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

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 06, 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. Don't believe it 3
2A 4. Soccer great Mia 4
3A 8. Prepared (for) 6
4A 14. Feature of a spy film 8
5A 16. Scalper's transaction 6
6A 17. Prairie bloom for which a creamery is named 8
7A 18. DC good guy 6
8A 19. They're found in a circle 5
9A 20. Dispensary inits. 3
10A 22. Late spring or early summer bloom 5
11A 23. Leave speechless 3
12A 24. Texter's "I can't even" 3
13A 26. In perpetuity 4
14A 28. Winter coat? 3
15A 29. Narrow margin of victory 4
16A 30. Lunchbox staple, informally 3
17A 33. All primes except 2 10
18A 37. Country nearest to the Equator without touching it 4
19A 38. Hybridized, botanically ... or like four pairs of answers in this puzzle (and the circled letters they intersect on)? 15
20A 40. "Stop right there!" 4
21A 41. "Great Scott!" 10
22A 42. Bird adapted for silent flight 3
23A 43. Charging option 4
24A 44. Deciding periods, in brief 3
25A 45. Airdrops? 4
26A 46. [I'm a good boy!] 3
27A 47. Summer cooler 3
28A 50. Movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 5
29A 53. Dip 3
30A 55. Philosopher William of ___ 5
31A 57. Become part of a club 6
32A 59. ___ method (type of teaching) 8
33A 61. Bloom whose toxic nectar is one source of "mad honey" 6
34A 62. Flower found along a metaphorical path of ease 8
35A 63. A bad review might merit a rotten one 6
36A 64. Like some advice 4
37A 65. Manhattan liquor 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Don't believe it"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
  • Similar words include: prevarication, dwell, lie down
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Soccer great Mia"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Prepared (for)"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult
  • Similar words include: stimulate, stabilize, stabilise
  • Opposite of: sedate, de-energize
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRACED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Feature of a spy film"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends
  • Similar words include: scheme, machination, fascinate
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTRIGUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Scalper's transaction"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the selling of something purchased
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Prairie bloom for which a creamery is named"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sometimes placed in genus scilla
  • Similar words include: prairie gentian, Campanula rotundifolia, wood hyacinth
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLUEBELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. DC good guy"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an orderly assigned to serve a british military officer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. They're found in a circle"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the length of a line segment between the center and circumference of a circle or sphere
  • Similar words include: wheel spoke, radius, spoke
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADII

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Dispensary inits."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Late spring or early summer bloom"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous plants widely cultivated for their showy single or double red or pink or white flowers
  • Similar words include: paeony
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEONY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Leave speechless"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Texter's "I can't even""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. In perpetuity"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at any time
  • Similar words include: always, of all time, ever so
  • Opposite of: never
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Winter coat?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: meth, frappe, ice-skating rink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Narrow margin of victory"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
  • Similar words include: tomentum, pilus, hairsbreadth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Lunchbox staple, informally"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. All primes except 2"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Country nearest to the Equator without touching it"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in western south america; achieved independence from spain in 1821; was the heart of the inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries
  • Similar words include: Republic of Peru
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Hybridized, botanically ... or like four pairs of answers in this puzzle (and the circled letters they intersect on)?"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. "Stop right there!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of inactivity following an interruption
  • Similar words include: stay, stanch, halting
  • Opposite of: start
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. "Great Scott!""

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Bird adapted for silent flight"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
  • Similar words include: bird of Minerva, hooter, bird of night
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Charging option"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an endorsement made in a passport that allows the bearer to enter the country issuing it
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Deciding periods, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "45. Airdrops?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thin fog with condensation near the ground
  • Similar words include: fog, obscure, mist over
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "46. [I'm a good boy!]"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Summer cooler"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. Movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Dip"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shape that sags
  • Similar words include: sag down, flag, swag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Philosopher William of ___"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. Become part of a club"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that register formally as a participant or member
  • Similar words include: enter, enrol, recruit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "59. ___ method (type of teaching)"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or relating to socrates or to his method of teaching
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOCRATIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. Bloom whose toxic nectar is one source of "mad honey""

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AZALEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Flower found along a metaphorical path of ease"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
  • Similar words include: primula
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRIMROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. A bad review might merit a rotten one"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mildly acid red or yellow pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable
  • Similar words include: love apple, tomato plant, Lycopersicon esculentum
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Like some advice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
  • Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Manhattan liquor"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seed of the cereal grass
  • Similar words include: Secale cereale, rye whiskey, rye whisky
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. First sign of fall 5
2D 2. Family tree addition 5
3D 3. One of 12 in a Pulitzer-winning piece by composer/pianist William Bolcom 5
4D 4. Blossom in a lei 8
5D 5. Period in history 3
6D 6. Bed cover 5
7D 7. Scary Spice, by another nickname 4
8D 8. Texter's "just a sec" 3
9D 9. Harvesting machine 6
10D 10. Cousin of edelweiss 5
11D 11. Pattern based on nature, for short 4
12D 12. Stylish flair 4
13D 13. Turn down 4
14D 15. King, in Portuguese 3
15D 21. First word from a wedding officiant 6
16D 25. Home of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music 7
17D 27. Alice, in Wonderland 7
18D 28. Part of M.I.T.: Abbr. 4
19D 29. Very, slangily 5
20D 30. Politician Buttigieg 4
21D 31. Partner of born 4
22D 32. Sport with throws 4
23D 33. Siete + uno 4
24D 34. Cry in a gunfight 4
25D 35. Cutie pie 4
26D 36. Gives a lift 6
27D 37. Besties 4
28D 39. "I'll pass" 8
29D 43. Flower found at the end of a rainbow? 6
30D 45. Cold, hard cash 5
31D 46. Ancient marketplace 5
32D 47. Company man? 5
33D 48. "Link" in a botanical chain 5
34D 49. Play the host 5
35D 50. Nitty-gritty 4
36D 51. Automaker Ferrari 4
37D 52. Airport transport 4
38D 54. Some vipers 4
39D 56. Viper, e.g. 3
40D 58. Language of Vientiane 3
41D 60. Smoke 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. First sign of fall"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in libra
  • Similar words include: Libra the Scales, Libra the Balance, Balance
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIBRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Family tree addition"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. One of 12 in a Pulitzer-winning piece by composer/pianist William Bolcom"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Blossom in a lei"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any plant of the genus hibiscus
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIBISCUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Period in history"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that how long something has existed
  • Similar words include: mature, historic period, maturate
  • Opposite of: rejuvenate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Bed cover"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protective covering of rotting vegetable matter spread to reduce evaporation and soil erosion
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MULCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Scary Spice, by another nickname"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Texter's "just a sec""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Harvesting machine"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who helps to gather the harvest
  • Similar words include: harvester, Grim Reaper
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Cousin of edelweiss"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus aster with showy daisylike flowers
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Pattern based on nature, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background
  • Similar words include: camouflage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Stylish flair"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
  • Similar words include: dash, flair, panache
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Turn down"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that declare untrue; contradict
  • Similar words include: traverse, refuse, abnegate
  • Opposite of: admit, allow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. King, in Portuguese"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. First word from a wedding officiant"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a sincere and heartfelt manner
  • Similar words include: affectionately, dear, in a heartfelt way
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEARLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Home of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that largest city of tennessee; located in southwestern tennessee on bluffs overlooking the mississippi river
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMPHIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Alice, in Wonderland"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who visits
  • Similar words include: visitant
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISITOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Part of M.I.T.: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in or of the present month
  • Similar words include: instant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Very, slangily"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Politician Buttigieg"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Partner of born"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that copulate with a female, used especially of horses
  • Similar words include: engender, multiply, cover
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Sport with throws"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sport adapted from jujitsu (using principles of not resisting) and similar to wrestling; developed in japan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JUDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Siete + uno"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Cry in a gunfight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gully that is shallower than a ravine
  • Similar words include: drawing card, tie, delineate
  • Opposite of: push, deposit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Cutie pie"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small replica of a person; used as a toy
  • Similar words include: chick, bird, skirt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Gives a lift"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of giving hope or support to someone
  • Similar words include: cost increase, boost, hike up
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Besties"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Similar words include: pal, brother, chum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. "I'll pass""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Flower found at the end of a rainbow?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
  • Similar words include: purplish, reddish blue, purple
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VIOLET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Cold, hard cash"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Ancient marketplace"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 agorot equal 1 shekel in israel
  • Similar words include: public square
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "47. Company man?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a theatrical performer
  • Similar words include: doer, thespian, role player
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. "Link" in a botanical chain"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAISY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Play the host"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and introduces other speakers)
  • Similar words include: host, compere, master of ceremonies
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMCEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Nitty-gritty"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
  • Similar words include: gist, center, sum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. Automaker Ferrari"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "52. Airport transport"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Some vipers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Viper, e.g."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
  • Similar words include: railcar, railway car, auto
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "58. Language of Vientiane"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a buddhist people inhabiting the area of the mekong river in laos and thailand and speaking the lao language; related to the thais
  • Similar words include: Laotian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "60. Smoke"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: May 06, 2026 at 06:17 AM

Monday, February 16, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 16, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Necklace fastener 5
2A 6. Physique, slangily 3
3A 9. "___ to that!" 4
4A 13. Textile city NNE of Paris 5
5A 14. New wave band with the hit "Whip It" 4
6A 15. Improvise, in jazz 4
7A 16. Stared rudely 5
8A 17. Late-night kitchen visit, e.g. 4
9A 18. Stench 4
10A 19. Longtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom 13
11A 22. Home for pigs 3
12A 23. Teen wearing heavy eyeliner, maybe 4
13A 24. Really, really cool 6
14A 27. "My dude!" 3
15A 28. Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs 4
16A 30. ___-Hulk 3
17A 31. Charge for airing a commercial 5
18A 34. Fictional lab assistant with a hunchback 4
19A 35. Stylish 4
20A 36. Capital of the Gem State, in a mailing address 7
21A 38. Possible cybercrime, informally 7
22A 40. M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition) 4
23A 41. Close by 4
24A 43. Corrosion signs 5
25A 44. Stadium cheer 3
26A 45. Glance through 4
27A 46. Reader's Digest or Golf Digest, in brief 3
28A 47. Where clams are served 6
29A 49. Knotted (up) 4
30A 51. Rep.'s counterpart 3
31A 54. "Makes no difference to me" 13
32A 57. Actress Kendrick 4
33A 59. Hourly pay rate 4
34A 60. Flock that honks 5
35A 61. Follow directions 4
36A 62. Conga, for one 4
37A 63. Chicago's ___ Planetarium 5
38A 64. Scottish girl 4
39A 65. Place to get a rubdown 3
40A 66. Voting spots 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Necklace fastener"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together
  • Similar words include: clutches, grip, brooch
  • Opposite of: unclasp, unbuckle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Physique, slangily"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that alternative names for the body of a human being
  • Similar words include: chassis, human body, form
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. "___ to that!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Textile city NNE of Paris"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an industrial city in northern france near the belgian border; was the medieval capital of flanders
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LILLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. New wave band with the hit "Whip It""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Improvise, in jazz"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men
  • Similar words include: tease, flirt, vamper
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VAMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Stared rudely"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "17. Late-night kitchen visit, e.g."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "18. Stench"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: olfactory sensation, olfactory perception, scent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "19. Longtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom"

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Home for pigs"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Teen wearing heavy eyeliner, maybe"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
  • Similar words include: tike, boor, peasant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Really, really cool"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. "My dude!""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "28. Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that trademark for a powerful operating system
  • Similar words include: UNIX operating system, UNIX system
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNIX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. ___-Hulk"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. Charge for airing a commercial"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Fictional lab assistant with a hunchback"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. Stylish"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegance by virtue of being fashionable
  • Similar words include: chicness, last word, stylishness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "36. Capital of the Gem State, in a mailing address"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. Possible cybercrime, informally"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that englishman and pre-raphaelite painter (1827-1910)
  • Similar words include: Leigh Hunt, hunt down, Holman Hunt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Close by"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move towards
  • Similar words include: come near, draw near, nearly
  • Opposite of: far
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "43. Corrosion signs"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a red or brown oxide coating on iron or steel caused by the action of oxygen and moisture
  • Similar words include: eat, rust fungus, rust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "44. Stadium cheer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Glance through"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region
  • Similar words include: glance over, rake, CAT scan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Reader's Digest or Golf Digest, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a periodic publication containing pictures and stories and articles of interest to those who purchase it or subscribe to it
  • Similar words include: magazine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "47. Where clams are served"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "49. Knotted (up)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord
  • Similar words include: connect, draw, level
  • Opposite of: untied, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "51. Rep.'s counterpart"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "54. "Makes no difference to me""

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "57. Actress Kendrick"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a former copper coin of pakistan and india
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. Hourly pay rate"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that remunerates
  • Similar words include: pay, salary, earnings
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Flock that honks"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
  • Similar words include: goose, goofball, jackass
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEESE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. Follow directions"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. Conga, for one"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
  • Similar words include: cram, grind away, bone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. Chicago's ___ Planetarium"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "64. Scottish girl"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a girl or young woman who is unmarried
  • Similar words include: lassie, jeune fille, young girl
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "65. Place to get a rubdown"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "66. Voting spots"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the place where people vote
  • Similar words include: public opinion poll, crown, canvass
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POLLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Thickens, as cream 5
2D 2. Not heavy 5
3D 3. Narrow way between city buildings 5
4D 4. Whole bunch 4
5D 5. Horse's ancestral line 8
6D 6. Hearty embrace 7
7D 7. Roman poet who wrote "Metamorphoses" 4
8D 8. Dull-witted sort 8
9D 9. Eschew 5
10D 10. Frantic scrambles 9
11D 11. Rock subgenre with confessional lyrics 3
12D 12. "All Things Considered" airer 3
13D 14. "Fiddlesticks!" 4
14D 20. D.C.'s National ___ 3
15D 21. Kind of number on an old business card 3
16D 25. Change gears 5
17D 26. Religious offshoots 5
18D 27. Top-tier 4
19D 29. Pinot ___ 4
20D 31. Give 0 stars in a review, say 5
21D 32. One giving support during childbirth 5
22D 33. High-quality reds and whites 9
23D 34. Something to noodle on 4
24D 35. Drink very quickly 4
25D 37. Glitterati 8
26D 39. Shortfall of exports vis-à-vis imports 8
27D 42. One of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean 7
28D 45. Droop 3
29D 46. "It's just OK" 3
30D 48. Occasions for blowing out candles on cakes, informally 5
31D 50. Agenda bullet point 4
32D 51. Linger (on), as a topic 5
33D 52. Art supporter 5
34D 53. Mike who voiced Shrek in "Shrek" 5
35D 55. Wyatt at the O.K. Corral 4
36D 56. Make over 4
37D 57. Early leader in instant messaging 3
38D 58. Org. for the Raptors, but not the Blue Jays 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Thickens, as cream"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Not heavy"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
  • Similar words include: easy, Light Within, illumine
  • Opposite of: extinguish, heavy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIGHT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Narrow way between city buildings"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrow street with walls on both sides
  • Similar words include: alleyway, back street, skittle alley
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Whole bunch"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: heap, mountain, spate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Horse's ancestral line"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the descendants of one individual
  • Similar words include: stemma, stock, line
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEDIGREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Hearty embrace"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Roman poet who wrote "Metamorphoses""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman poet remembered for his elegiac verses on love (43 bc - ad 17)
  • Similar words include: Publius Ovidius Naso
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Dull-witted sort"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Eschew"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
  • Similar words include: head off, obviate, annul
  • Opposite of: validate, confront
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVOID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Frantic scrambles"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Rock subgenre with confessional lyrics"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "All Things Considered" airer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. "Fiddlesticks!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "20. D.C.'s National ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the facility where wild animals are housed for exhibition
  • Similar words include: menagerie, zoological garden
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ZOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Kind of number on an old business card"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that duplicator that transmits the copy by wire or radio
  • Similar words include: facsimile, facsimile machine, telefax
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Change gears"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an event in which something is displaced without rotation
  • Similar words include: shift key, agitate, transfer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHIFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Religious offshoots"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a subdivision of a larger religious group
  • Similar words include: sect, religious sect, faction
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Top-tier"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the supreme effort one can make
  • Similar words include: Charles Herbert Best, sound, serious
  • Opposite of: badly, bad
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Pinot ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Give 0 stars in a review, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that find repugnant
  • Similar words include: execrate, loathe, abominate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABHOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. One giving support during childbirth"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes
  • Similar words include: birthing coach, monitrice, labor coach
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOULA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. High-quality reds and whites"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Something to noodle on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
  • Similar words include: melodic theme, theme, approximation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Drink very quickly"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dull explosive noise made by an engine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHUG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Glitterati"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Shortfall of exports vis-à-vis imports"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. One of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest of the islands comprising antigua and barbuda
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTIGUA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Droop"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shape that sags
  • Similar words include: flag, swag, sag down
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. "It's just OK""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Occasions for blowing out candles on cakes, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Agenda bullet point"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Linger (on), as a topic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that think moodily or anxiously about something
  • Similar words include: inhabit, lie, harp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DWELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Art supporter"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Mike who voiced Shrek in "Shrek""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Wyatt at the O.K. Corral"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Make over"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that do over, as of (part of) a house
  • Similar words include: remodel, refashion, reconstruct
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Early leader in instant messaging"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "58. Org. for the Raptors, but not the Blue Jays"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

40 Across Clues
38 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 16, 2026 at 05:14 AM