Search Clues

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

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 04, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "Handy" kitchen item 4
2A 5. Smears with goo 6
3A 11. Music genre with offbeat rhythms 3
4A 14. So-called "servebot" in tennis, essentially 4
5A 15. Action on the front lines 6
6A 16. Hunk of cash 3
7A 17. Words uttered while sorting potential gowns for an Indian wedding? 11
8A 19. Word aptly hidden in "moldy" 3
9A 20. Some marksmen 7
10A 21. Stringed instruments of old 5
11A 23. Inc. alternative 3
12A 24. Kind of whale 6
13A 27. Wedding feast delivery from India's capital? 13
14A 31. Unwelcome responsibility 4
15A 33. Rawboned 5
16A 34. "Deadline" for a rush order 3
17A 35. Bit of tailoring 3
18A 36. Writer Rand 3
19A 38. Great Leap Forward leader 3
20A 39. Longoria with three Screen Actors Guild awards 3
21A 40. Celestial sphere 3
22A 41. Hold power, as a ruler 5
23A 43. "You said it!" 4
24A 44. Tying the knot during a colorful Hindu festival? 13
25A 48. One who makes a lasting impression while just scratching the surface 6
26A 49. Part of NATO: Abbr. 3
27A 50. When repeated, "You get the gist" 5
28A 52. Enter furtively 7
29A 56. Mysterious sight at night 3
30A 57. "Esteemed reception guests, we regret to report that we've run out of flatbread," e.g.? 11
31A 61. Scratch the surface of, say 3
32A 62. Like the physicist Niels Bohr and the astronomer Tycho Brahe 6
33A 63. Stock market unveilings, for short 4
34A 64. "___ you done?" 3
35A 65. Luxury transports 6
36A 66. Common workout target 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Handy" kitchen item"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
  • Similar words include: baseball glove, hand, paw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Smears with goo"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any thick, viscous matter
  • Similar words include: slime, reduce, goo
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLIMES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Music genre with offbeat rhythms"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. So-called "servebot" in tennis, essentially"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that type genus of the aceraceae; trees or shrubs having winged fruit
  • Similar words include: genus Acer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Action on the front lines"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an engagement fought between two military forces
  • Similar words include: fight, fighting, armed combat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMBAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Hunk of cash"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small mass of soft material
  • Similar words include: mass, slew, pot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Words uttered while sorting potential gowns for an Indian wedding?"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Word aptly hidden in "moldy""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Some marksmen"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place
  • Similar words include: sniper
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIPERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Stringed instruments of old"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Similar words include: lyre
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Inc. alternative"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Kind of whale"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets
  • Similar words include: whalebone
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BALEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Wedding feast delivery from India's capital?"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Unwelcome responsibility"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an onerous or difficult concern
  • Similar words include: incumbrance, load, burden
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Rawboned"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
  • Similar words include: cadaverous, haggard, emaciated
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. "Deadline" for a rush order"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the momentary present
  • Similar words include: at once, straight off, forthwith
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Bit of tailoring"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Writer Rand"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Great Leap Forward leader"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Longoria with three Screen Actors Guild awards"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Celestial sphere"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye
  • Similar words include: orbit, globe, eyeball
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Hold power, as a ruler"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful
  • Similar words include: prevail, predominate, sovereignty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REIGN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. "You said it!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

24A: "44. Tying the knot during a colorful Hindu festival?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. One who makes a lasting impression while just scratching the surface"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who etches
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Part of NATO: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. When repeated, "You get the gist""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Enter furtively"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. Mysterious sight at night"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. "Esteemed reception guests, we regret to report that we've run out of flatbread," e.g.?"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Scratch the surface of, say"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
  • Similar words include: spoil, vitiate, defect
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Like the physicist Niels Bohr and the astronomer Tycho Brahe"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a scandinavian language that is the official language of denmark
  • Similar words include: danish pastry
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Stock market unveilings, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a corporation's first offer to sell stock to the public
  • Similar words include: initial offering, initial public offering, IPO
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IPOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. "___ you done?""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
  • Similar words include: equal, cost, constitute
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. Luxury transports"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
  • Similar words include: racing yacht, yacht
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YACHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Common workout target"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small group of indispensable persons or things
  • Similar words include: nitty-gritty, pith, substance
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. The "m" in many a physics equation 4
2D 2. Self-assured words 4
3D 3. Actress Polo 4
4D 4. Toughest hits to get when hitting for the cycle in baseball 7
5D 5. Sear 6
6D 6. "___ of luck!" 4
7D 7. Quick communications, in brief 3
8D 8. Postgraduate deg. with management courses 3
9D 9. Musician's asset 3
10D 10. Stylish shoe feature 8
11D 11. Someone you will never stop despising 10
12D 12. Green smoothie staple 4
13D 13. Tosses in 4
14D 18. "Little" Dickens girl 4
15D 22. Up to this point 3
16D 24. ___-free (plastics label) 3
17D 25. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vis-à-vis "Saturday Night Live" 6
18D 26. Singer ___ Del Rey 4
19D 27. Longtime Hogwarts headmaster 10
20D 28. Set aflame 6
21D 29. Wander 4
22D 30. Graceful bird 4
23D 31. "Pick me! Pick me!" 4
24D 32. Infamous Roman ruler 4
25D 36. Attractive plus-one 8
26D 37. "You said it!" 4
27D 42. Canine warning 3
28D 43. Like a cherub 7
29D 45. "___ be a real honor" 3
30D 46. Transforms 6
31D 47. Cookie with an "enrobed" variety in the U.K. 4
32D 50. Arizona city or county 4
33D 51. At a distance 4
34D 52. Film information on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes 4
35D 53. Cops, in slang 4
36D 54. Iconic lab assistant of film 4
37D 55. Where Anheuser-Busch is "BUD" 4
38D 58. Battery for a mouse 3
39D 59. Anti-apartheid org. 3
40D 60. U.S. medical research agcy. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. The "m" in many a physics equation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
  • Similar words include: slew, pot, lot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Self-assured words"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Actress Polo"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Toughest hits to get when hitting for the cycle in baseball"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a base hit at which the batter stops safely at third base
  • Similar words include: trio, three-bagger, treble
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIPLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Sear"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a surface burn
  • Similar words include: char, blacken, sear
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCORCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "___ of luck!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large number or amount
  • Similar words include: mass, slew, circle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Quick communications, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Postgraduate deg. with management courses"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a master's degree in business
  • Similar words include: Master in Business Administration, Master in Business
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Musician's asset"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: capitulum, auricle, spike
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Stylish shoe feature"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small dagger with a tapered blade
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STILETTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Someone you will never stop despising"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Green smoothie staple"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for money
  • Similar words include: dinero, boodle, Brassica oleracea acephala
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Tosses in"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: hyperkinetic syndrome, MBD, add up
  • Opposite of: take away, subtract
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "Little" Dickens girl"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Up to this point"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that up to the present time
  • Similar words include: as yet, even, heretofore
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. ___-free (plastics label)"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vis-à-vis "Saturday Night Live""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who has received a degree from a school (high school or college or university)
  • Similar words include: alum, grad, alumnus
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALUMNI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Singer ___ Del Rey"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Longtime Hogwarts headmaster"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Set aflame"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat
  • Similar words include: take fire, inflame, combust
  • Opposite of: extinguish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGNITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Wander"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
  • Similar words include: roam, ramble, swan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Graceful bird"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
  • Similar words include: roam, ramble, avow
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "31. "Pick me! Pick me!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. Infamous Roman ruler"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of rome in 64) but the roman empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68)
  • Similar words include: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. Attractive plus-one"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. "You said it!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not only so, but
  • Similar words include: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Canine warning"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Like a cherub"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
  • Similar words include: saintlike, saintly, cherubic
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGELIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. "___ be a real honor""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Transforms"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to change shape in a computer animation
  • Similar words include: morph
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORPHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Cookie with an "enrobed" variety in the U.K."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Arizona city or county"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the north american indian people of arizona and adjacent mexico and california
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YUMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. At a distance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Film information on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the actors in a play
  • Similar words include: cat, ramble, throw up
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Cops, in slang"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Iconic lab assistant of film"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "55. Where Anheuser-Busch is "BUD""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a stock exchange in new york
  • Similar words include: big board, N. Y. Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NYSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Battery for a mouse"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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!

39D: "59. Anti-apartheid org."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. U.S. medical research agcy."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of health and human services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government
  • Similar words include: National Institutes of Health
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIH

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

36 Across Clues
40 Down Clues
76 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 04, 2026 at 06:07 AM

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 07, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. ___ ghanouj 4
2A 5. Like a couch potato 4
3A 9. "Rise and shine!" 5
4A 14. Patron saint of Norway 4
5A 15. Combustible rock 4
6A 16. No longer in dreamland 5
7A 17. Charisma 4
8A 18. "Orinoco Flow" singer 4
9A 19. Like a credit card at its limit 5
10A 20. *Surfer girls, in old lingo 12
11A 23. Ease off 5
12A 24. D.C. URL ending 6
13A 28. *Frankfurters 7
14A 31. Easy mark for a hustle 7
15A 32. Subject of Weird Al Yankovic's "The White Stuff" 4
16A 33. Common car freshener scent 4
17A 34. Score that's better than a bogey 3
18A 35. "Barbie" actress Issa 3
19A 36. *Relative of a grizzly that's named for its bright chest patch 7
20A 39. Umpire's clenched-fist call 3
21A 40. Sgt., but not pvt., e.g. 3
22A 41. Orgs. that may hold raffles 4
23A 42. Mechanical memorization 4
24A 43. Accessories pointed at the North Pole? 7
25A 45. *Internet browser borrowing a nickname for the red panda 7
26A 48. Slander 6
27A 49. What to call people ... or what not to call people 5
28A 50. Like a feeling of tender happiness ... or how you might feel after reading both halves of the answers to the starred clues? 12
29A 55. Common default computer font 5
30A 58. Mistake-correcting command 4
31A 59. Rebel Alliance princess 4
32A 60. Portmanteau for a screened-in feline lounge 5
33A 61. Fresh powder, e.g. 4
34A 62. Sci-fi franchise with light cycles 4
35A 63. Break things off 5
36A 64. "Amazing Grace," for one 4
37A 65. Eurovision contest entry 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. ___ ghanouj"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small cake leavened with yeast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BABA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Like a couch potato"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
  • Similar words include: jobless, groundless, light
  • Opposite of: work, busy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. "Rise and shine!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a set of clothing (with accessories)
  • Similar words include: turnout, rig, outfit
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GETUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Patron saint of Norway"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Combustible rock"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the carboniferous period
  • Similar words include: ember, char
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. No longer in dreamland"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stop sleeping
  • Similar words include: arouse, wake, wake up
  • Opposite of: fall asleep, asleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWAKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Charisma"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magic power or magic spell
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOJO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. "Orinoco Flow" singer"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Like a credit card at its limit"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. *Surfer girls, in old lingo"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Ease off"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less active or intense
  • Similar words include: slack, slake, let up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. D.C. URL ending"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. *Frankfurters"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who performs dangerous stunts to attract attention to himself
  • Similar words include: hot dog, frankfurter, hotdog
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOTDOGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Easy mark for a hustle"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Subject of Weird Al Yankovic's "The White Stuff""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Common car freshener scent"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a coniferous tree
  • Similar words include: languish, true pine, ache
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Score that's better than a bogey"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (golf) the standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course
  • Similar words include: equality, equation, equivalence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. "Barbie" actress Issa"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. *Relative of a grizzly that's named for its bright chest patch"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Umpire's clenched-fist call"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball
  • Similar words include: proscribed, tabu, knocked out
  • Opposite of: safe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Sgt., but not pvt., e.g."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Orgs. that may hold raffles"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Mechanical memorization"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that memorization by repetition
  • Similar words include: rote learning
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "43. Accessories pointed at the North Pole?"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "45. *Internet browser borrowing a nickname for the red panda"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Slander"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
  • Similar words include: calumniate, smear, smirch
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEFAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. What to call people ... or what not to call people"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
  • Similar words include: diagnose, discover, nominate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAMES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. Like a feeling of tender happiness ... or how you might feel after reading both halves of the answers to the starred clues?"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Common default computer font"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "58. Mistake-correcting command"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
  • Similar words include: unwrap, untie, loosen
  • Opposite of: make, wrap
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. Rebel Alliance princess"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "60. Portmanteau for a screened-in feline lounge"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. Fresh powder, e.g."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
  • Similar words include: Charles Percy Snow, coke, pull the wool over someone's eyes
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Sci-fi franchise with light cycles"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Break things off"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. "Amazing Grace," for one"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a song of praise (to god or to a saint or to a nation)
  • Similar words include: anthem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYMN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Eurovision contest entry"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short musical composition with words
  • Similar words include: strain, birdsong, birdcall
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Tell jokes to total silence, say 4
2D 2. Soothing succulent 4
3D 3. ___ California (Mexican border state) 4
4D 4. Fruit from a tree that can self-pollinate 7
5D 5. Cooler in a cooler 6
6D 6. Hole foods? 6
7D 7. ___ Staley, original lead singer of Alice in Chains 5
8D 8. Pizazz 4
9D 9. Last words on a pinball machine 8
10D 10. Discarded tech 6
11D 11. Levy 3
12D 12. Luau instrument, informally 3
13D 13. ___ Xing 3
14D 21. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" network 3
15D 22. "Let It Go" singer Menzel 5
16D 25. Vanish into thin air 6
17D 26. Acting unthinkingly 6
18D 27. Geometrical corner 6
19D 28. Like a triceratops 6
20D 29. Delphi prophet 6
21D 30. Start a long drive, in a way 6
22D 31. Tell a tall tale 3
23D 33. "This Old House" network 3
24D 36. Monty Python musical with a portmanteau title 8
25D 37. Absolute, as nonsense 5
26D 38. "Illmatic" rapper 3
27D 42. What doers produce 7
28D 44. Luau locale 6
29D 45. Obsessive pop culture subculture 6
30D 46. "Count me in!" 6
31D 47. Yellow card wielder 3
32D 49. Job for Mrs. Doubtfire 5
33D 51. Sled dog command 4
34D 52. Number of years that George Washington lived in the White House 4
35D 53. Last U.S. national park alphabetically 4
36D 54. Bowen formerly of "S.N.L." 4
37D 55. High card 3
38D 56. Hightailed it 3
39D 57. "___ be my pleasure!" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tell jokes to total silence, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions
  • Similar words include: turkey, flush it, fail
  • Opposite of: pass
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Soothing succulent"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. ___ California (Mexican border state)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fruit from a tree that can self-pollinate"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a pear-shaped tropical fruit with green or blackish skin and rich yellowish pulp enclosing a single large seed
  • Similar words include: avocado tree, alligator pear, avocado pear
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVOCADO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Cooler in a cooler"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Hole foods?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small ring-shaped friedcake
  • Similar words include: doughnut, donut, sinker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DONUTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ Staley, original lead singer of Alice in Chains"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Pizazz"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Last words on a pinball machine"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Discarded tech"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Levy"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
  • Similar words include: revenue enhancement, taxation, assess
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Luau instrument, informally"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small guitar having four strings
  • Similar words include: ukulele
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ___ Xing"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" network"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. "Let It Go" singer Menzel"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Vanish into thin air"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Acting unthinkingly"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Geometrical corner"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the point of intersection of lines or the point opposite the base of a figure
  • Similar words include: acme, peak, apex
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VERTEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Like a triceratops"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stab or pierce with a horn or tusk
  • Similar words include: horn, tusk
  • Opposite of: hornless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORNED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Delphi prophet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an authoritative person who divines the future
  • Similar words include: prophet, vaticinator, seer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORACLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Start a long drive, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of hitting a golf ball from the teeing ground at the start of each hole
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEOFF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Tell a tall tale"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. "This Old House" network"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a solution containing a phosphate buffer
  • Similar words include: pebibyte, phosphate buffer solution, lead
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Monty Python musical with a portmanteau title"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Absolute, as nonsense"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise
  • Similar words include: everlasting, staring, perfect
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. "Illmatic" rapper"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 11, Na, sodium
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. What doers produce"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
  • Similar words include: result, effect, ensue
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESULTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Luau locale"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in the united states in the central pacific on the hawaiian islands
  • Similar words include: Hawai'i, HI, Aloha State
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAWAII

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Obsessive pop culture subculture"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fans of a sport or famous person
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FANDOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. "Count me in!""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Yellow card wielder"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (sports) the chief official (as in boxing or american football) who is expected to ensure fair play
  • Similar words include: referee
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Job for Mrs. Doubtfire"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a woman who is the custodian of children
  • Similar words include: nanny-goat, she-goat, nursemaid
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NANNY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Sled dog command"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any soft or soggy mass
  • Similar words include: pulp, treacle, dogsled
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Number of years that George Washington lived in the White House"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: aught, zero point, nought
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ZERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Last U.S. national park alphabetically"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that originally a stronghold captured by david (the 2nd king of the israelites); above it was built a temple and later the name extended to the whole hill; finally it became a synonym for the city of jerusalem
  • Similar words include: State of Israel, Yisrael, Israel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ZION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Bowen formerly of "S.N.L.""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bright positive masculine principle in chinese dualistic cosmology
  • Opposite of: yin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "55. High card"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "56. Hightailed it"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
  • Similar words include: fly the coop, run for, carry
  • Opposite of: idle, malfunction
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "57. "___ be my pleasure!""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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
39 Down Clues
76 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 07, 2026 at 06:59 AM