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Thursday, May 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 21, 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. Gossiped-about duo 4
2A 5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi 4
3A 9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting 5
4A 14. Curbside call 4
5A 15. Egg's outline 4
6A 16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" 5
7A 17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" 4
8A 18. St. Benedict, for one 4
9A 19. Central meeting points 5
10A 20. timiL 12
11A 23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph 3
13A 25. Capital of Portugal, to natives 6
14A 29. Crown of jewels 6
15A 31. Penultimate Greek letter 3
16A 33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" 3
17A 34. Goat's cry 3
18A 35. Golfer's suppor- 9
19A 38. Move like a fox 5
20A 40. Get a lode of this! 3
21A 41. John from Britain 5
22A 42. Evade 9
23A 44. "Bad" beginning 3
24A 45. Like news that everyone already knows 3
25A 46. Legal boundaries? 3
26A 47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat 6
27A 50. More melted, as a marshmallow 6
28A 53. Tree alongside a ski run 3
29A 54. Bro, e.g. 3
30A 55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s 12
31A 59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot 5
32A 62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden 4
33A 63. Ordered 4
34A 64. Increase, as interest 5
35A 65. German Ms. 4
36A 66. Pupil's surroundings 4
37A 67. Environmentalist Adams 5
38A 68. Site for many stars? 4
39A 69. Sounds of disapproval 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Gossiped-about duo"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
  • Similar words include: point, particular, detail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
  • Similar words include: Nile River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NILE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Curbside call"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, hack, taxicab
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Egg's outline"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • Similar words include: ovoid, elliptical, ovate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. St. Benedict, for one"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
  • Similar words include: Thelonious Sphere Monk, Thelonious Monk, monastic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Central meeting points"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a connecting point at which several lines come together
  • Similar words include: client, node, knob
  • Opposite of: antinode
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. timiL"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Capital of Portugal, to natives"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city and economic and cultural center of portugal; a major port in western portugal on tagus river where it broadens and empties into the atlantic
  • Similar words include: Lisbon, capital of Portugal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LISBOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Crown of jewels"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  • Similar words include: crown
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIADEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Penultimate Greek letter"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: build up, sleeve, gird
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Goat's cry"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Golfer's suppor-"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Move like a fox"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
  • Similar words include: malinger, lurk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKULK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Get a lode of this!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. John from Britain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Evade"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very short skirt
  • Similar words include: mini
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINISKIRT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. "Bad" beginning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Like news that everyone already knows"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
  • Similar words include: sometime, former, one-time
  • Opposite of: young, new
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Legal boundaries?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: EL, elevated railway, elevated
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. More melted, as a marshmallow"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft and sticky
  • Similar words include: icky, gooey
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOOIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Tree alongside a ski run"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nonresinous wood of a fir tree
  • Similar words include: fir tree, true fir
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Bro, e.g."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's brother or sister
  • Similar words include: blood relation, blood relative, cognate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brushing or rustling sound
  • Similar words include: lap, swoosh, posh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: fierceness, madness, hysteria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FURY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Ordered"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: bid, entreat, press
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Increase, as interest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tightly woven fabric with raised cords
  • Similar words include: temper, irritation, offend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIQUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. German Ms."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a german courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  • Similar words include: fleur-de-lis, sword lily, iris diaphragm
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. Environmentalist Adams"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "68. Site for many stars?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp high-pitched cry (especially by a dog)
  • Similar words include: yelping, yap, yip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "69. Sounds of disapproval"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Short negative review 6
2D 2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom 6
3D 3. "Bingo!" 11
4D 4. Stole material 4
5D 5. Southern denial 6
6D 6. Something tickled on a piano 5
7D 7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying) 4
8D 8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo 4
9D 9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle" 5
10D 10. Goes around and around 5
11D 11. Make sense, with "up" 3
12D 12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles 3
13D 13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc. 3
14D 21. Inflicts 6
15D 22. Muse of history 4
16D 26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically 11
17D 27. Milkshake flavor 4
18D 28. Gospel shout 4
19D 30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945 4
20D 31. Contented sounds 5
21D 32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation 4
22D 35. Curl 4
23D 36. Hip-knee connectors 6
24D 37. Source of linseed oil 4
25D 38. It's all a haze 4
26D 39. Drug bust unit 4
27D 43. Model Miranda 4
28D 47. Make neat 6
29D 48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name 6
30D 49. Fixate 6
31D 51. Give out 5
32D 52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV 5
33D 53. Far from house-trained 5
34D 56. Dodgy 4
35D 57. 100% 4
36D 58. End piece? 4
37D 59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus" 3
38D 60. Prevail 3
39D 61. Some test figs. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Short negative review"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Bingo!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Stole material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Southern denial"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Something tickled on a piano"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  • Similar words include: pearl, tusk, bone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the land on which real estate is located
  • Similar words include: realm, down, commonwealth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in europe and `moose' in north america
  • Similar words include: Cervus elaphus, Alces alces, Cervus elaphus canadensis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii; a pineapple-growing area
  • Similar words include: Lanai Island
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Goes around and around"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
  • Similar words include: iteration, intertwine, loop topology
  • Opposite of: open circuit, uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Make sense, with "up""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: minimal brain damage, append, sum
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
  • Similar words include: Army Intelligence, three-toed sloth, artificial insemination
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Inflicts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
  • Similar words include: wreak, work, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WREAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Muse of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the muse of history
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically"

11 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Milkshake flavor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chocolate cookie with white cream filling
  • Similar words include: oreo cookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Gospel shout"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a primeval egyptian personification of air and breath; worshipped especially at thebes
  • Similar words include: Amun, Amon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that surrealist spanish painter (1904-1989)
  • Similar words include: Salvador Dali
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Contented sounds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a low vibrating sound typical of a contented cat
  • Similar words include: birr, whir, whiz
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that printing: cancel, as of a correction or deletion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Curl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
  • Similar words include: scroll, curlicue, gyre
  • Opposite of: uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Hip-knee connectors"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the longest and thickest bone of the human skeleton; extends from the pelvis to the knee
  • Similar words include: thighbone, femoris, femur
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEMURS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Source of linseed oil"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. It's all a haze"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Drug bust unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: kg, kilogram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KILO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Model Miranda"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Make neat"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Fixate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that haunt like a ghost; pursue
  • Similar words include: haunt, ghost
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBSESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Give out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Far from house-trained"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild and menacing
  • Similar words include: ferine, savage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Dodgy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that subject to accident or chance or change
  • Similar words include: fluky, flukey, chancy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. 100%"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free of extraneous elements of any kind
  • Similar words include: everlasting, thoroughgoing, sodding
  • Opposite of: unsaturated, impure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. End piece?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a notice of someone's death; usually includes a short biography
  • Similar words include: necrology, obituary
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Prevail"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a victory (as in a race or other competition)
  • Similar words include: bring home the bacon, acquire, advance
  • Opposite of: fall back, losings
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Some test figs."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test; the ratio of a person's mental age to their chronological age (multiplied by 100)
  • Similar words include: IQ, intelligence quotient, I.Q.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IQS

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

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: May 21, 2026 at 07:05 AM

Monday, April 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 20, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Solicit with a goodie 5
2A 6. School support grps. 4
3A 10. Egyptian cobra 3
4A 13. Well-informed 5
5A 14. Teaser, for short 5
6A 15. Word before Kim, Wayne or Nas X in hip-hop names 3
7A 16. Low red card in a deck 11
8A 18. George Gershwin's lyricist brother 3
9A 19. Window shades 6
10A 20. Follow orders 4
11A 21. Locomotives, to kids 14
12A 25. Comic figure at a circus 5
13A 26. "Impressive!" 3
14A 27. Stir up, as waters 4
15A 28. "The worst!" 9
16A 34. ___-backward 3
17A 35. Walk wearily 7
18A 37. ___-Magnon (early human) 3
19A 38. City and its surroundings 9
20A 40. German refusal 4
21A 41. Alternative to .com or .edu 3
22A 42. Ridiculous 5
23A 43. "Don't mention it — it was easy" 14
24A 50. "Just doin' my job" 4
25A 51. Insect with pincers 6
26A 52. X, for a sorority 3
27A 53. "I need to use the bathroom" ... or what the shaded squares spell? 11
28A 58. Skirt feature 3
29A 59. Decorations around the United Nations 5
30A 60. "Sauer" hot dog topping 5
31A 61. Triage sites, for short 3
32A 62. Mascara coats one 4
33A 63. Full of know-how 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Solicit with a goodie"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dispose or incline or entice to
  • Similar words include: charm, influence, entice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEMPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. School support grps."

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Egyptian cobra"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Well-informed"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (sometimes followed by `of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
  • Similar words include: cognizant, mindful, cognisant
  • Opposite of: unaware, unmindful
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Teaser, for short"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Word before Kim, Wayne or Nas X in hip-hop names"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Low red card in a deck"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. George Gershwin's lyricist brother"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
  • Similar words include: Provisional Irish Republican Army, Irish Republican Army, ire
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Window shades"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
  • Similar words include: subterfuge, screen, blind
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLINDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Follow orders"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be obedient to
  • Opposite of: disobey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Locomotives, to kids"

14 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHOOCHOOTRAINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Comic figure at a circus"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rude or vulgar fool
  • Similar words include: goofball, clown around, goof
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. "Impressive!""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that express admiration and pleasure by uttering `ooh' or `aah'
  • Similar words include: aah
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OOH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Stir up, as waters"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be agitated
  • Similar words include: moil, rile, boil
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "28. "The worst!""

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. ___-backward"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: derriere, backside, tail end
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Walk wearily"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that walk or tramp about
  • Similar words include: shlep
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAIPSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. ___-Magnon (early human)"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying electrical quantities
  • Similar words include: scope, oscilloscope, cathode-ray oscilloscope
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. City and its surroundings"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. German refusal"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Alternative to .com or .edu"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Ridiculous"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a word used for misbehaving children
  • Similar words include: punch-drunk, light-headed, empty-headed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. "Don't mention it — it was easy""

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOTROUBLEATALL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. "Just doin' my job""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Insect with pincers"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous insects of the order dermaptera having elongate bodies and slender many-jointed antennae and a pair of large pincers at the rear of the abdomen
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARWIG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. X, for a sorority"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the circulating life energy that in chinese philosophy is thought to be inherent in all things; in traditional chinese medicine the balance of negative and positive forms in the body is believed to be essential for good health
  • Similar words include: khi, qi, ki
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. "I need to use the bathroom" ... or what the shaded squares spell?"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Skirt feature"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
  • Similar words include: ahem
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Decorations around the United Nations"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
  • Similar words include: fleur-de-lis, ease off, pin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. "Sauer" hot dog topping"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that offensive term for a person of german descent
  • Similar words include: Jerry, Krauthead, Hun
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KRAUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Triage sites, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: Er, ER, atomic number 68
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Mascara coats one"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
  • Similar words include: strap, slash, flog
  • Opposite of: unlash
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Full of know-how"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cognitive condition of someone who understands
  • Similar words include: understanding, comprehend, dig
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAVVY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Butterfly on the ankle, say, informally 3
2D 2. "Gross!" 3
3D 3. Chinese revolutionary 3
4D 4. Football all-star game 7
5D 5. Cookware coating 6
6D 6. National museum in Madrid 5
7D 7. Trunk for a sculptor to sculpt 5
8D 8. Fig. from an out-of-order ATM? 3
9D 9. ...---... in Morse 3
10D 10. Cover story, in court 5
11D 11. Sound that warns of a tornado 5
12D 12. What coins are exchanged for at an arcade 5
13D 14. Phnom ___, Cambodia's capital 4
14D 17. Kool-Aid rival 3
15D 20. Site of Pearl Harbor 4
16D 21. Not far away 5
17D 22. Lift 5
18D 23. Throw (out) 4
19D 24. Valentine's Day flower 4
20D 25. Stow tightly, with "in" 4
21D 28. Cigarette substance 3
22D 29. Move in a hurry, old-style 3
23D 30. Craft brew designation letters 3
24D 31. Medium-sized battery 5
25D 32. Filtered food for whales 5
26D 33. PlayStation maker 4
27D 35. Matador charger 4
28D 36. Pasta sauce brand 4
29D 39. Golfer McIlroy 4
30D 40. Big U.S./Canada falls 7
31D 42. (The) boondocks 6
32D 43. Specialty 5
33D 44. Catchall survey option 5
34D 45. Cuts at the margins 5
35D 46. Apps undergoing testing 5
36D 47. "Sometimes you just gotta ___" 5
37D 48. Flubs 4
38D 49. Slack-jawed feeling 3
39D 53. Grp. for the Jets and Jaguars 3
40D 54. In the style of 3
41D 55. Bathroom, informally 3
42D 56. Sweetie, to Brits 3
43D 57. Total dump 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Butterfly on the ankle, say, informally"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar
  • Similar words include: sleaze, cheapness, tackiness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Gross!""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Chinese revolutionary"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of many body compounds (e.g., epinephrine and norepinephrine and serotonin)
  • Similar words include: monoamine oxidase, Mao Zedong, Mao Tsetung
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Football all-star game"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Cookware coating"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a material used to coat cooking utensils and in industrial applications where sticking is to be avoided
  • Similar words include: polytetrafluoroethylene
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEFLON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. National museum in Madrid"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Trunk for a sculptor to sculpt"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the body excluding the head and neck and limbs
  • Similar words include: trunk, body
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TORSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Fig. from an out-of-order ATM?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. ...---... in Morse"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Cover story, in court"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question
  • Similar words include: exculpation, excuse, self-justification
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Sound that warns of a tornado"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived
  • Similar words include: Delilah, femme fatale, enchantress
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. What coins are exchanged for at an arcade"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
  • Similar words include: work, sport, drama
  • Opposite of: tightness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Phnom ___, Cambodia's capital"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Kool-Aid rival"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "20. Site of Pearl Harbor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii (between molokai and kauai); the chief island of the state
  • Similar words include: Oahu Island
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAHU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "21. Not far away"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the temporal end; the concluding time
  • Similar words include: close-fitting, conclusion, secretive
  • Opposite of: open, distant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "22. Lift"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "23. Throw (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of flipping a coin
  • Similar words include: cast out, jactitate, discard
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "24. Valentine's Day flower"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of many shrubs of the genus rosa that bear roses
  • Similar words include: climb up, rose wine, roseate
  • Opposite of: set, wane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "25. Stow tightly, with "in""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that crowd or pack to capacity
  • Similar words include: ram, mug up, drum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Cigarette substance"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
  • Similar words include: mariner, seaman, sea dog
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "29. Move in a hurry, old-style"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: rush, race, rush along
  • Opposite of: linger
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "30. Craft brew designation letters"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "31. Medium-sized battery"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "32. Filtered food for whales"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that shrimp-like planktonic crustaceans; major source of food for e.g. baleen whales
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KRILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "33. PlayStation maker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "35. Matador charger"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "36. Pasta sauce brand"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. Golfer McIlroy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "40. Big U.S./Canada falls"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that waterfall in canada is the horseshoe falls; in the united states it is the american falls
  • Similar words include: Niagara Falls, Niagara River
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIAGARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "42. (The) boondocks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement consisting of a length of wood
  • Similar words include: bond, marijuana cigarette, stay
  • Opposite of: move, dislodge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STICKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "43. Specialty"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
  • Similar words include: recession, corner, ecological niche
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NICHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "44. Catchall survey option"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "45. Cuts at the margins"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of arrangement or appearance
  • Similar words include: trim down, crop, prune
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "46. Apps undergoing testing"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 2nd letter of the greek alphabet
  • Similar words include: beta, genus Beta, Beta
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BETAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "47. "Sometimes you just gotta ___""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound of laughing
  • Similar words include: joke, express joy, express mirth
  • Opposite of: cry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAUGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "48. Flubs"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "49. Slack-jawed feeling"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "53. Grp. for the Jets and Jaguars"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "54. In the style of"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

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41D: "55. Bathroom, informally"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
  • Similar words include: can, lavatory, toilet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAV

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42D: "56. Sweetie, to Brits"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "57. Total dump"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid
  • Similar words include: pigpen, hordeolum, eye infection
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STY

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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

33 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: April 20, 2026 at 06:00 AM