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

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 29, 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. Big ones can be difficult to manage 4
2A 5. Urge 4
3A 9. British John 5
4A 14. Nincompoop 4
5A 15. Surrounding glow 4
6A 16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It" 5
7A 17. Where some monster home runs land 9
8A 19. Language of the Vikings 5
9A 20. Rich deposits of ore 5
10A 21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short 3
11A 23. Muslim holiday, informally 3
12A 24. Scoped out with intent to rob 5
13A 25. Pretty long time, in an idiom 9
14A 28. Battery fill 4
15A 29. Capital of Yemen 5
16A 30. Copied 4
17A 31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!") 3
18A 32. Terse 4
19A 33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message) 3
20A 35. Another plateful from the buffet, say 13
21A 40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief 3
22A 41. Board appointee, for short 4
23A 42. Work unit 3
24A 44. Chief god of Valhalla 4
25A 47. European viper 5
26A 49. Greek goddess of the earth 4
27A 50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B. 9
28A 52. Storage units 5
29A 53. Dad on "Black-ish" 3
30A 54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks" 3
31A 55. Indie rock singer ___ O 5
32A 56. Couch 5
33A 58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do? 9
34A 62. Unconcealed 5
35A 63. Toll unit on some roads 4
36A 64. Tour de France entry 4
37A 65. "Cooties" 5
38A 66. Hitch up on a farm 4
39A 67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Big ones can be difficult to manage"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: self-importance, egotism, self
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Urge"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
  • Similar words include: egg on, goading, poke at
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. British John"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Nincompoop"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Surrounding glow"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: glory, halo, gloriole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Where some monster home runs land"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Language of the Vikings"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inhabitant of scandinavia
  • Similar words include: Scandinavian language, Norseman, Northman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NORSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Rich deposits of ore"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
  • Similar words include: lode, load
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Muslim holiday, informally"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Scoped out with intent to rob"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look over, usually with the intention to rob
  • Similar words include: encase, incase, incased
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Pretty long time, in an idiom"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Battery fill"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt
  • Similar words include: Zen, acidulent, bitter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Capital of Yemen"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of yemen; on the central plateau
  • Similar words include: Sana, Sana'a
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Copied"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imitate uncritically and in every aspect
  • Similar words include: ape, caricature
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!")"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Terse"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by rude or peremptory shortness
  • Similar words include: terse, crisp, brusque
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Another plateful from the buffet, say"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
  • Similar words include: automatic teller machine, automatic teller, automated teller
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Board appointee, for short"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chief executive department of the united states government
  • Similar words include: White House
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Work unit"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cgs unit of work or energy; the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Chief god of Valhalla"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) ruler of the aesir; supreme god of war and poetry and knowledge and wisdom (for which he gave an eye) and husband of frigg; identified with the teutonic wotan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. European viper"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who adds numbers
  • Similar words include: common viper, Vipera berus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Greek goddess of the earth"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of cronus and the titans in ancient mythology
  • Similar words include: Ge, Gaia
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B."

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left
  • Similar words include: left, left field
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEFTFIELD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Storage units"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information
  • Similar words include: byte
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Dad on "Black-ish""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "55. Indie rock singer ___ O"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the tibeto-burman language spoken in the thailand and burmese borderlands
  • Similar words include: Karenic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. Couch"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long backless sofa (usually with pillows against a wall)
  • Similar words include: diwan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do?"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Unconcealed"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open and observable; not secret or hidden
  • Similar words include: open
  • Opposite of: covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Toll unit on some roads"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shaft on which a wheel rotates
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Tour de France entry"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
  • Similar words include: team up, squad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. "Cooties""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that provides inspiration for later work
  • Similar words include: germ, source, seed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GERMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. Hitch up on a farm"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
  • Similar words include: coupling, couplet, link
  • Opposite of: unyoke
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov 3
2D 2. Reach great heights in life 8
3D 3. Like black and white 8
4D 4. Numbered in a tournament bracket 6
5D 5. Always at the pharmacy? 4
6D 6. Regret 3
7D 7. Middle-earth foe 3
8D 8. ___ Territory, 1861-89 6
9D 9. Ho-hum feeling 5
10D 10. British john 3
11D 11. Ripped to pieces 6
12D 12. Like not-work-from-home days 6
13D 13. Had to have 6
14D 18. Visibly embarrassed, say 3
15D 22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts 7
16D 24. What can travel a fare distance? 3
17D 25. Brain-busting 4
18D 26. Just between us 7
19D 27. Blue race in "Avatar" 4
20D 29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet 7
21D 32. Hotel request 3
22D 34. Scanned lines, for short 3
23D 36. "If you ___ stand the heat ..." 4
24D 37. Crossed (out) 4
25D 38. Made nice? 8
26D 39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot" 8
27D 43. Pit stop refill 3
28D 44. Subject of a saying about new tricks 6
29D 45. Infer (from) 6
30D 46. Perhaps not at all 6
31D 48. Spinner of tunes 6
32D 49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video 6
33D 51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two 5
34D 52. "Nuts!" 3
35D 55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps 4
36D 57. Pitcher's asset 3
37D 59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line 3
38D 60. Sort 3
39D 61. Texting format, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Reach great heights in life"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Like black and white"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other
  • Similar words include: antonym, inverse, paired
  • Opposite of: synonym, alternate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPPOSITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Numbered in a tournament bracket"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that go to seed; shed seeds
  • Similar words include: seed, sow, sown
  • Opposite of: unseeded
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Always at the pharmacy?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
  • Similar words include: domiciliation, digs, embroider
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Regret"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: repent, regret, ruefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Middle-earth foe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. ___ Territory, 1861-89"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people of the northern mississippi valley; commonly called the sioux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAKOTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Ho-hum feeling"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the feeling of being bored by something tedious
  • Similar words include: boredom, tedium
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENNUI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. British john"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toilet in britain
  • Similar words include: water closet, W.C., closet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ripped to pieces"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Like not-work-from-home days"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Had to have"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that require as useful, just, or proper
  • Similar words include: want, require, necessitate
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Visibly embarrassed, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
  • Similar words include: bolshy, violent, red-faced
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small or little relative to something else
  • Similar words include: humble, littler, pocket-sized
  • Opposite of: large, big
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMALLER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. What can travel a fare distance?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
  • Similar words include: cabriolet, taxi, taxicab
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Brain-busting"

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: laborious, grueling, tough
  • Opposite of: easy, voiced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Just between us"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Blue race in "Avatar""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Hotel request"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: camp bed, fingerstall, crib
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Scanned lines, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. "If you ___ stand the heat ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
  • Similar words include: bevel, slang, vernacular
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Crossed (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Made nice?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put (things or places) in order
  • Similar words include: straighten, square away, neaten
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEATENED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot""

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Pit stop refill"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: gun, bluster, flatulence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Subject of a saying about new tricks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Infer (from)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reason by deduction; establish by deduction
  • Similar words include: gain, come, descend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DERIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Perhaps not at all"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Spinner of tunes"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to wind or move in a spiral course
  • Similar words include: reel, spiral, coil
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GYRATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a specific size and style of type within a type family
  • Similar words include: baptistry, baptismal font, case
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. "Nuts!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
  • Similar words include: human knee, knee joint, articulatio genus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Pitcher's asset"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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: limb, sleeve, fortify
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Sort"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Texting format, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: SM, atomic number 62, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

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: September 29, 2026 at 09:59 AM

Friday, September 18, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 18, 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. Server's warning at a restaurant 6
2A 7. Moved along (to) 6
3A 13. Modern tech aid whose design was inspired by a Go board 6
4A 14. Figuratively speaking 7
5A 15. Begin to boil 6
6A 16. Insects named for when they emerge 8
7A 17. Breaks off 4
8A 18. Water containers 4
9A 19. Dinosaur in Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" 4
10A 20. Four-time N.B.A. All-Star Young 4
11A 21. Line at an Apple Store 4
12A 22. Permanent, perhaps 5
13A 23. Contents of some pockets 3
14A 24. Yell sharply 4
15A 25. Org. whose events are typically held at clubs 3
16A 26. Country club? 13
17A 30. Defensive effort in the red zone 13
18A 32. Not everyone agrees on this 13
19A 34. Ball girl 3
20A 35. "Big Brother" host Julie 4
21A 36. Org. concerned with traffic 3
22A 37. Ones catching rays, perhaps? 5
23A 40. Two in a row? 4
24A 41. Places to buy buckets, familiarly 4
25A 42. Common plant for a "plant mom" 4
26A 43. Long-bodied fish 4
27A 44. Cookie contents 4
28A 45. Not together, in a way 8
29A 47. "Is that a challenge?!" 6
30A 49. Some features of backyard landscaping 7
31A 50. "I'll be right with you" 6
32A 51. Gave the once-over 6
33A 52. "Don't believe me? Just watch!" 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Server's warning at a restaurant"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Moved along (to)"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that proceed without interruption; in music or talk
  • Similar words include: segue
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEGUED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "13. Modern tech aid whose design was inspired by a Go board"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Figuratively speaking"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Begin to boil"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Insects named for when they emerge"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Breaks off"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Water containers"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
  • Similar words include: dyke, dekametre, decametre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Dinosaur in Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Four-time N.B.A. All-Star Young"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Line at an Apple Store"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
  • Similar words include: mackintosh, mac, macintosh
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MACS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "22. Permanent, perhaps"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "23. Contents of some pockets"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "24. Yell sharply"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
  • Similar words include: barque, skin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BARK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "25. Org. whose events are typically held at clubs"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "26. Country club?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "30. Defensive effort in the red zone"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Not everyone agrees on this"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. Ball girl"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a young woman making her debut into society
  • Similar words include: debutante
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. "Big Brother" host Julie"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild goose having white adult plumage
  • Similar words include: subgenus Chen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "36. Org. concerned with traffic"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of transportation that is responsible for the safety of civilian aviation
  • Similar words include: Federal Aviation Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "37. Ones catching rays, perhaps?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
  • Similar words include: killer whale, killer, Orcinus orca
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORCAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "40. Two in a row?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
  • Similar words include: foeman, opposition, enemy
  • Opposite of: friend
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "41. Places to buy buckets, familiarly"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "42. Common plant for a "plant mom""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "43. Long-bodied fish"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
  • Similar words include: expressway, throughway, motorway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "44. Cookie contents"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn
  • Similar words include: datum, information, data point
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DATA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "45. Not together, in a way"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "47. "Is that a challenge?!""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "49. Some features of backyard landscaping"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small roofed building affording shade and rest
  • Similar words include: summerhouse, gazebo
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAZEBOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "50. "I'll be right with you""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "51. Gave the once-over"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "52. "Don't believe me? Just watch!""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Brightness measures, in brief 3
2D 2. Element of a dating profile? 8
3D 3. Potential outcomes 9
4D 4. Mass 5
5D 5. ___ of Solomon, literary collection written in the first or second century 4
6D 6. Sci-fi writer Chiang 3
7D 7. "&" follower, in some business names 4
8D 8. When much rainy weather occurs in Côte d'Ivoire 3
9D 9. Flip 9
10D 10. Seize 5
11D 11. High-ranking scout 5
12D 12. Company whose products suck 5
13D 14. Additional schoolwork? 4
14D 16. Simple cocktail named for two brands 11
15D 18. "Phooey!" 6
16D 20. Torque symbol, in physics 3
17D 21. Bit of nonsense writing that typically gets a laugh 6
18D 22. Delighted cry upon receiving an acceptance 6
19D 24. Ball girls 6
20D 25. Leap day baby, e.g. 6
21D 27. Clicked with a partner? 9
22D 28. Snicker 6
23D 29. Simple check for freshness 9
24D 31. Act like yourself, perhaps? 8
25D 33. Nasty ___ (noted rap moniker) 3
26D 37. Not in the minority? 5
27D 38. It often has four legs 5
28D 39. Fidget spinners or Angry Birds, once 5
29D 40. Give ___ (cause consternation in) 4
30D 41. Character played by Rashida Jones on "The Office" 5
31D 43. Set piece 4
32D 44. Longtime U.F.C. C.E.O. ___ White 4
33D 46. Aladdin's sidekick 3
34D 47. Many a nonfiction Oscar nominee, informally 3
35D 48. Lead-in to "lab" in the name of an S&P 500 company 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Brightness measures, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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!

2D: "2. Element of a dating profile?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Potential outcomes"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an outline or synopsis of a play (or, by extension, of a literary work)
  • Similar words include: scenario
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCENARIOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Mass"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vast multitude
  • Similar words include: drove, legion, swarm
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. ___ of Solomon, literary collection written in the first or second century"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Similar words include: ode
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Sci-fi writer Chiang"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing edwardian style clothes
  • Similar words include: Teddy boy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "&" follower, in some business names"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male human offspring
  • Similar words include: boy, Son, Logos
  • Opposite of: girl, daughter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. When much rainy weather occurs in Côte d'Ivoire"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Flip"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Seize"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession
  • Similar words include: seize, arrogate, assume
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USURP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. High-ranking scout"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various large keen-sighted diurnal birds of prey noted for their broad wings and strong soaring flight
  • Similar words include: double birdie, bird of Jove
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAGLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Company whose products suck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Additional schoolwork?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of money
  • Similar words include: join, summarize, marrow
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "16. Simple cocktail named for two brands"

11 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "18. "Phooey!""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "20. Torque symbol, in physics"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 19th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "21. Bit of nonsense writing that typically gets a laugh"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "22. Delighted cry upon receiving an acceptance"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "24. Ball girls"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals
  • Similar words include: bell, belle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BELLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "25. Leap day baby, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the twelfth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about february 19 to march 20
  • Similar words include: Fish, Pisces the Fishes
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PISCES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "27. Clicked with a partner?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes
  • Similar words include: tap, tapdance
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPDANCED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "28. Snicker"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "29. Simple check for freshness"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "31. Act like yourself, perhaps?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "33. Nasty ___ (noted rap moniker)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. Not in the minority?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. It often has four legs"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of passing something along from one person or group to another
  • Similar words include: electrical relay, relay race
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Fidget spinners or Angry Birds, once"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
  • Similar words include: madden, cult, hysteria
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Give ___ (cause consternation in)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a display of bad temper
  • Similar words include: burst, paroxysm, conform to
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "41. Character played by Rashida Jones on "The Office""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the tibeto-burman language spoken in the thailand and burmese borderlands
  • Similar words include: Karenic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Set piece"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling
  • Similar words include: airplane propeller, shore up, shore
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. Longtime U.F.C. C.E.O. ___ White"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that celtic goddess who was the mother of the tuatha de danann; identified with the welsh don
  • Similar words include: Danu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Aladdin's sidekick"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "47. Many a nonfiction Oscar nominee, informally"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a licensed medical practitioner
  • Similar words include: doctor, Commerce, MD
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "48. Lead-in to "lab" in the name of an S&P 500 company"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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

33 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
68 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: September 18, 2026 at 08:22 AM