 26. Bus schedule component 4
14A 28. Some landscaping equipment 6
15A 31. Worker who's behind the Times? 6
16A 35. Plow puller of old 4
17A 37. "Verb," ironically 4
18A 39. Part of a black suit 5
19A 40. Its three largest cities all have names starting with C 4
20A 41. Completely lost ... or where the now-idiomatic answer to each italicized clue has a literal meaning 5
21A 43. Barely made (out) 4
22A 44. Chat, informally 5
23A 46. Old-timey "Listen!" 4
24A 47. Out of juice 4
25A 48. Paint options 6
26A 50. Permanent-press 6
27A 52. Part of many a shallow-water ecosystem 4
28A 54. Music genre for some yoga classes 6
29A 57. Suffix with devil 3
30A 60. Expresses approval, in a way 5
31A 63. Remove from its original packaging, say 5
32A 64. Equatorial ocean area notorious for lack of winds 11
33A 67. Consumed 3
34A 68. Character in "Monsters, Inc." 5
35A 69. Like many a campfire story 5
36A 70. Hiker to a QB: Abbr. 3
37A 71. Elevate, as a flag 5
38A 72. Shell out cash 5
39A 73. Word with sewing or starter 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "OK," in modern slang"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the money risked on a gamble
  • Similar words include: depend, calculate, stake
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Develop"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that constitution of the human body
  • Similar words include: physique, physical body, form
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUILD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Postlarval insects"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an insect in the inactive stage of development (when it is not feeding) intermediate between larva and adult
  • Similar words include: pupa
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUPAE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Prefix with skeleton"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Ewok's home"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Blow, as 13-Down does repeatedly"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Top starter"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: whizz, adept, one
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Unsecured artillery that can slide across the deck"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. "Semper Fidelis," for one"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a favorite saying of a sect or political group
  • Similar words include: slogan, shibboleth, catchword
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOTTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Advantage"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Me-time destination"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: resort hotel, health club, watering hole
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Creature of Egyptian myth"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPHINX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Bus schedule component"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something ending
  • Similar words include: full point, full stop, plosive speech sound
  • Opposite of: start, continuant consonant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Some landscaping equipment"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who puts finishing edges on a garment
  • Similar words include: edger
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Worker who's behind the Times?"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
  • Similar words include: editor program, editor in chief
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDITOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. Plow puller of old"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse; usually sterile
  • Similar words include: scuff
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MULE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "37. "Verb," ironically"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Part of a black suit"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
  • Similar words include: jigaboo, coon, nigra
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Its three largest cities all have names starting with C"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Completely lost ... or where the now-idiomatic answer to each italicized clue has a literal meaning"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Barely made (out)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Chat, informally"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Old-timey "Listen!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that listen; used mostly in the imperative
  • Similar words include: harken, hearken
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Out of juice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are no longer living
  • Similar words include: abruptly, deadened, stagnant
  • Opposite of: alive, living
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Paint options"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the visual property of something that shines with reflected light
  • Similar words include: shininess, luster, lustre
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "50. Permanent-press"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Part of many a shallow-water ecosystem"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
  • Similar words include: Witwatersrand, Rand
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Music genre for some yoga classes"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Suffix with devil"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Expresses approval, in a way"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden very loud noise
  • Similar words include: acclaim, eruption, bam
  • Opposite of: boo
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Remove from its original packaging, say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from a box
  • Opposite of: box
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNBOX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Equatorial ocean area notorious for lack of winds"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Consumed"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Character in "Monsters, Inc.""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence
  • Similar words include: comma butterfly, Polygonia comma
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Like many a campfire story"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
  • Similar words include: eery
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EERIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. Hiker to a QB: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Elevate, as a flag"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lifting device for raising heavy or cumbersome objects
  • Similar words include: lift, run up, wind
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "72. Shell out cash"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pass time in a specific way
  • Similar words include: expend, drop, pass
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "73. Word with sewing or starter"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a case for containing a set of articles
  • Similar words include: outfit, kit up, kit out
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Has a happy face 5
2D 2. Former member of the force 5
3D 3. Stand barefoot in formation along seams of deck planks 10
4D 4. Fit in 6
5D 5. Game in which players draw and skip 3
6D 6. Big celebrity 4
7D 7. When repeated, leading only to bad outcomes 4
8D 8. Leftovers 5
9D 9. Stir-fry add-ins 7
10D 10. Decorative vessel 3
11D 11. "Sofa, so good" and such 4
12D 12. Each 4
13D 13. Sicilian smoker 4
14D 19. ___ as a bug's ear 4
15D 21. Drift with the natural flow of currents 8
16D 25. TV's "Warrior Princess" 4
17D 27. Bosun's whistled call signaling a shift change 8
18D 29. I.R.A. classification 4
19D 30. Lazy ___ 5
20D 32. Flattened against the masts in a changing wind 10
21D 33. Roman theaters 4
22D 34. Comedian Foxx 4
23D 35. Soft leather shoes, for short 4
24D 36. "That's not good" 4
25D 38. Fiddler-emperor, legend has it 4
26D 42. Similar 4
27D 45. Minimal paint job 7
28D 49. Promote 4
29D 51. Not just thrown away, say 6
30D 53. Gradually tapered cuts 5
31D 55. Jailed New York crime boss 5
32D 56. Wield, as authority 5
33D 57. Bite reminder, maybe 4
34D 58. "Get away!" 4
35D 59. Prefix with sphere 4
36D 61. Dice peppers, e.g. 4
37D 62. Positive 4
38D 65. Personally contacts online, for short 3
39D 66. Max's opposite 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Has a happy face"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
  • Similar words include: ray, irradiation, shaft of light
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Former member of the force"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Stand barefoot in formation along seams of deck planks"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fit in"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be owned by; be in the possession of
  • Similar words include: go, belong to
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BELONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Game in which players draw and skip"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big celebrity"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a material effigy that is worshipped
  • Similar words include: god, graven image, beau ideal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. When repeated, leading only to bad outcomes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
  • Similar words include: misplace, mislay, fall back
  • Opposite of: find, win
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Leftovers"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid
  • Similar words include: settlings, dreg
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Stir-fry add-ins"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Decorative vessel"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Sofa, so good" and such"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a humorous play on words
  • Similar words include: punning, wordplay, pun
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Each"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Sicilian smoker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inactive volcano in sicily; last erupted in 1961; the highest volcano in europe (10,500 feet)
  • Similar words include: bunsen burner, bunsen, Mount Etna
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "19. ___ as a bug's ear"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
  • Similar words include: precious, cunning
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Drift with the natural flow of currents"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. TV's "Warrior Princess""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Bosun's whistled call signaling a shift change"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. I.R.A. classification"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Lazy ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Flattened against the masts in a changing wind"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Roman theaters"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Comedian Foxx"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Soft leather shoes, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. "That's not good""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Fiddler-emperor, legend has it"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of rome in 64) but the roman empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68)
  • Similar words include: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. Similar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that similar in quality or character
  • Similar words include: cognate, consanguineal, kin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AKIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "45. Minimal paint job"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "49. Promote"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the activity of persuading someone to buy
  • Similar words include: betray, trade, deal
  • Opposite of: buy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "51. Not just thrown away, say"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that use again after processing
  • Similar words include: reprocess, recycle, reuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REUSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "53. Gradually tapered cuts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a golf shot that curves to the right for a right-handed golfer
  • Similar words include: slice, wither, blow over
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FADES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "55. Jailed New York crime boss"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "56. Wield, as authority"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have and exercise
  • Similar words include: maintain, wield, exercise
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "57. Bite reminder, maybe"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation
  • Similar words include: spoil, itchiness, itching
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "58. "Get away!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that drive away by crying `shoo!'
  • Similar words include: shoo off, shoo away
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "59. Prefix with sphere"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "61. Dice peppers, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home)
  • Similar words include: preparation, homework
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PREP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "62. Positive"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
  • Similar words include: certain, surely, trusted
  • Opposite of: uncertain, unsure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "65. Personally contacts online, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "66. Max's opposite"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
  • Similar words include: Hokkianese, Fukien, minute
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIN

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

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: September 09, 2026 at 08:16 AM

Sunday, August 30, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 30, 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. "Aladdin" villain 5
2A 6. "It's yours!" 4
3A 10. Sarcastic "Sure" 4
4A 14. Heat setting, in brief? 3
5A 17. Dutch Caribbean isle 5
6A 18. Explosive sound 6
7A 20. Lacking constraints 8
8A 22. MARTIN SHEEN 12
9A 24. LIAM NEESON 8
10A 25. Chef Hussain of "The Great British Bake Off" fame 6
11A 26. Discount Chinese e-tailer 4
12A 28. Jumbo shrimp 5
13A 29. Ben & Jerry's alternative 4
14A 31. Pink-slips 4
15A 33. NORMAN REEDUS 11
16A 37. GREG KINNEAR 10
17A 40. Conditions of equilibrium 6
18A 41. Historian's division 3
19A 42. Undying? 5
20A 43. Offer illegally, as tickets 5
21A 45. Publicly proclaim 4
22A 46. Scatters messily 6
23A 48. MORGAN FREEMAN 13
24A 55. Class for some recent arrivals, for short 3
25A 56. Kind of green 3
26A 59. Chemist Lilly 3
27A 60. Chilean poet who served as a Communist senator 6
28A 61. Four to two, e.g. 6
29A 64. Friar with a famous "razor" 5
30A 68. Turns on the waterworks 5
31A 69. Ones making periodic appearances ... or the link between the capitalized clues and their answers 19
32A 73. 2024's "Joker: ___ à Deux" 5
33A 74. Alfresco area 5
34A 75. "Everything cool between us?" 6
35A 76. Poorly nourished 6
36A 78. Fill at a fill-up 3
37A 80. ___ card 3
38A 81. Rite Aid rival 3
39A 84. CHRISTIAN SLATER 13
40A 89. City on the Illinois River 6
41A 92. Grumpy grimace 4
42A 93. Discontinued Swedish cars 5
43A 96. Inauthentic 5
44A 97. "Catch-22" topic 3
45A 100. Join, as two metal surfaces 6
46A 102. ISABELLA ROSSELLINI 10
47A 104. KEVIN KLINE 11
48A 107. Erté's style, informally 4
49A 108. Canadian fuel brand 4
50A 109. All-vowel musical refrain 5
51A 110. Actress Falco with four Emmys 4
52A 112. Sugary secretion 6
53A 114. BEA ARTHUR 8
54A 118. MARLON BRANDO 12
55A 122. Submitted by the deadline 8
56A 123. B.L.T. or P.B.J., cutesily 6
57A 124. Musician/actress Haim 5
58A 125. Syllable of censure 3
59A 126. Instants 4
60A 127. High-protein bean 4
61A 128. Big name in truck rentals 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Aladdin" villain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that indonesian terrorist and islamic militant who commands the laskar jihad; uses violence to achieve political ends (1965-2000)
  • Similar words include: Jafar Umar Thalib, Jaffar Umar Thalib, Jaffar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. "It's yours!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
  • Similar words include: trade, betray, deal
  • Opposite of: unsold, buy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Sarcastic "Sure""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Heat setting, in brief?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Dutch Caribbean isle"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a popular island resort in the netherlands antilles
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARUBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Explosive sound"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Lacking constraints"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "22. MARTIN SHEEN"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "24. LIAM NEESON"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "25. Chef Hussain of "The Great British Bake Off" fame"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Discount Chinese e-tailer"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "28. Jumbo shrimp"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various edible decapod crustaceans
  • Similar words include: shrimp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRAWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Ben & Jerry's alternative"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Pink-slips"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
  • Similar words include: backside, prat, rump
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. NORMAN REEDUS"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "37. GREG KINNEAR"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "40. Conditions of equilibrium"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "41. Historian's division"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. Undying?"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that possessing life
  • Similar words include: active, alert, live
  • Opposite of: unanimated, dead
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Offer illegally, as tickets"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the skin that covers the top of the head
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCALP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "45. Publicly proclaim"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  • Similar words include: verify, assert, aver
  • Opposite of: disavow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Scatters messily"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spread by scattering ( is archaic)
  • Similar words include: strew, straw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STREWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. MORGAN FREEMAN"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "55. Class for some recent arrivals, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "56. Kind of green"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seed of a pea plant used for food
  • Similar words include: pea plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "59. Chemist Lilly"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "60. Chilean poet who served as a Communist senator"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chilean poet (1904-1973)
  • Similar words include: Neftali Ricardo Reyes, Reyes, Pablo Neruda
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERUDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "61. Four to two, e.g."

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (geometry) a plane rectangle with four equal sides and four right angles; a four-sided regular polygon
  • Similar words include: straight, second power, squarely
  • Opposite of: crooked, round
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SQUARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "64. Friar with a famous "razor""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english scholastic philosopher and assumed author of occam's razor (1285-1349)
  • Similar words include: William of Ockham, Ockham, William of Occam
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OCCAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "68. Turns on the waterworks"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: weep, rallying cry, scream
  • Opposite of: laugh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "69. Ones making periodic appearances ... or the link between the capitalized clues and their answers"

19 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECURRINGCHARACTERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "73. 2024's "Joker: ___ à Deux""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
  • Similar words include: mental disorder, mental disturbance, psychological disorder
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOLIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "74. Alfresco area"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence
  • Similar words include: terrace
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "75. "Everything cool between us?""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "76. Poorly nourished"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "78. Fill at a fill-up"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
  • Similar words include: blow, gun, swash
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "80. ___ card"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "81. Rite Aid rival"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a summary of your academic and work history
  • Similar words include: CV, curriculum vitae, resume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "84. CHRISTIAN SLATER"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "89. City on the Illinois River"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in central illinois on the illinois river
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEORIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "92. Grumpy grimace"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disdainful grimace
  • Similar words include: pout, wry face
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "93. Discontinued Swedish cars"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "96. Inauthentic"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
  • Similar words include: bogus, bastard, hypocrite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHONY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "97. "Catch-22" topic"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: peace, make peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "100. Join, as two metal surfaces"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alloy (usually of lead and tin) used when melted to join two metal surfaces
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "102. ISABELLA ROSSELLINI"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "104. KEVIN KLINE"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "107. Erté's style, informally"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
  • Similar words include: art deco
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "108. Canadian fuel brand"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "109. All-vowel musical refrain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "110. Actress Falco with four Emmys"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "112. Sugary secretion"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweet liquid secretion that is attractive to pollinators
  • Similar words include: ambrosia
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NECTAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "114. BEA ARTHUR"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "118. MARLON BRANDO"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "122. Submitted by the deadline"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "123. B.L.T. or P.B.J., cutesily"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "124. Musician/actress Haim"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "125. Syllable of censure"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
  • Similar words include: tut-tut, tut
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "126. Instants"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: sec, second, secant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "127. High-protein bean"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to asia
  • Similar words include: soja bean, soja, Glycine max
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOYA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "128. Big name in truck rentals"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. God, to Bob Marley 3
2D 2. "___ you done?" 3
3D 3. Musical comedy that was 1968's highest-grossing film 9
4D 4. Caustic 8
5D 5. Bootlegger's concern 4
6D 6. Like 666, popularly 7
7D 7. Band that's big in Japan? 3
8D 8. Disoriented 4
9D 9. Administered, as a drug 5
10D 10. Potentialities 3
11D 11. Something found under a top 3
12D 12. Wriggler in a stream 3
13D 13. "___ fugit" 6
14D 14. Star's opposite 6
15D 15. Stout figure? 6
16D 16. Supreme Egyptian god 6
17D 18. Inuit watercraft 6
18D 19. Office messages 5
19D 21. Like some mattresses and offers 4
20D 23. Mineral that makes cosmetics shimmer 4
21D 27. Remove an identifier from, as on Instagram 5
22D 29. Clear 5
23D 30. Shoulder press targets, to trainers 5
24D 32. Hit a ___ 4
25D 34. Where a flock may gather 4
26D 35. Beginning on 4
27D 36. Attach with a needle and thread 5
28D 38. Unused 3
29D 39. Extreme happiness 4
30D 44. Double-breasted pieces of menswear 9
31D 47. Trigger 4
32D 49. Like Scrooge McDuck 4
33D 50. Right-hand page of a book 5
34D 51. Made muffs 5
35D 52. John ___ Day (California commemoration) 4
36D 53. Citrus refreshments 4
37D 54. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper 3
38D 57. 1994 Costner title role 4
39D 58. Diva's time to shine 4
40D 61. "Dune" genre 5
41D 62. Mary or Elizabeth 5
42D 63. Towering creature in "The Two Towers" 3
43D 65. Sound in a cornfield 3
44D 66. Half brother of Apollo 4
45D 67. Christmas presence? 4
46D 69. Sushi bar serving 4
47D 70. Jazz great Fitzgerald 4
48D 71. Along with "CODA" and "Argo," the only other four-letter Best Picture winner 4
49D 72. Give gratis 4
50D 73. Shakespearean shout 3
51D 77. That's the spirit! 5
52D 79. Strike defier 4
53D 81. Part of an intersection 9
54D 82. Barolos e Brunellos 5
55D 83. Turn someone down 5
56D 85. Unshared numbers 4
57D 86. Hostile manner, informally 4
58D 87. Actor and disability activist Christopher 5
59D 88. Like some liquors 4
60D 90. Org. regulating air quality 3
61D 91. "You sure about that?" 8
62D 94. Periods of 730 days 7
63D 95. Withdraw from a union 6
64D 97. Teensy amount 6
65D 98. Feathered fliers 6
66D 99. Shoe brand named for an antelope 6
67D 100. Hybrid tennis bottoms 6
68D 101. Second tries 5
69D 103. El Pollo ___ (chicken chain) 4
70D 105. Creditor's claim 4
71D 106. Turkish money 5
72D 111. Fad toy of 1996 4
73D 113. Snowboarder's transport 4
74D 115. Often-illegal turn, slangily 3
75D 116. Cinephile's cable choice 3
76D 117. Boars and bulls 3
77D 119. Comedian Sedaris 3
78D 120. I, to Augustus 3
79D 121. Smudge or smear, say 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. God, to Bob Marley"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "___ you done?""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Musical comedy that was 1968's highest-grossing film"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Caustic"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a substance that abrades or wears down
  • Similar words include: harsh, abrasive material, scratchy
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABRASIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Bootlegger's concern"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden short attack
  • Similar words include: foray, foray into, bust
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Like 666, popularly"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell
  • Similar words include: demonic, hellish, fiendish
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Band that's big in Japan?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (west indies) followers of a religious system involving witchcraft and sorcery
  • Similar words include: obeah
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Disoriented"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are destined to die soon
  • Similar words include: turn a loss, miss, befuddled
  • Opposite of: won, gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Administered, as a drug"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that treat with an agent; add (an agent) to
  • Similar words include: dose, drug
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Potentialities"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Something found under a top"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
  • Similar words include: bandeau, brassiere
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Wriggler in a stream"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

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13D: "13. "___ fugit""

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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14D: "14. Star's opposite"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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15D: "15. Stout figure?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who brews beer or ale from malt and hops and water
  • Similar words include: beer maker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREWER

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16D: "16. Supreme Egyptian god"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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17D: "18. Inuit watercraft"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small canoe consisting of a light frame made watertight with animal skins; used by eskimos
  • Similar words include: kayak
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAYAKS

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18D: "19. Office messages"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written proposal or reminder
  • Similar words include: memorandum, memoranda, memo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMOS

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19D: "21. Like some mattresses and offers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments
  • Similar words include: unbendable, solid, unfluctuating
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRM

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20D: "23. Mineral that makes cosmetics shimmer"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves; used as dielectrics because of their resistance to electricity
  • Similar words include: isinglass
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICA

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21D: "27. Remove an identifier from, as on Instagram"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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22D: "29. Clear"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from memory or existence
  • Similar words include: wipe off, efface, delete
  • Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASE

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23D: "30. Shoulder press targets, to trainers"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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24D: "32. Hit a ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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25D: "34. Where a flock may gather"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the central area of a church
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAVE

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26D: "35. Beginning on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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27D: "36. Attach with a needle and thread"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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28D: "38. Unused"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
  • Similar words include: novel, fresh, newly
  • Opposite of: old, worn
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEW

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29D: "39. Extreme happiness"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that great merriment
  • Similar words include: gloating, hilarity, mirthfulness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEE

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30D: "44. Double-breasted pieces of menswear"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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31D: "47. Trigger"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
  • Similar words include: branch line, urging, spine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPUR

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32D: "49. Like Scrooge McDuck"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)
  • Similar words include: deep, productive, fat
  • Opposite of: poor people, lean
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICH

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33D: "50. Right-hand page of a book"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that right-hand page
  • Opposite of: verso
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECTO

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34D: "51. Made muffs"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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35D: "52. John ___ Day (California commemoration)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states naturalist (born in england) who advocated the creation of national parks (1838-1914)
  • Similar words include: John Muir
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUIR

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36D: "53. Citrus refreshments"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice
  • Similar words include: ade, fruit drink
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADES

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37D: "54. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 11, Na, sodium
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAS

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38D: "57. 1994 Costner title role"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "58. Diva's time to shine"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "61. "Dune" genre"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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41D: "62. Mary or Elizabeth"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
  • Similar words include: poof, pouf, tabby
  • Opposite of: male monarch, king
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUEEN

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42D: "63. Towering creature in "The Two Towers""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "65. Sound in a cornfield"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by corvine birds
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAW

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44D: "66. Half brother of Apollo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) greek god of war; son of zeus and hera; identified with roman mars
  • Similar words include: ar, are
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARES

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45D: "67. Christmas presence?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (new testament) the sages who visited jesus and mary and joseph shortly after jesus was born; the gospel according to matthew says they were guided by a star and brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh; because there were three gifts it is usually assumed that there were three of them
  • Similar words include: Wise Men, magus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAGI

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46D: "69. Sushi bar serving"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rotary motion of an object around its own axis
  • Similar words include: drum roll, curlicue, roll up
  • Opposite of: unwind
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47D: "70. Jazz great Fitzgerald"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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48D: "71. Along with "CODA" and "Argo," the only other four-letter Best Picture winner"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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49D: "72. Give gratis"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge
  • Similar words include: comprehensive, comprehensive examination
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMP

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50D: "73. Shakespearean shout"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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51D: "77. That's the spirit!"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil supernatural being
  • Similar words include: daimon, fiend, devil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEMON

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52D: "79. Strike defier"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
  • Similar words include: strikebreaker, rat, blackleg
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAB

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53D: "81. Part of an intersection"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a junction where one street or road crosses another
  • Similar words include: crossing, carrefour, crossway
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROSSROAD

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54D: "82. Barolos e Brunellos"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fermented juice (of grapes especially)
  • Similar words include: vino, wine
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VINOS

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55D: "83. Turn someone down"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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56D: "85. Unshared numbers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any activity that is performed alone without assistance
  • Similar words include: solo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLI

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57D: "86. Hostile manner, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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58D: "87. Actor and disability activist Christopher"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that female ruff
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEVE

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59D: "88. Like some liquors"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: voiceless, gruelling, laborious
  • Opposite of: soft, easy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

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60D: "90. Org. regulating air quality"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
  • Similar words include: Environmental Protection Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPA

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61D: "91. "You sure about that?""

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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62D: "94. Periods of 730 days"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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63D: "95. Withdraw from a union"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that withdraw from an organization or communion
  • Similar words include: splinter, break away
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECEDE

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64D: "97. Teensy amount"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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65D: "98. Feathered fliers"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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66D: "99. Shoe brand named for an antelope"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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67D: "100. Hybrid tennis bottoms"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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68D: "101. Second tries"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that do over, as of (part of) a house
  • Similar words include: redo, make over, reconstruct
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDOS

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69D: "103. El Pollo ___ (chicken chain)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
  • Similar words include: nutty, loony, nuts
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

70D: "105. Creditor's claim"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged
  • Similar words include: spleen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

71D: "106. Turkish money"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of money on malta; equal to 100 cents
  • Similar words include: Italian lira, lira, Turkish lira
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

72D: "111. Fad toy of 1996"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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73D: "113. Snowboarder's transport"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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74D: "115. Often-illegal turn, slangily"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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75D: "116. Cinephile's cable choice"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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76D: "117. Boars and bulls"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in texas and kansas)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 2, helium, he
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

77D: "119. Comedian Sedaris"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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78D: "120. I, to Augustus"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

79D: "121. Smudge or smear, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
  • Similar words include: spoil, impair, defect
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAR

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

61 Across Clues
79 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 30, 2026 at 09:21 AM