Search Clues

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

Monday, August 10, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 10, 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. "Planet of the ___" 4
2A 5. Wood strip found in many Ikea bed supports 4
3A 9. Take pleasure in 5
4A 14. Size opposite of mini- 4
5A 15. Prepares to throw a dart, say 4
6A 16. Crystal-filled rock 5
7A 17. Newspaper opinion piece 4
8A 18. *Title of a 1990s ABC sitcom and a 1990s New Kids on the Block hit 10
9A 20. Cereal often found with pretzels in a party snack mix 8
10A 22. Vertical jumping ability, in basketball lingo 3
11A 23. Sheep's cry 3
12A 24. "___ to Go!," 2024 Chappell Roan hit sometimes compared to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." 3
13A 25. Attracted to people of any gender, for short 3
14A 28. *Detailed, real-time description of events 10
15A 33. Shape for a red-and-white striped Christmas candy 4
16A 34. Rodeo rope 5
17A 35. Foggy mental state 4
18A 36. Raisins, when on a celery-and-peanut-butter "log" 4
19A 37. Wrinkly citrus fruit 4
20A 38. "What a shame" 5
21A 39. Riverbank deposit 4
22A 40. Prompted, on stage 4
23A 41. Lyft competitor 4
24A 42. Zellweger of "Bridget Jones's Diary" 5
25A 43. Joint sometimes bent in protest 4
26A 44. *How to tackle big writing projects, per a seminal Anne Lamott book 10
27A 46. Go on and on and on 3
28A 47. LAX posting 3
29A 48. Frito-___ 3
30A 49. Not just some or most 3
31A 50. Got off the ground, as a start-up company 8
32A 55. *Many an off-road vehicle ... or a literal description of the answer to each asterisked clue (including this one!) 10
33A 59. Otherworldly glow 4
34A 60. It means slow (not big!) in music 5
35A 61. "Well, ___ that special!" 4
36A 62. Poetry competition 4
37A 63. "See what I'm talkin' 'bout?" 5
38A 64. Brooklyn basketballers ... and what they swish 4
39A 65. Effortlessness 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Planet of the ___""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
  • Similar words include: copycat, aper, ape
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Wood strip found in many Ikea bed supports"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thin strip (wood or metal)
  • Similar words include: spline
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Take pleasure in"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
  • Similar words include: relish, savour, love
  • Opposite of: suffer
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENJOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Size opposite of mini-"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long skirt ending below the calf
  • Opposite of: mini
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Prepares to throw a dart, say"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
  • Similar words include: purport, object, calculate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Crystal-filled rock"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (mineralogy) a hollow rock or nodule with the cavity usually lined with crystals
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Newspaper opinion piece"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. *Title of a 1990s ABC sitcom and a 1990s New Kids on the Block hit"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Cereal often found with pretzels in a party snack mix"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Vertical jumping ability, in basketball lingo"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Sheep's cry"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cry made by sheep
  • Similar words include: blat, blate, bleat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. "___ to Go!," 2024 Chappell Roan hit sometimes compared to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A.""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
  • Similar words include: red-hot, blistering, live
  • Opposite of: cold
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Attracted to people of any gender, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel
  • Similar words include: pan off, tear apart, pan out
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. *Detailed, real-time description of events"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Shape for a red-and-white striped Christmas candy"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a stick that people can lean on to help them walk
  • Similar words include: lambaste, lambast, flog
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Rodeo rope"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that belgian composer (1532-1594)
  • Similar words include: Roland de Lassus, reata, rope
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Foggy mental state"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility
  • Similar words include: daze, fog
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Raisins, when on a celery-and-peanut-butter "log""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
  • Similar words include: pismire, ant, emmet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Wrinkly citrus fruit"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large sweet juicy hybrid between tangerine and grapefruit having a thick wrinkled skin
  • Similar words include: tangelo, ugli fruit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UGLI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. "What a shame""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. Riverbank deposit"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  • Similar words include: silt up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Prompted, on stage"

4 letters Category: Common Word

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: remind, prompt, cue
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Lyft competitor"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Zellweger of "Bridget Jones's Diary""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. Joint sometimes bent in protest"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "44. *How to tackle big writing projects, per a seminal Anne Lamott book"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Go on and on and on"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for the mouth
  • Similar words include: maw, yip, gob
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "47. LAX posting"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "48. Frito-___"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
  • Similar words include: repose, put, pose
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "49. Not just some or most"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that quantifier; used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
  • Similar words include: totally, whole, entirely
  • Opposite of: partly, some
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "50. Got off the ground, as a start-up company"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that set up or found
  • Similar words include: plunge, set in motion, launch
  • Opposite of: abolish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAUNCHED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "55. *Many an off-road vehicle ... or a literal description of the answer to each asterisked clue (including this one!)"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. Otherworldly glow"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. It means slow (not big!) in music"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. "Well, ___ that special!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. Poetry competition"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that winning all or all but one of the tricks in bridge
  • Similar words include: jibe, bang, sweep
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. "See what I'm talkin' 'bout?""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "64. Brooklyn basketballers ... and what they swish"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the tcp/ip network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
  • Similar words include: mesh, net income, network
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "65. Effortlessness"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
  • Similar words include: repose, relief, informality
  • Opposite of: difficulty
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Spanish love 4
2D 2. Big ___ (nickname of baseball's David Ortiz) 4
3D 3. Company bigwig 4
4D 4. *Next to each other, like many washers and dryers 10
5D 5. Strut down the "RuPaul's Drag Race" runway, say 6
6D 6. Lo-cal 4
7D 7. Visa or Mastercard rival, informally 4
8D 8. Small recipe amt. 3
9D 9. Home of the Great Pyramid 5
10D 10. Loch ___ monster 4
11D 11. Scribble (down) 3
12D 12. Sappho's "___ to Aphrodite" 3
13D 13. Slangy affirmative 3
14D 19. Lifted, as one's spirits 6
15D 21. ___ San Lucas, Mexico 4
16D 24. Venture, as a guess 6
17D 25. Pressed sandwich 6
18D 26. Part of a reindeer's rack 6
19D 27. Prepared one's home for a new arrival 6
20D 28. Spirited and determined 6
21D 29. "___ Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV reality show of the mid-aughts) 6
22D 30. Catching some Z's 6
23D 31. Irrational fear 6
24D 32. Word before printer or pointer 5
25D 33. *Considered individually 10
26D 38. In a nonobvious way 6
27D 42. "Deadpool" actor Reynolds 4
28D 45. Says out loud without thinking 6
29D 47. Spot for a roller skater's pad 5
30D 49. Best Picture winner found hiding in "and the Oscar goes to ..." 4
31D 50. "Heads, I win. Tails, you ___!" (sneaky coin flip agreement) 4
32D 51. Parent's sister 4
33D 52. Hawaiian storytelling dance 4
34D 53. Times of one's life, say 4
35D 54. Title for Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson 4
36D 55. Take to the sky 3
37D 56. Acorn-bearing tree 3
38D 57. Caterer's coffee dispenser 3
39D 58. Above-water sign of a shark 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Spanish love"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (roman mythology) god of love; counterpart of greek eros
  • Similar words include: Cupid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Big ___ (nickname of baseball's David Ortiz)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Company bigwig"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. *Next to each other, like many washers and dryers"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Strut down the "RuPaul's Drag Race" runway, say"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a square dance figure; partners circle each other taking sideways steps
  • Similar words include: jaunt, ruffle, excursion
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASHAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lo-cal"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having relatively few calories
  • Similar words include: light, low-cal, calorie-free
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Visa or Mastercard rival, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a stock exchange in new york
  • Similar words include: American Stock Exchange, Curb
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Small recipe amt."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Home of the Great Pyramid"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in northeastern africa known as the united arab republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 bc
  • Similar words include: United Arab Republic, Egyptian Empire, Arab Republic of Egypt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGYPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Loch ___ monster"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strip of land projecting into a body of water
  • Similar words include: cape
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Scribble (down)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brief (and hurriedly handwritten) note
  • Similar words include: touch, hint, pinch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Sappho's "___ to Aphrodite""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Slangy affirmative"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "19. Lifted, as one's spirits"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that float on the surface of water
  • Similar words include: buoy, buoy up
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUOYED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. ___ San Lucas, Mexico"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Venture, as a guess"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
  • Similar words include: luck, gamble, run a risk
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAZARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Pressed sandwich"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that indian grammarian whose grammatical rules for sanskrit are the first known example of descriptive linguistics (circa 400 bc)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANINI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Part of a reindeer's rack"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that deciduous horn of a member of the deer family
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTLER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Prepared one's home for a new arrival"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inhabit a nest, usually after building
  • Similar words include: nestle, nuzzle, draw close
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Spirited and determined"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger; robust and uninhibited; ; -judith crist
  • Similar words include: spunky, feisty, gutsy
  • Opposite of: gutless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLUCKY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. "___ Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV reality show of the mid-aughts)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand or coral
  • Similar words include: lagoon, lagune
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAGUNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Catching some Z's"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a state of sleep
  • Similar words include: departed, benumbed, at rest
  • Opposite of: awake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "31. Irrational fear"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations
  • Similar words include: phobic disorder, phobic neurosis
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHOBIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. Word before printer or pointer"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; an optical device that produces an intense monochromatic beam of coherent light
  • Similar words include: optical maser
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "33. *Considered individually"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. In a nonobvious way"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a subtle manner
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUBTLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. "Deadpool" actor Reynolds"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Says out loud without thinking"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter impulsively
  • Similar words include: blunder, blurt, blurt out
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLURTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Spot for a roller skater's pad"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
  • Similar words include: human elbow, elbow joint, cubitus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELBOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Best Picture winner found hiding in "and the Oscar goes to ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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!

31D: "50. "Heads, I win. Tails, you ___!" (sneaky coin flip agreement)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Parent's sister"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
  • Similar words include: auntie, aunty
  • Opposite of: uncle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Hawaiian storytelling dance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a polynesian rain dance performed by a woman
  • Similar words include: hula-hula, Hawaiian dancing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HULA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Times of one's life, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Title for Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for a (young) woman
  • Similar words include: wench, bird, doll
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Take to the sky"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that two-winged insects characterized by active flight
  • Similar words include: take flight, wing, pilot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Acorn-bearing tree"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
  • Similar words include: oak tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Caterer's coffee dispenser"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. Above-water sign of a shark"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
  • Similar words include: Little Phoebe, V, Phoebe
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIN

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: August 10, 2026 at 05:00 AM

Friday, July 24, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 24, 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. Bit of radiological work 4
2A 5. Component that may emerge from Earth's asthenosphere 5
3A 10. What drones might be mistaken for 4
4A 14. Dudes 4
5A 15. Dirt pie ingredients 5
6A 16. As it's happening 4
7A 17. Criminals in the oil industry? 10
8A 19. "Your guide to a better future" website 4
9A 20. It makes one red in the face 9
10A 21. Animals considered divine messengers in Shinto culture 4
11A 22. Aperitif with black currant liqueur 3
12A 23. Not full-bodied 4
13A 24. Like a politically diverse U.S. state 6
14A 26. When doubled, like a perfect outcome 3
15A 27. Start of a protest 3
16A 28. "Mark Twain" biographer Chernow 3
17A 29. Not show-stopping? 13
18A 33. Segue into a thesis statement 13
19A 34. "Don't sweat the small stuff!" 13
20A 35. Spanish diminutive suffix 3
21A 36. Fire 3
22A 37. One of 17 in Monopoly: Abbr. 3
23A 38. Drinks are on me! 6
24A 40. Terminal datum 4
25A 42. Like a strong bond 3
26A 45. Mine line 4
27A 46. Group with defining traits? 9
28A 48. Foul mood 4
29A 49. Tropical fruit with white flesh and a deep-red rind 10
30A 50. All the ___ 4
31A 51. "That much is obvious" 5
32A 52. A tall one may be inflated 4
33A 53. 2019 Grammy-winning album for Tyler, the Creator 4
34A 54. Rimes with rhymes 5
35A 55. Beta tester, e.g. 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Bit of radiological work"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Component that may emerge from Earth's asthenosphere"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that molten rock in the earth's crust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAGMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. What drones might be mistaken for"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown; especially those considered to have extraterrestrial origins
  • Similar words include: UFO, flying saucer, unidentified flying object
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UFOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Dudes"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Dirt pie ingredients"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. As it's happening"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of
  • Similar words include: be, live on, hot
  • Opposite of: recorded, dead
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Criminals in the oil industry?"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. "Your guide to a better future" website"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. It makes one red in the face"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Animals considered divine messengers in Shinto culture"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that distinguished from bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
  • Similar words include: cervid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Aperitif with black currant liqueur"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Not full-bodied"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having relatively few calories
  • Similar words include: calorie-free, low-cal, light
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Like a politically diverse U.S. state"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a purple color or pigment
  • Similar words include: violet, purpleness, empurpled
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURPLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. When doubled, like a perfect outcome"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a victory (as in a race or other competition)
  • Similar words include: gain ground, succeed, come through
  • Opposite of: losings, fail
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "27. Start of a protest"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that and nothing more
  • Similar words include: merely, just, only
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "28. "Mark Twain" biographer Chernow"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: Bokkos, Daffo
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "29. Not show-stopping?"

13 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Segue into a thesis statement"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. "Don't sweat the small stuff!""

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Spanish diminutive suffix"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "36. Fire"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
  • Similar words include: tin can, stool, arse
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "37. One of 17 in Monopoly: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "38. Drinks are on me!"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "40. Terminal datum"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a movable barrier in a fence or wall
  • Similar words include: logic gate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "42. Like a strong bond"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta associated with old age and hypertension
  • Similar words include: abdominal aortic aneurysm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Mine line"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
  • Similar words include: furrow, wrinkle, crinkle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Group with defining traits?"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "48. Foul mood"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of agitated irritation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "49. Tropical fruit with white flesh and a deep-red rind"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that east indian tree with thick leathery leaves and edible fruit
  • Similar words include: Garcinia mangostana, mangosteen tree
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANGOSTEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "50. All the ___"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "51. "That much is obvious""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "52. A tall one may be inflated"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
  • Similar words include: story, taradiddle, tarradiddle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "53. 2019 Grammy-winning album for Tyler, the Creator"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "54. Rimes with rhymes"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "55. Beta tester, e.g."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
  • Similar words include: drug user, substance abuser, exploiter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Insulting talk, informally 5
2D 2. U.S. soccer legend ___ Lloyd 5
3D 3. Fox or Foxx 5
4D 4. Warning next to a suspicious link, perhaps 4
5D 5. Venus, or sometimes Mercury 11
6D 6. Lingo 5
7D 7. Silly sorts 5
8D 8. Cry from a toddler during snack time 4
9D 9. Jack or jenny 3
10D 10. Bad gut feeling? 5
11D 11. Text that's often unread 9
12D 12. Stretttccched out 8
13D 13. Place 3
14D 18. Modern deception 10
15D 21. Cookware sometimes used over campfires 10
16D 24. "Drop it!" 11
17D 25. Language of Barbados: Abbr. 3
18D 26. Tool for a sting 4
19D 27. Hons 4
20D 29. Words said while preparing to leave 9
21D 30. School described as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen" 4
22D 31. Follower of "Doctor" or "That's" 3
23D 32. Bring on 4
24D 33. Run into trouble 8
25D 34. Gay ___ (1970s movement) 3
26D 39. Serve a function 5
27D 40. Fixin' to 5
28D 41. Element whose name comes from the Greek for "inactive" 5
29D 42. Tracts 5
30D 43. Singer whose album titles represent ages 5
31D 44. Recipient of Emmys in different categories for the same role 5
32D 46. Respond to the alarm 4
33D 47. "Is the whole world against me?" 4
34D 48. Guru's honorific 3
35D 49. "Cool" quantity 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Insulting talk, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)
  • Similar words include: nip, nose drops, peck
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. U.S. soccer legend ___ Lloyd"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Fox or Foxx"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Warning next to a suspicious link, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Venus, or sometimes Mercury"

11 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lingo"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
  • Similar words include: cant, lingo, vernacular
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARGOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Silly sorts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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: goofball, zany, cuckoo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEESE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Cry from a toddler during snack time"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english statesman who opposed henry viii's divorce from catherine of aragon and was imprisoned and beheaded; recalled for his concept of utopia, the ideal state
  • Similar words include: Sir Thomas More, more than, to a greater extent
  • Opposite of: fewer, less
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Jack or jenny"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Bad gut feeling?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue
  • Similar words include: ulceration
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ULCER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Text that's often unread"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Stretttccched out"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Place"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Modern deception"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Cookware sometimes used over campfires"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. "Drop it!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Language of Barbados: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Tool for a sting"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
  • Similar words include: conducting wire, telegram, cable
  • Opposite of: unwire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Hons"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Words said while preparing to leave"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. School described as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Follower of "Doctor" or "That's""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
  • Similar words include: World Health Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Bring on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a newly hired employee
  • Similar words include: take, lease, engage
  • Opposite of: fire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Run into trouble"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. Gay ___ (1970s movement)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Serve a function"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
  • Similar words include: provide, ply, supply
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Fixin' to"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Element whose name comes from the Greek for "inactive""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless and odorless inert gas; one of the six inert gases; comprises approximately 1% of the earth's atmosphere
  • Similar words include: Ar, atomic number 18
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARGON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. Tracts"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: expanse, country, field
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. Singer whose album titles represent ages"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Recipient of Emmys in different categories for the same role"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Respond to the alarm"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event)
  • Similar words include: waken, backwash, Wake Island
  • Opposite of: sleep, cause to sleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. "Is the whole world against me?""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. Guru's honorific"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. "Cool" quantity"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cypriot monetary unit equal to one thousandth of a pound
  • Similar words include: millilitre, mile, cc
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIL

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

35 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
70 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: July 24, 2026 at 06:07 AM