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

Monday, October 12, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers October 12, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Moderate

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "Let's not forget ..." 4
2A 5. Singer/actress Bareilles 4
3A 9. First part of a musical 4
4A 13. Close by 4
5A 14. Post-bath wrap 5
6A 15. Vegetable on a cob 4
7A 16. Electric vehicle from Japan 10
8A 18. God with a bow and arrow 4
9A 19. Brief 5
10A 20. Investment option for old age, in brief 3
11A 22. Mail carrier's assignment: Abbr. 3
12A 23. Signaling, as a performer 5
13A 24. Total mess 9
14A 27. Contents of a sleeve 3
15A 28. Birthstones for some Libras 5
16A 30. Quick kiss 4
17A 31. Movie princess with "space buns" 4
18A 33. Rapper ___ Kim 3
19A 34. Mercury, Venus or Mars 5
20A 35. Unpredictable emotional shift 9
21A 38. Striped kitty 5
22A 40. Main element in pewter 3
23A 41. "No ___, no foul" 4
24A 45. Olympic sword with a guarded tip 4
25A 46. Thick heads of hair 5
26A 48. Furious 3
27A 49. Celtics legend nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick" 9
28A 51. Kicks off, as a concert 5
29A 53. Singer Grande, informally 3
30A 54. Part of the Holy Trinity 3
31A 55. Tony winner Menzel 5
32A 56. ___-Cola 4
33A 58. Positioned precariously ... or where the ends of 16-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across can all be found 10
34A 62. Those, in Spanish 4
35A 63. Lollipop holder 5
36A 64. Great Plains tribe 4
37A 65. "Late Night" host Meyers 4
38A 66. ___ off (miffed) 4
39A 67. Little kid 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Let's not forget ...""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in addition
  • Similar words include: as well, likewise, besides
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Singer/actress Bareilles"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. First part of a musical"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Close by"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move towards
  • Similar words include: most, cheeseparing, close
  • Opposite of: far
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Post-bath wrap"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOWEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Vegetable on a cob"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in america in many varieties; the principal cereal in mexico and central and south america since pre-columbian times
  • Similar words include: corn whiskey, Zea mays, edible corn
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Electric vehicle from Japan"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. God with a bow and arrow"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) god of love; son of aphrodite; identified with roman cupid
  • Similar words include: physical attraction, sexual desire, concupiscence
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Brief"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed
  • Similar words include: myopic, poor, curtly
  • Opposite of: retentive, long
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Investment option for old age, in brief"

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: Irish Republican Army, Provos, Provisional IRA
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Mail carrier's assignment: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Signaling, as a performer"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned
  • Similar words include: cue, remind, prompt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Total mess"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Contents of a sleeve"

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: build up, fortify, branch
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "28. Birthstones for some Libras"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color; some varieties are used as gemstones
  • Similar words include: opal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Quick kiss"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: batch, peck at, hatful
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PECK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. Movie princess with "space buns""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Rapper ___ Kim"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. Mercury, Venus or Mars"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
  • Similar words include: immortal, god, divinity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Unpredictable emotional shift"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. Striped kitty"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cat with a grey or tawny coat mottled with black
  • Similar words include: tabby cat, brindle, brinded
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TABBY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Main element in pewter"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
  • Similar words include: cannister, atomic number 50, tin can
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. "No ___, no foul""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
  • Similar words include: scathe, hurt, impairment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Olympic sword with a guarded tip"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Thick heads of hair"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a persian prophet who founded manichaeism (216-276)
  • Similar words include: head of hair, mane, man
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Furious"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roused to anger; - mark twain
  • Similar words include: demented, disturbed, delirious
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. Celtics legend nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick""

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. Kicks off, as a concert"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: unfold, spread out, out-of-doors
  • Opposite of: close, fold
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Singer Grande, informally"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Part of the Holy Trinity"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "55. Tony winner Menzel"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. ___-Cola"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a south american shrub whose leaves are chewed by natives of the andes; a source of cocaine
  • Similar words include: Imogene Coca, coca plant, Erythroxylon coca
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Positioned precariously ... or where the ends of 16-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across can all be found"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Those, in Spanish"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Lollipop holder"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement consisting of a length of wood
  • Similar words include: wedge, baffle, pin
  • Opposite of: dislodge, move
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STICK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Great Plains tribe"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the platte and missouri rivers in nebraska
  • Similar words include: Oto
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. "Late Night" host Meyers"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) third son of adam and eve; given by god in place of the murdered abel
  • Similar words include: Set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. ___ off (miffed)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that place on a tee
  • Similar words include: tee up, tee
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Little kid"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native of yorkshire
  • Similar words include: nestling, shaver, tike
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. "Tom Lake" novelist Patchett 3
2D 2. It isn't working 7
3D 3. Raw fish dish at a Japanese restaurant 7
4D 4. "Citizen Kane" director Welles 5
5D 5. Sun, in Spanish 3
6D 6. Astounded state 3
7D 7. Shows again, as a broadcast 6
8D 8. "Clemency" actress Woodard 5
9D 9. Card that may be hidden "up one's sleeve" 3
10D 10. "You're right!" 7
11D 11. Russian revolutionary Leon 7
12D 12. City map next to a state map, e.g. 5
13D 14. Explosive block in Minecraft 3
14D 17. Mythical Greek ship 4
15D 21. Tree with "quaking" leaves 5
16D 23. Baseball great Ripken 3
17D 24. ___ Marian, Robin Hood's beloved 4
18D 25. Outstanding athlete 7
19D 26. Sound from the horse's mouth 5
20D 29. Cunning tactic 4
21D 32. "Jurassic Park" insect casing 5
22D 34. Eat by candlelight, say 4
23D 36. Follows an order 5
24D 37. Sailboat propeller 4
25D 38. Hybrid flower named after a drink 7
26D 39. Kind of jam in a Sacher torte 7
27D 42. In-room safe or a chocolate on the pillow, say 7
28D 43. Went hog wild 7
29D 44. Some E.R. workers 3
30D 46. Time piece? 6
31D 47. Sweet, fizzy drink 4
32D 49. Roller skate strings 5
33D 50. Give a leg up 5
34D 52. Amelia Earhart, for one 5
35D 55. Squid's defensive output 3
36D 57. Residue on a grill 3
37D 59. Reason for overtime 3
38D 60. Anxious condition, in brief 3
39D 61. Hive occupant 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. "Tom Lake" novelist Patchett"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. It isn't working"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time available for ease and relaxation
  • Similar words include: leisure time
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEISURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Raw fish dish at a Japanese restaurant"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that very thinly sliced raw fish
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASHIMI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "Citizen Kane" director Welles"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Sun, in Spanish"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid
  • Similar words include: soh, so, colloidal suspension
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Astounded state"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Shows again, as a broadcast"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. "Clemency" actress Woodard"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Card that may be hidden "up one's sleeve""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "You're right!""

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make right or correct
  • Similar words include: make up, objurgate, counterbalance
  • Opposite of: incorrect, wrong
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORRECT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Russian revolutionary Leon"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that russian revolutionary and communist theorist who helped lenin and built up the army; he was ousted from the communist party by stalin and eventually assassinated in mexico (1879-1940)
  • Similar words include: Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Leon Trotsky
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROTSKY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. City map next to a state map, e.g."

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small picture inserted within the bounds or a larger one
  • Similar words include: gusset, insert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Explosive block in Minecraft"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Mythical Greek ship"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that formerly a large constellation in the southern hemisphere between canis major and the southern cross; now divided into carina and pyxis and puppis and vela
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Tree with "quaking" leaves"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several trees of the genus populus having leaves on flattened stalks so that they flutter in the lightest wind
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Baseball great Ripken"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. ___ Marian, Robin Hood's beloved"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Outstanding athlete"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Sound from the horse's mouth"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the characteristic sounds made by a horse
  • Similar words include: whinny, nicker, whicker
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEIGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Cunning tactic"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker
  • Similar words include: stratagem, gambit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. "Jurassic Park" insect casing"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep yellow color
  • Similar words include: gold, brownish-yellow, yellow-brown
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMBER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Eat by candlelight, say"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have supper; eat dinner
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Follows an order"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be obedient to
  • Similar words include: obey
  • Opposite of: disobey
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBEYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Sailboat propeller"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
  • Similar words include: wind instrument, wrap, twist
  • Opposite of: unwind
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Hybrid flower named after a drink"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Kind of jam in a Sacher torte"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that asian tree having clusters of usually white blossoms and edible fruit resembling the peach
  • Similar words include: peach, yellowish pink, apricot tree
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APRICOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. In-room safe or a chocolate on the pillow, say"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions
  • Similar words include: agreeableness
  • Opposite of: disagreeableness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMENITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Went hog wild"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Some E.R. workers"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles (md is the current symbol for mendelevium but mv was formerly the symbol)
  • Similar words include: Free State, atomic number 101, Mv
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Time piece?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
  • Similar words include: minute of arc, infinitesimal, instant
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINUTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Sweet, fizzy drink"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sodium salt of carbonic acid; used in making soap powders and glass and paper
  • Similar words include: soda ash, sal soda, sodium carbonate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SODA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Roller skate strings"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)
  • Similar words include: intertwine, plait, twine
  • Opposite of: untwine
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LACES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Give a leg up"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of giving hope or support to someone
  • Similar words include: rise, hike up, encourage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Amelia Earhart, for one"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight
  • Similar words include: pilot burner, buffer, pilot program
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PILOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Squid's defensive output"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Residue on a grill"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the residue that remains when something is burned
  • Similar words include: ash tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Reason for overtime"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
  • Similar words include: link up, wed, splice
  • Opposite of: untie, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Anxious condition, in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Hive occupant"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEE

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: October 12, 2026 at 11:07 AM

Friday, October 9, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers October 09, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Moderate

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Mensches 9
2A 10. "Super Dry" brewer 5
3A 15. Visual aid with a three-dimensional aspect 9
4A 16. Persona non grata 5
5A 17. By an even stronger argument, at law 9
6A 18. Stars to gaze up at 5
7A 19. Not mad 4
8A 20. Squishy projectile 8
9A 22. Cackling carnivores 6
10A 25. World's third-largest river by discharge, after the Amazon and the Congo 7
11A 27. Miserly sorts, informally 8
12A 30. Rift 3
13A 31. Like a certain artery 8
14A 32. Mango leftovers 4
15A 33. The astronomer Tycho Brahe, for one 4
16A 34. Org. concerned with screenings 3
17A 35. Wine leftovers 4
18A 36. ___ Kar-wai, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker behind 1994's "Chungking Express" 4
19A 37. Hounds that can run up to 35 m.p.h. 8
20A 39. It's mine, all mine! 3
21A 40. NPR program since 1987 8
22A 41. Two aces, say 7
23A 43. Kind of roll 6
24A 47. Comfortable 8
25A 50. "Do I ___ to eat a peach?": T.S. Eliot 4
26A 51. Record of the year? 5
27A 52. Drawing on another's life 9
28A 55. Handle 5
29A 56. Much-anticipated rivalry game in soccer's La Liga 9
30A 57. Hidden element of FedEx's logo 5
31A 58. Extremely difficult and ultimately futile 9

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Mensches"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "10. "Super Dry" brewer"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "15. Visual aid with a three-dimensional aspect"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "16. Persona non grata"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person afflicted with leprosy
  • Similar words include: lazar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. By an even stronger argument, at law"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Stars to gaze up at"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a material effigy that is worshipped
  • Similar words include: matinee idol, perfection, idol
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDOLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Not mad"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
  • Similar words include: reasonable
  • Opposite of: insane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Squishy projectile"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Cackling carnivores"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that doglike nocturnal mammal of africa and southern asia that feeds chiefly on carrion
  • Similar words include: hyena, hyaena
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYENAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "25. World's third-largest river by discharge, after the Amazon and the Congo"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a south american river 1,500 miles long; flows into the south atlantic
  • Similar words include: Orinoco River
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORINOCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "27. Miserly sorts, informally"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend
  • Similar words include: niggard, scrooge, churl
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCROOGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "30. Rift"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: spread, break, col
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "31. Like a certain artery"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery by a blood clot (thrombus)
  • Similar words include: coronary thrombosis
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORONARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "32. Mango leftovers"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sizeable hole (usually in the ground)
  • Similar words include: quarry, cavity, pit
  • Opposite of: Heaven
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. The astronomer Tycho Brahe, for one"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of denmark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Org. concerned with screenings"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
  • Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Wine leftovers"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sediment from fermentation of an alcoholic beverage
  • Similar words include: Spike Lee, Gypsy Rose Lee, Henry Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. ___ Kar-wai, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker behind 1994's "Chungking Express""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Hounds that can run up to 35 m.p.h."

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small slender dog of greyhound type developed in england
  • Similar words include: whippet
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHIPPETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. It's mine, all mine!"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. NPR program since 1987"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Two aces, say"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Kind of roll"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the title of the holy roman emperors or the emperors of austria or of germany until 1918
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAISER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Comfortable"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. "Do I ___ to eat a peach?": T.S. Eliot"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
  • Similar words include: defy, presume, daring
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Record of the year?"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Drawing on another's life"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relating to or caused by parasites
  • Similar words include: parasitical, bloodsucking, epenthetic
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARASITIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Handle"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. Much-anticipated rivalry game in soccer's La Liga"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. Hidden element of FedEx's logo"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark to indicate a direction or relation
  • Similar words include: pointer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "58. Extremely difficult and ultimately futile"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or relating to sisyphus
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SISYPHEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Hit the hay hard 5
2D 2. Morgan ___, sorceress in King Arthur stories 5
3D 3. Not having company 5
4D 4. What Odysseus' crew waxed on about? 9
5D 5. Mahjong grouping 3
6D 6. Org. concerned with screenings 3
7D 7. "Really?!" 4
8D 8. Zero out, in a way 4
9D 9. Device geared to draw rotationally symmetrical shapes 10
10D 10. Accounts for checking? 6
11D 11. Compact, maybe 5
12D 12. "My mistake" 9
13D 13. Some Navy aircraft during W.W. II 8
14D 14. Org. requiring crypto disclosures beginning in 2025 3
15D 21. Glenn who co-founded the Eagles 4
16D 23. A lot of lot 4
17D 24. Broadway show inits. 3
18D 26. Psy-___ 3
19D 28. Near failure, colloquially 10
20D 29. Fertile place 5
21D 31. Swiss Army knife component 9
22D 32. Aid for someone studying a culture 9
23D 33. One who regularly takes a best friend out? 8
24D 35. Princess who says "Governor Tarkin! I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board" 4
25D 36. Like some noodles and martinis 3
26D 37. Habeas corpus, e.g. 4
27D 38. Cricket's Men in Green, on scoreboards 3
28D 40. Dormant 6
29D 42. Student of Socrates 5
30D 44. "GymnopΓ©dies" composer 5
31D 45. Jong who wrote "Fear of Flying" 5
32D 46. Scouting trip 5
33D 48. Artist with an absurdist humor book all about his mustache 4
34D 49. Sauron's soldiers in "The Lord of the Rings" 4
35D 51. ___ team 3
36D 53. Gymnast Raisman 3
37D 54. Enervate 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Hit the hay hard"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud resonant repeating noise
  • Similar words include: collapse, doss down, ram
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Morgan ___, sorceress in King Arthur stories"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Not having company"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that isolated from others
  • Similar words include: exclusively, lonely, solitary
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. What Odysseus' crew waxed on about?"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Mahjong grouping"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
  • Similar words include: limit, go under, determine
  • Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Org. concerned with screenings"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Really?!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Zero out, in a way"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adjustment made for the weight of the packaging in order to determine the net weight of the goods
  • Similar words include: darnel, bearded darnel, Lolium temulentum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Device geared to draw rotationally symmetrical shapes"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measuring instrument for recording the depth and rapidity of breathing movements
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIROGRAPH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Accounts for checking?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

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: self-justification, alibi, excuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIBIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Compact, maybe"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car that is closed and that has front and rear seats and two or four doors
  • Similar words include: sedan chair, saloon
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEDAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "My mistake""

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an expression of regret at having caused trouble for someone
  • Similar words include: apology, excuse, apologia
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APOLOGIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Some Navy aircraft during W.W. II"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a malicious woman with a fierce temper
  • Similar words include: vixen, harpy, hellcat
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELLCATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Org. requiring crypto disclosures beginning in 2025"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
  • Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Glenn who co-founded the Eagles"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) god of earth's fertility and peace and prosperity; son of njorth and brother of freya; originally of the vanir; later with the aesir
  • Similar words include: Freyr
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FREY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. A lot of lot"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
  • Similar words include: Akko, Akka, Accho
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Broadway show inits."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Psy-___"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (roman mythology) goddess of abundance and fertility; wife of saturn; counterpart of greek rhea and cybele of ancient asia minor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Near failure, colloquially"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Fertile place"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface)
  • Similar words include: haven
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OASIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Swiss Army knife component"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Aid for someone studying a culture"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. One who regularly takes a best friend out?"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Princess who says "Governor Tarkin! I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. Like some noodles and martinis"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: besotted, pie-eyed, soaked
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. Habeas corpus, e.g."

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer
  • Similar words include: judicial writ
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Cricket's Men in Green, on scoreboards"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "40. Dormant"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cultivated land that is not seeded for one or more growing seasons
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FALLOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. Student of Socrates"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ancient athenian philosopher; pupil of socrates; teacher of aristotle (428-347 bc)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. "GymnopΓ©dies" composer"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french composer noted for his experimentalism and rejection of romanticism (1866-1925)
  • Similar words include: Erik Satie, Erik Alfred Leslie Satie
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Jong who wrote "Fear of Flying""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any plant of the genus erica
  • Similar words include: true heath
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERICA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Scouting trip"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Artist with an absurdist humor book all about his mustache"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

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!

34D: "49. Sauron's soldiers in "The Lord of the Rings""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "51. ___ team"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "53. Gymnast Raisman"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "54. Enervate"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant
  • Similar words include: muggins, run down, tire
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAP

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

31 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
68 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: October 09, 2026 at 10:45 AM