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

Monday, September 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 21, 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. Where Mongolia is 4
2A 5. Scaredy-cat 4
3A 9. Leafs (through) 5
4A 14. Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize 4
5A 15. Berry at a smoothie shop 4
6A 16. Company behind the game Pong 5
7A 17. Mentally pooped 15
8A 20. 1960s service site, informally 3
9A 21. Common injury site for a basketball player, informally 3
10A 22. Thick, as plant growth 4
11A 23. Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam 14
12A 28. Commercial that may come with a jingle 7
13A 29. Took a chair 3
14A 30. Eager 4
15A 31. Hair parter 4
16A 34. Continue a subscription 5
17A 38. Barely passing grade 3
18A 39. Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across 7
19A 41. Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate 3
20A 42. Sometimes-floral organic compound 5
21A 44. Draped Indian garment 4
22A 45. ___-X (computer command to cut text) 4
23A 46. Crosses (out) 3
24A 48. Conjures up, say 7
25A 50. "If I'm being honest ..." 14
26A 54. Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna 4
27A 55. Opposite of 'neath 3
28A 56. Fools' mo. 3
29A 57. "A fight requires more than one person" 15
30A 63. "I'm available to help" 5
31A 64. Modern note-taking aid 4
32A 65. Plant in a marsh 4
33A 66. Spanish babies 5
34A 67. What a paper airplane icon may indicate 4
35A 68. Thing in a grove 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Where Mongolia is"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Scaredy-cat"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy
  • Similar words include: chicken, weakly interacting massive particle, crybaby
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Leafs (through)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
  • Similar words include: varlet, foliate, Thomas Nelson Page
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something of little value
  • Similar words include: darn, curse, infernal
  • Opposite of: bless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAMN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Berry at a smoothie shop"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Company behind the game Pong"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Mentally pooped"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. 1960s service site, informally"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Common injury site for a basketball player, informally"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Thick, as plant growth"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually
  • Similar words include: alky, boozer, alcoholic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEACHTOTHETEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "28. Commercial that may come with a jingle"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Took a chair"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
  • Similar words include: Sabbatum, posture, pose
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Eager"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `for') ardently or excessively desirous
  • Similar words include: zealous, esurient, greedy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Hair parter"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
  • Similar words include: comb out, disentangle, ransack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Continue a subscription"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new
  • Similar words include: regenerate, reincarnate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Barely passing grade"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time of life between 40 and 50
  • Similar words include: 40, mid-forties, 1940s
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FORTIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Sometimes-floral organic compound"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Draped Indian garment"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dress worn primarily by hindu women; consists of several yards of light material that is draped around the body
  • Similar words include: saree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. ___-X (computer command to cut text)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Crosses (out)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless inert gaseous element occurring in the earth's atmosphere in trace amounts
  • Similar words include: xenon, disco biscuit, cristal
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: XES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Conjures up, say"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make or cause to be or to become
  • Similar words include: produce, create, make
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. "If I'm being honest ...""

14 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTELLTHETRUTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make very hot and dry
  • Similar words include: blacken, singe, char
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Opposite of 'neath"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. Fools' mo."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following march and preceding may
  • Similar words include: April
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. "A fight requires more than one person""

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "63. "I'm available to help""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "64. Modern note-taking aid"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Plant in a marsh"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera arundo and phragmites
  • Similar words include: vibrating reed, John Reed, beating-reed instrument
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Spanish babies"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. What a paper airplane icon may indicate"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: air, transmit, send off
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. Thing in a grove"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
  • Similar words include: shoetree, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, tree diagram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Big letters in home security 3
2D 2. ___ Paulo, Brazil 3
3D 3. Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks" 9
4D 4. Relief for an upset stomach 7
5D 5. Simple two-player card game 3
6D 6. Drink cooler 3
7D 7. Angry with 5
8D 8. Throw from a mound 5
9D 9. Butter square 3
10D 10. Any Olympian 7
11D 11. First name of Julius Caesar 5
12D 12. Artist Max 5
13D 13. Worshiper in a turban 4
14D 18. Texter's qualifier 4
15D 19. Cries in a fΓΊtbol stadium 4
16D 23. Barter 5
17D 24. Roof overhangs 5
18D 25. It may have a hard or soft shell 4
19D 26. Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons 5
20D 27. Paves the way? 4
21D 32. N.Y.C. subway letters 3
22D 33. Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper 5
23D 35. Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery 9
24D 36. Spearfishing bird 5
25D 37. People of SW Britain 5
26D 39. Without charge 4
27D 40. The Emerald Isle 4
28D 43. Like skydiving or cliff-diving 7
29D 45. Dashboard or bumper 7
30D 47. Place to put a coin 4
31D 49. Coup d'___ 4
32D 50. Joke with 5
33D 51. Like some wine barrels 5
34D 52. ___ and Clark 5
35D 53. Familiar narrative device 5
36D 54. Leave dumbfounded 4
37D 58. French possessive 3
38D 59. Catch some rays 3
39D 60. Bizarre 3
40D 61. "Golly!" 3
41D 62. Poetic tribute 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Big letters in home security"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. ___ Paulo, Brazil"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks""

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Relief for an upset stomach"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity (especially in the stomach)
  • Similar words include: alkalizer, gastric antacid, antiacid
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Simple two-player card game"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: make peace, peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Drink cooler"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: frappe, methamphetamine hydrochloride, glass
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Angry with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Throw from a mound"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
  • Similar words include: cant over, flip, cant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Butter square"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by a gentle blow
  • Similar words include: glib, rap, dab
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Any Olympian"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person trained to compete in sports
  • Similar words include: jock
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHLETE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. First name of Julius Caesar"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor who succeeded tiberius and whose uncontrolled passions resulted in manifest insanity; noted for his cruelty and tyranny; was assassinated (12-41)
  • Similar words include: Caligula, Gaius Caesar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAIUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Artist Max"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that painter (born in germany, resident of france and the united states) who was a cofounder of dadaism; developed the technique of collage (1891-1976)
  • Similar words include: Max Ernst
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERNST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Worshiper in a turban"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adherent of sikhism
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIKH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Texter's qualifier"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Cries in a fΓΊtbol stadium"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Barter"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
  • Similar words include: trade in, switch, craft
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Roof overhangs"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. It may have a hard or soft shell"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of mexican descent
  • Similar words include: greaser, wetback
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TACO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: smell, olfactory property, aroma
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Paves the way?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
  • Similar words include: seaman, pitch, tar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. N.Y.C. subway letters"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
  • Similar words include: birchen, birken, birch tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIRCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Spearfishing bird"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various usually white herons having long plumes during breeding season
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. People of SW Britain"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or resident of wales
  • Similar words include: Cambrian, welch, Cymric
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WELSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Without charge"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are free
  • Similar words include: relinquish, gratis, liberate
  • Opposite of: confine, lodge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. The Emerald Isle"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of ireland; achieved independence from the united kingdom in 1921
  • Similar words include: Republic of Ireland, Irish Republic, Ireland
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Like skydiving or cliff-diving"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the furthest or highest degree of something
  • Similar words include: utmost, extremum, extreme point
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXTREME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Dashboard or bumper"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Place to put a coin"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position in a grammatical linguistic construction in which a variety of alternative units are interchangeable
  • Similar words include: time slot, expansion slot, one-armed bandit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Coup d'___"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Joke with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
  • Similar words include: cod, fluff, pester
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Like some wine barrels"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that consisting of or made of wood of the oak tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAKEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. ___ and Clark"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
  • Similar words include: Frederick Carleton Lewis, Carl Lewis, C. S. Lewis
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEWIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Familiar narrative device"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
  • Similar words include: figure of speech, image, figure
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Leave dumbfounded"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
  • Similar words include: daze, stupefy, sandbag
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. French possessive"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur and tellurium; occurs in several allotropic forms; a stable grey metallike allotrope conducts electricity better in the light than in the dark and is used in photocells; occurs in sulfide ores (as pyrite)
  • Similar words include: sulfur, reciprocal ohm, southward
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Catch some rays"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: sunburn, suntan, burn
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "60. Bizarre"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not divisible by two
  • Similar words include: uneven, unmatched, queer
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "61. "Golly!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity; used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated
  • Similar words include: g, g-force
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "62. Poetic tribute"

3 letters πŸ’­ 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!

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
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: September 21, 2026 at 09:08 AM

Sunday, August 30, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 30, 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. "Aladdin" villain 5
2A 6. "It's yours!" 4
3A 10. Sarcastic "Sure" 4
4A 14. Heat setting, in brief? 3
5A 17. Dutch Caribbean isle 5
6A 18. Explosive sound 6
7A 20. Lacking constraints 8
8A 22. MARTIN SHEEN 12
9A 24. LIAM NEESON 8
10A 25. Chef Hussain of "The Great British Bake Off" fame 6
11A 26. Discount Chinese e-tailer 4
12A 28. Jumbo shrimp 5
13A 29. Ben & Jerry's alternative 4
14A 31. Pink-slips 4
15A 33. NORMAN REEDUS 11
16A 37. GREG KINNEAR 10
17A 40. Conditions of equilibrium 6
18A 41. Historian's division 3
19A 42. Undying? 5
20A 43. Offer illegally, as tickets 5
21A 45. Publicly proclaim 4
22A 46. Scatters messily 6
23A 48. MORGAN FREEMAN 13
24A 55. Class for some recent arrivals, for short 3
25A 56. Kind of green 3
26A 59. Chemist Lilly 3
27A 60. Chilean poet who served as a Communist senator 6
28A 61. Four to two, e.g. 6
29A 64. Friar with a famous "razor" 5
30A 68. Turns on the waterworks 5
31A 69. Ones making periodic appearances ... or the link between the capitalized clues and their answers 19
32A 73. 2024's "Joker: ___ Γ  Deux" 5
33A 74. Alfresco area 5
34A 75. "Everything cool between us?" 6
35A 76. Poorly nourished 6
36A 78. Fill at a fill-up 3
37A 80. ___ card 3
38A 81. Rite Aid rival 3
39A 84. CHRISTIAN SLATER 13
40A 89. City on the Illinois River 6
41A 92. Grumpy grimace 4
42A 93. Discontinued Swedish cars 5
43A 96. Inauthentic 5
44A 97. "Catch-22" topic 3
45A 100. Join, as two metal surfaces 6
46A 102. ISABELLA ROSSELLINI 10
47A 104. KEVIN KLINE 11
48A 107. ErtΓ©'s style, informally 4
49A 108. Canadian fuel brand 4
50A 109. All-vowel musical refrain 5
51A 110. Actress Falco with four Emmys 4
52A 112. Sugary secretion 6
53A 114. BEA ARTHUR 8
54A 118. MARLON BRANDO 12
55A 122. Submitted by the deadline 8
56A 123. B.L.T. or P.B.J., cutesily 6
57A 124. Musician/actress Haim 5
58A 125. Syllable of censure 3
59A 126. Instants 4
60A 127. High-protein bean 4
61A 128. Big name in truck rentals 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Aladdin" villain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that indonesian terrorist and islamic militant who commands the laskar jihad; uses violence to achieve political ends (1965-2000)
  • Similar words include: Jafar Umar Thalib, Jaffar Umar Thalib, Jaffar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. "It's yours!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
  • Similar words include: trade, betray, deal
  • Opposite of: unsold, buy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Sarcastic "Sure""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Heat setting, in brief?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Dutch Caribbean isle"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a popular island resort in the netherlands antilles
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARUBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Explosive sound"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Lacking constraints"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "22. MARTIN SHEEN"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "24. LIAM NEESON"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "25. Chef Hussain of "The Great British Bake Off" fame"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Discount Chinese e-tailer"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "28. Jumbo shrimp"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various edible decapod crustaceans
  • Similar words include: shrimp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRAWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Ben & Jerry's alternative"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Pink-slips"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
  • Similar words include: backside, prat, rump
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. NORMAN REEDUS"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "37. GREG KINNEAR"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "40. Conditions of equilibrium"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "41. Historian's division"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. Undying?"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that possessing life
  • Similar words include: active, alert, live
  • Opposite of: unanimated, dead
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Offer illegally, as tickets"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the skin that covers the top of the head
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCALP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "45. Publicly proclaim"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  • Similar words include: verify, assert, aver
  • Opposite of: disavow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Scatters messily"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spread by scattering ( is archaic)
  • Similar words include: strew, straw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STREWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. MORGAN FREEMAN"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "55. Class for some recent arrivals, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "56. Kind of green"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seed of a pea plant used for food
  • Similar words include: pea plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "59. Chemist Lilly"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "60. Chilean poet who served as a Communist senator"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chilean poet (1904-1973)
  • Similar words include: Neftali Ricardo Reyes, Reyes, Pablo Neruda
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERUDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "61. Four to two, e.g."

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (geometry) a plane rectangle with four equal sides and four right angles; a four-sided regular polygon
  • Similar words include: straight, second power, squarely
  • Opposite of: crooked, round
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SQUARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "64. Friar with a famous "razor""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "68. Turns on the waterworks"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: weep, rallying cry, scream
  • Opposite of: laugh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "69. Ones making periodic appearances ... or the link between the capitalized clues and their answers"

19 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECURRINGCHARACTERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "73. 2024's "Joker: ___ Γ  Deux""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
  • Similar words include: mental disorder, mental disturbance, psychological disorder
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOLIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "74. Alfresco area"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence
  • Similar words include: terrace
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "75. "Everything cool between us?""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "76. Poorly nourished"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "78. Fill at a fill-up"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
  • Similar words include: blow, gun, swash
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "80. ___ card"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "81. Rite Aid rival"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a summary of your academic and work history
  • Similar words include: CV, curriculum vitae, resume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "84. CHRISTIAN SLATER"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "89. City on the Illinois River"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in central illinois on the illinois river
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEORIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "92. Grumpy grimace"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disdainful grimace
  • Similar words include: pout, wry face
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "93. Discontinued Swedish cars"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "96. Inauthentic"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
  • Similar words include: bogus, bastard, hypocrite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHONY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "97. "Catch-22" topic"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: peace, make peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "100. Join, as two metal surfaces"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alloy (usually of lead and tin) used when melted to join two metal surfaces
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "102. ISABELLA ROSSELLINI"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "104. KEVIN KLINE"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "107. ErtΓ©'s style, informally"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
  • Similar words include: art deco
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "108. Canadian fuel brand"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "109. All-vowel musical refrain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "110. Actress Falco with four Emmys"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "112. Sugary secretion"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweet liquid secretion that is attractive to pollinators
  • Similar words include: ambrosia
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NECTAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "114. BEA ARTHUR"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "118. MARLON BRANDO"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "122. Submitted by the deadline"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "123. B.L.T. or P.B.J., cutesily"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "124. Musician/actress Haim"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "125. Syllable of censure"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
  • Similar words include: tut-tut, tut
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "126. Instants"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: sec, second, secant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "127. High-protein bean"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to asia
  • Similar words include: soja bean, soja, Glycine max
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOYA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "128. Big name in truck rentals"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. God, to Bob Marley 3
2D 2. "___ you done?" 3
3D 3. Musical comedy that was 1968's highest-grossing film 9
4D 4. Caustic 8
5D 5. Bootlegger's concern 4
6D 6. Like 666, popularly 7
7D 7. Band that's big in Japan? 3
8D 8. Disoriented 4
9D 9. Administered, as a drug 5
10D 10. Potentialities 3
11D 11. Something found under a top 3
12D 12. Wriggler in a stream 3
13D 13. "___ fugit" 6
14D 14. Star's opposite 6
15D 15. Stout figure? 6
16D 16. Supreme Egyptian god 6
17D 18. Inuit watercraft 6
18D 19. Office messages 5
19D 21. Like some mattresses and offers 4
20D 23. Mineral that makes cosmetics shimmer 4
21D 27. Remove an identifier from, as on Instagram 5
22D 29. Clear 5
23D 30. Shoulder press targets, to trainers 5
24D 32. Hit a ___ 4
25D 34. Where a flock may gather 4
26D 35. Beginning on 4
27D 36. Attach with a needle and thread 5
28D 38. Unused 3
29D 39. Extreme happiness 4
30D 44. Double-breasted pieces of menswear 9
31D 47. Trigger 4
32D 49. Like Scrooge McDuck 4
33D 50. Right-hand page of a book 5
34D 51. Made muffs 5
35D 52. John ___ Day (California commemoration) 4
36D 53. Citrus refreshments 4
37D 54. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper 3
38D 57. 1994 Costner title role 4
39D 58. Diva's time to shine 4
40D 61. "Dune" genre 5
41D 62. Mary or Elizabeth 5
42D 63. Towering creature in "The Two Towers" 3
43D 65. Sound in a cornfield 3
44D 66. Half brother of Apollo 4
45D 67. Christmas presence? 4
46D 69. Sushi bar serving 4
47D 70. Jazz great Fitzgerald 4
48D 71. Along with "CODA" and "Argo," the only other four-letter Best Picture winner 4
49D 72. Give gratis 4
50D 73. Shakespearean shout 3
51D 77. That's the spirit! 5
52D 79. Strike defier 4
53D 81. Part of an intersection 9
54D 82. Barolos e Brunellos 5
55D 83. Turn someone down 5
56D 85. Unshared numbers 4
57D 86. Hostile manner, informally 4
58D 87. Actor and disability activist Christopher 5
59D 88. Like some liquors 4
60D 90. Org. regulating air quality 3
61D 91. "You sure about that?" 8
62D 94. Periods of 730 days 7
63D 95. Withdraw from a union 6
64D 97. Teensy amount 6
65D 98. Feathered fliers 6
66D 99. Shoe brand named for an antelope 6
67D 100. Hybrid tennis bottoms 6
68D 101. Second tries 5
69D 103. El Pollo ___ (chicken chain) 4
70D 105. Creditor's claim 4
71D 106. Turkish money 5
72D 111. Fad toy of 1996 4
73D 113. Snowboarder's transport 4
74D 115. Often-illegal turn, slangily 3
75D 116. Cinephile's cable choice 3
76D 117. Boars and bulls 3
77D 119. Comedian Sedaris 3
78D 120. I, to Augustus 3
79D 121. Smudge or smear, say 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. God, to Bob Marley"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "___ you done?""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Musical comedy that was 1968's highest-grossing film"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Caustic"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a substance that abrades or wears down
  • Similar words include: harsh, abrasive material, scratchy
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABRASIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Bootlegger's concern"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Like 666, popularly"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell
  • Similar words include: demonic, hellish, fiendish
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Band that's big in Japan?"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (west indies) followers of a religious system involving witchcraft and sorcery
  • Similar words include: obeah
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Disoriented"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are destined to die soon
  • Similar words include: turn a loss, miss, befuddled
  • Opposite of: won, gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Administered, as a drug"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that treat with an agent; add (an agent) to
  • Similar words include: dose, drug
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Potentialities"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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11D: "11. Something found under a top"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
  • Similar words include: bandeau, brassiere
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRA

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12D: "12. Wriggler in a stream"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

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13D: "13. "___ fugit""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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14D: "14. Star's opposite"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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15D: "15. Stout figure?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who brews beer or ale from malt and hops and water
  • Similar words include: beer maker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREWER

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16D: "16. Supreme Egyptian god"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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17D: "18. Inuit watercraft"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small canoe consisting of a light frame made watertight with animal skins; used by eskimos
  • Similar words include: kayak
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAYAKS

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18D: "19. Office messages"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written proposal or reminder
  • Similar words include: memorandum, memoranda, memo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMOS

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19D: "21. Like some mattresses and offers"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments
  • Similar words include: unbendable, solid, unfluctuating
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRM

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20D: "23. Mineral that makes cosmetics shimmer"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves; used as dielectrics because of their resistance to electricity
  • Similar words include: isinglass
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICA

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21D: "27. Remove an identifier from, as on Instagram"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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22D: "29. Clear"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from memory or existence
  • Similar words include: wipe off, efface, delete
  • Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASE

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23D: "30. Shoulder press targets, to trainers"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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24D: "32. Hit a ___"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp protuberance
  • Similar words include: split, hang-up, rip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNAG

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25D: "34. Where a flock may gather"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the central area of a church
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAVE

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26D: "35. Beginning on"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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27D: "36. Attach with a needle and thread"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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28D: "38. Unused"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
  • Similar words include: novel, fresh, newly
  • Opposite of: old, worn
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEW

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29D: "39. Extreme happiness"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that great merriment
  • Similar words include: gloating, hilarity, mirthfulness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEE

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30D: "44. Double-breasted pieces of menswear"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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31D: "47. Trigger"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
  • Similar words include: branch line, urging, spine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPUR

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32D: "49. Like Scrooge McDuck"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)
  • Similar words include: deep, productive, fat
  • Opposite of: poor people, lean
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICH

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33D: "50. Right-hand page of a book"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that right-hand page
  • Opposite of: verso
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECTO

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34D: "51. Made muffs"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Similar words include: stray, mistake, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRED

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35D: "52. John ___ Day (California commemoration)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states naturalist (born in england) who advocated the creation of national parks (1838-1914)
  • Similar words include: John Muir
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUIR

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36D: "53. Citrus refreshments"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "54. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

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

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38D: "57. 1994 Costner title role"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "58. Diva's time to shine"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an elaborate song for solo voice
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARIA

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40D: "61. "Dune" genre"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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41D: "62. Mary or Elizabeth"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
  • Similar words include: poof, pouf, tabby
  • Opposite of: male monarch, king
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUEEN

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42D: "63. Towering creature in "The Two Towers""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "65. Sound in a cornfield"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by corvine birds
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAW

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44D: "66. Half brother of Apollo"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) greek god of war; son of zeus and hera; identified with roman mars
  • Similar words include: ar, are
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARES

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45D: "67. Christmas presence?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (new testament) the sages who visited jesus and mary and joseph shortly after jesus was born; the gospel according to matthew says they were guided by a star and brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh; because there were three gifts it is usually assumed that there were three of them
  • Similar words include: Wise Men, magus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAGI

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46D: "69. Sushi bar serving"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rotary motion of an object around its own axis
  • Similar words include: drum roll, curlicue, roll up
  • Opposite of: unwind
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROLL

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47D: "70. Jazz great Fitzgerald"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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48D: "71. Along with "CODA" and "Argo," the only other four-letter Best Picture winner"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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49D: "72. Give gratis"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge
  • Similar words include: comprehensive, comprehensive examination
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMP

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50D: "73. Shakespearean shout"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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51D: "77. That's the spirit!"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil supernatural being
  • Similar words include: daimon, fiend, devil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEMON

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52D: "79. Strike defier"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
  • Similar words include: strikebreaker, rat, blackleg
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAB

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53D: "81. Part of an intersection"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a junction where one street or road crosses another
  • Similar words include: crossing, carrefour, crossway
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROSSROAD

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54D: "82. Barolos e Brunellos"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fermented juice (of grapes especially)
  • Similar words include: vino, wine
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VINOS

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55D: "83. Turn someone down"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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56D: "85. Unshared numbers"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any activity that is performed alone without assistance
  • Similar words include: solo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLI

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57D: "86. Hostile manner, informally"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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58D: "87. Actor and disability activist Christopher"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that female ruff
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEVE

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59D: "88. Like some liquors"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: voiceless, gruelling, laborious
  • Opposite of: soft, easy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

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60D: "90. Org. regulating air quality"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
  • Similar words include: Environmental Protection Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPA

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61D: "91. "You sure about that?""

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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62D: "94. Periods of 730 days"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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63D: "95. Withdraw from a union"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that withdraw from an organization or communion
  • Similar words include: splinter, break away
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECEDE

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64D: "97. Teensy amount"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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65D: "98. Feathered fliers"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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66D: "99. Shoe brand named for an antelope"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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67D: "100. Hybrid tennis bottoms"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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68D: "101. Second tries"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that do over, as of (part of) a house
  • Similar words include: redo, make over, reconstruct
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDOS

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69D: "103. El Pollo ___ (chicken chain)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
  • Similar words include: nutty, loony, nuts
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCO

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70D: "105. Creditor's claim"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged
  • Similar words include: spleen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIEN

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71D: "106. Turkish money"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of money on malta; equal to 100 cents
  • Similar words include: Italian lira, lira, Turkish lira
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIRAS

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72D: "111. Fad toy of 1996"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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73D: "113. Snowboarder's transport"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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74D: "115. Often-illegal turn, slangily"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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75D: "116. Cinephile's cable choice"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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76D: "117. Boars and bulls"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in texas and kansas)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 2, helium, he
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

77D: "119. Comedian Sedaris"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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78D: "120. I, to Augustus"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: unrivaled, unitary, unmatched
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONE

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79D: "121. Smudge or smear, say"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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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

61 Across Clues
79 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 30, 2026 at 09:21 AM