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Saturday, August 15, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 15, 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. Began 6
2A 7. Show faces? 8
3A 15. Bring back into the fold, so to speak 6
4A 16. Worth looking back on 8
5A 17. One from "Japan's kitchen" 6
6A 18. Appeal 8
7A 19. Bit of ceramic ware 3
8A 20. Cast off 7
9A 22. 7/ 3
10A 23. "Lovely" and "wonderful" food, per Monty Python 4
11A 25. Rose Bowl Stadium athlete 5
12A 26. Big ring 4
13A 27. Patient privacy law, in brief 5
14A 29. World Cup team nicknamed "The Three Lions": Abbr. 3
15A 30. Say "Hey," say 5
16A 31. "Speak up" 12
17A 34. Intermezzo and trou normand dishes, essentially 15
18A 38. Hoedown get-down? 12
19A 39. Long-___ squid 5
20A 42. "Wayne's World" exclamation 3
21A 43. Christina of "Buffalo '66" 5
22A 44. Ring location 4
23A 45. Oil wells? 5
24A 47. Nickname for Eleanor 4
25A 48. Eye-catching stage prop 3
26A 49. "Got it?" 7
27A 51. Thru 3
28A 52. Underlining, e.g. 8
29A 54. Classical figure in an 1898 Gustav Klimt oil 6
30A 56. Some back-and-forth 8
31A 57. Big name in fashion 6
32A 58. Go in the wrong way? 8
33A 59. "I beg you!" 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Began"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
  • Similar words include: come home, fall into place, dawn
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAWNED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Show faces?"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "15. Bring back into the fold, so to speak"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "16. Worth looking back on"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that belonging to the past; of what is important or famous in the past
  • Similar words include: historical
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HISTORIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. One from "Japan's kitchen""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Appeal"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that earnest or urgent request
  • Similar words include: prayer, appeal
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTREATY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Bit of ceramic ware"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid
  • Similar words include: heap, toilet, throne
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Cast off"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. 7/"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. "Lovely" and "wonderful" food, per Monty Python"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a canned meat made largely from pork
  • Similar words include: junk e-mail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "25. Rose Bowl Stadium athlete"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conventional name for a bear used in tales following usage in the old epic `reynard the fox'
  • Similar words include: brown bear, Ursus arctos
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "26. Big ring"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells)
  • Similar words include: pealing, rolling, roll
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Patient privacy law, in brief"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. World Cup team nicknamed "The Three Lions": Abbr."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Say "Hey," say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
  • Similar words include: bellow, holloa, holler
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOLLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. "Speak up""

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Intermezzo and trou normand dishes, essentially"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. Hoedown get-down?"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Long-___ squid"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prepare oneself for a military confrontation
  • Similar words include: gird, fortify, arm
  • Opposite of: disarm, unarmed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. "Wayne's World" exclamation"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that negation of a word or group of words
  • Similar words include: non
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Christina of "Buffalo '66""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Ring location"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (anatomy) a somewhat rounded subdivision of a bodily organ or part
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOBE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Oil wells?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)
  • Similar words include: centre, rivet, concentrate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Nickname for Eleanor"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Eye-catching stage prop"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur
  • Similar words include: feather boa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. "Got it?""

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "51. Thru"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Underlining, e.g."

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that special importance or significance
  • Similar words include: stress, vehemence, accent
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMPHASIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Classical figure in an 1898 Gustav Klimt oil"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of wisdom and useful arts and prudent warfare; guardian of athens; identified with roman minerva
  • Similar words include: Pallas, Pallas Athene, Pallas Athena
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHENA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. Some back-and-forth"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that adroitness and cleverness in reply
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REPARTEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. Big name in fashion"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. Go in the wrong way?"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wrongful interference with the possession of property (personal property as well as realty), or the action instituted to recover damages
  • Similar words include: violation, intrusion, intrude
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRESPASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. "I beg you!""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give pleasure to or be pleasing to
  • Similar words include: delight
  • Opposite of: displease
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLEASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Cut out the middleman, for delivery 8
2D 2. Fabulous collection 8
3D 3. "You're the best!" 8
4D 4. No-good ending? 3
5D 5. Diamond figs. 4
6D 6. Leftmost star of the Summer Triangle 5
7D 7. Classic 1926 novel often published with a bull and matador on its cover 15
8D 8. Dressing group 12
9D 9. Gamgee player in "Lord of the Rings" 5
10D 10. ___-C 4
11D 11. The second one on the Statue of Liberty is longer than its first one 3
12D 12. Toothache care option 6
13D 13. Communion, e.g. 6
14D 14. Charybdis' man-eating opposite, in myth 6
15D 21. Upper regions of forests 12
16D 24. Sea cow 7
17D 26. French Baroque artist Nicolas 7
18D 28. Challenged on X, say 5
19D 30. Scout's follower? 5
20D 32. Bad spell 3
21D 33. Partner of pitch and roll 3
22D 35. "You get the point" 8
23D 36. Kicks back, in a way 8
24D 37. Crime writer Mickey who created the Mike Hammer stories 8
25D 39. Prince of Monaco beginning in 2005 6
26D 40. Certain tenant 6
27D 41. French soccer superstar Kylian 6
28D 45. Some bow ties 5
29D 46. Where roots take hold 5
30D 49. Complain 4
31D 50. Citation shortener 4
32D 53. Tricks 3
33D 55. Orange or lime 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Cut out the middleman, for delivery"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Fabulous collection"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "You're the best!""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. No-good ending?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Diamond figs."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Leftmost star of the Summer Triangle"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the brightest star in cygnus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Classic 1926 novel often published with a bull and matador on its cover"

15 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Dressing group"

12 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that oil and vinegar with mustard and garlic
  • Similar words include: sauce vinaigrette, vinaigrette, French dressing
  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VINAIGRETTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Gamgee player in "Lord of the Rings""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. ___-C"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. The second one on the Statue of Liberty is longer than its first one"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the digits of the foot
  • Similar words include: toenail
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Toothache care option"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Communion, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any customary observance or practice
  • Similar words include: rite
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RITUAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Charybdis' man-eating opposite, in myth"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster who lived on one side of a narrow strait; drowned and devoured sailors who tried to escape charybdis (a whirlpool) on the other side of the strait
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCYLLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Upper regions of forests"

12 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Sea cow"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sirenian mammal of tropical coastal waters of america; the flat tail is rounded
  • Similar words include: Trichechus manatus
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANATEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. French Baroque artist Nicolas"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french painter in the classical style (1594-1665)
  • Similar words include: Nicolas Poussin
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POUSSIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Challenged on X, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Scout's follower?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
  • Similar words include: honour, purity, pureness
  • Opposite of: dishonor, disrespect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Bad spell"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil spell
  • Similar words include: curse, bewitch, glamour
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Partner of pitch and roll"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an erratic deflection from an intended course
  • Similar words include: gape, swerve, yawn
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. "You get the point""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that additional unspecified odds and ends; more of the same
  • Similar words include: etc., and so forth, and so on
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCETERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Kicks back, in a way"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move the upper body backwards and down
  • Similar words include: repose, lean back, recumb
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECLINES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Crime writer Mickey who created the Mike Hammer stories"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states writer of popular detective novels (born in 1918)
  • Similar words include: Mickey Spillane, Frank Morrison Spillane
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPILLANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "39. Prince of Monaco beginning in 2005"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prince consort of queen victoria of england (1819-1861)
  • Similar words include: Prince Albert, Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. Certain tenant"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tenant in someone's house
  • Similar words include: boarder, lodger
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOMER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. French soccer superstar Kylian"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Some bow ties"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dish that contains pasta as its main ingredient
  • Similar words include: alimentary paste
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. Where roots take hold"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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!

30D: "49. Complain"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed; can be baked or braised
  • Similar words include: chicane, cavil
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Citation shortener"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "53. Tricks"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
  • Similar words include: feature, make, let
  • Opposite of: abstain, refuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. Orange or lime"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
  • Similar words include: imbue, chromaticity
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUE

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

33 Across Clues
33 Down Clues
66 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 15, 2026 at 03:59 AM

Sunday, August 2, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 02, 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. Pen name 3
2A 4. Garment whose name is a homophone for a board game 4
3A 8. Keywords accompanying a YouTube video, say 4
4A 12. Bellyaches 5
5A 17. Listing of what's on tap 4
6A 18. Story 4
7A 19. It's right around the present 4
8A 20. Phone notifications 6
9A 22. "For our ad, how should we list the car that we found in the ditch?" 14
10A 25. Massachusetts city named for a colonial patriot 6
11A 26. Like phone numbers in infomercials 8
12A 27. Team players 8
13A 29. Boggy place 3
14A 30. Rightmost word on the front of a penny 5
15A 31. Their horns don't honk 4
16A 33. Kerfuffles 4
17A 34. Moccasin decoration 4
18A 35. "Physics is like ___: Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" (quote attributed to Richard Feynman) 3
19A 36. Ankle part 6
20A 39. "... and how do we add that it was just struck by lightning?" 9
21A 41. "You will be ___" 6
22A 42. What's to be with Québec? 4
23A 43. Focus of many a small private college 4
24A 44. "... and that the tailpipe is dragging on the ground?" 12
25A 49. 19th-century school item 5
26A 51. Emulates Cicero 6
27A 52. Food or water 4
28A 54. Cover with a black rectangle, say 6
29A 58. Useful pointers? 5
30A 59. Rascal 5
31A 62. Tech models since 1998 5
32A 65. Country with the all-time greatest number of medals at the Winter Olympics: Abbr. 3
33A 66. Quickbeam and Leaflock, in fantasy 4
34A 67. "... and what about the leaky roof?" 11
35A 69. Point of intersection 4
36A 70. "Here ___!" 3
37A 71. Mideast language 5
38A 72. Surprising result 5
39A 73. Pretend 5
40A 74. Achilles, e.g. 6
41A 76. Family nickname comparable to the Yiddish "bubbe" 4
42A 78. Smooth, now 6
43A 79. Gains prominence 5
44A 82. "... and the broken door locks?" 12
45A 86. "___ just in ..." 4
46A 88. Big name in plastic 4
47A 90. Rudimentary seeds 6
48A 91. "... and the defective speaker system?" 9
49A 93. Rudimentary 6
50A 94. Calling card, for short? 3
51A 97. Safari destinations? 4
52A 98. Drink in a red, white and blue cup 4
53A 99. Donahue on TV Guide's list of "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" 4
54A 100. Yemeni neighbor 5
55A 102. Old gridiron org. for the Boston Patriots 3
56A 103. End of "Our Town" or "A Doll's House" 8
57A 105. Spectacular flops 8
58A 108. Upholsterer's sample 6
59A 110. "... and finally, the missing front tires?" 14
60A 112. Capital of Zimbabwe 6
61A 113. Pupil's surroundings 4
62A 114. Like toms and drakes 4
63A 115. State as fact 4
64A 116. U-Haul alternative 5
65A 117. Legend who occasionally used his head to achieve greatness 4
66A 118. SoCal sch. 4
67A 119. Pink part of a Mr. Potato Head set 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Pen name"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Garment whose name is a homophone for a board game"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

3A: "8. Keywords accompanying a YouTube video, say"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a label written or printed on paper, cardboard, or plastic that is attached to something to indicate its owner, nature, price, etc.
  • Similar words include: tail, give chase, tag end
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "12. Bellyaches"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed; can be baked or braised
  • Similar words include: chicane, cavil, carp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Listing of what's on tap"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a list of dishes available at a restaurant
  • Similar words include: bill of fare, carte du jour, computer menu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MENU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Story"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
  • Similar words include: tier up, grade, level
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. It's right around the present"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cloak that is folded or wrapped around a person
  • Similar words include: roll, twine, enfold
  • Opposite of: unwind, unwrap
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Phone notifications"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action
  • Similar words include: warning signal, alerting, alarum
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALERTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. "For our ad, how should we list the car that we found in the ditch?""

14 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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10A: "25. Massachusetts city named for a colonial patriot"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that american silversmith remembered for his midnight ride (celebrated in a poem by longfellow) to warn the colonists in lexington and concord that british troops were coming (1735-1818)
  • Similar words include: venerate, idolize, revers
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REVERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Like phone numbers in infomercials"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Team players"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Boggy place"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 fen equal 1 yuan in china
  • Similar words include: fenland, marsh, marshland
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Rightmost word on the front of a penny"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
  • Similar words include: corporate trust, confide, reliance
  • Opposite of: mistrust, distrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Their horns don't honk"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible
  • Similar words include: chock up, jam, RAM
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Kerfuffles"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid active commotion
  • Similar words include: hustle, flurry, bustle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Moccasin decoration"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small ball with a hole through the middle
  • Similar words include: beadwork, drop, astragal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. "Physics is like ___: Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" (quote attributed to Richard Feynman)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that activities associated with sexual intercourse
  • Similar words include: sexual urge, gender, turn on
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Ankle part"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the foot of a vertebrate between the metatarsus and the leg; in human beings the bones of the ankle and heel collectively
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARSUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. "... and how do we add that it was just struck by lightning?""

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. "You will be ___""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
  • Similar words include: drop, neglect, lack
  • Opposite of: hit, have
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MISSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. What's to be with Québec?"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Focus of many a small private college"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that studies intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills)
  • Similar words include: nontextual matter, artistry, artistic creation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. "... and that the tailpipe is dragging on the ground?""

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. 19th-century school item"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (formerly) a writing tablet made of slate
  • Similar words include: slating, ticket
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Emulates Cicero"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Similar words include: orate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Food or water"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition requiring relief
  • Similar words include: ask, indigence, want
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Cover with a black rectangle, say"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who puts text into appropriate form for publication
  • Similar words include: redactor, frame, rewriter
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "58. Useful pointers?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
  • Similar words include: weather vane, weathervane, web
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VANES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Rascal"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one who is playfully mischievous
  • Similar words include: monkey, scallywag, imp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Tech models since 1998"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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32A: "65. Country with the all-time greatest number of medals at the Winter Olympics: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Quickbeam and Leaflock, in fantasy"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. "... and what about the leaky roof?""

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Point of intersection"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a connecting point at which several lines come together
  • Similar words include: client, leaf node, knob
  • Opposite of: antinode
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. "Here ___!""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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37A: "71. Mideast language"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person of iranian descent
  • Similar words include: Persian
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "72. Surprising result"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unhappy and worried mental state
  • Similar words include: disconcert, discomfit, disturbance
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPSET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "73. Pretend"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make believe with the intent to deceive
  • Similar words include: assume, dissemble, affect
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEIGN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "74. Achilles, e.g."

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment
  • Similar words include: sinew
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENDON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "76. Family nickname comparable to the Yiddish "bubbe""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "78. Smooth, now"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that press and smooth with a heated iron
  • Similar words include: press, iron, iron out
  • Opposite of: unironed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRONED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "79. Gains prominence"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a growth in strength or number or importance
  • Similar words include: wax, stand up, lift
  • Opposite of: go to bed, descent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "82. "... and the broken door locks?""

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "86. "___ just in ...""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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46A: "88. Big name in plastic"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "90. Rudimentary seeds"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small body that contains the female germ cell of a plant; develops into a seed after fertilization
  • Similar words include: ovule
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVULES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "91. "... and the defective speaker system?""

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "93. Rudimentary"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that serving as an essential component
  • Similar words include: primordial, central, cardinal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRIMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "94. Calling card, for short?"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "97. Safari destinations?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the address of a web page on the world wide web
  • Similar words include: URL, uniform resource locator, universal resource locator
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "98. Drink in a red, white and blue cup"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "99. Donahue on TV Guide's list of "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "100. Yemeni neighbor"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of oman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMANI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "102. Old gridiron org. for the Boston Patriots"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a federation of north american labor unions that merged with the congress of industrial organizations in 1955
  • Similar words include: American Federation of Labor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "103. End of "Our Town" or "A Doll's House""

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "105. Spectacular flops"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden and violent collapse
  • Similar words include: thrashing, slaughter, fiasco
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEBACLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "108. Upholsterer's sample"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sample piece of cloth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWATCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "110. "... and finally, the missing front tires?""

14 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "112. Capital of Zimbabwe"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of zimbabwe
  • Similar words include: capital of Zimbabwe, Salisbury
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "113. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  • Similar words include: flag, sword lily, fleur-de-lis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62A: "114. Like toms and drakes"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)
  • Similar words include: manlike, male person, manly
  • Opposite of: female
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63A: "115. State as fact"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that report or maintain
  • Similar words include: say, allege, assert
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64A: "116. U-Haul alternative"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

65A: "117. Legend who occasionally used his head to achieve greatness"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66A: "118. SoCal sch."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67A: "119. Pink part of a Mr. Potato Head set"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Caption below the first of two photos 6
2D 2. Opposite of exodus 6
3D 3. Dumbbell exercises 5
4D 4. Giant or dwarf 4
5D 5. ___-de-camp 4
6D 6. Backs out, say 8
7D 7. Indignation 3
8D 8. Ninnies 5
9D 9. What someone flat-footed lacks 4
10D 10. Like an honorable knight 7
11D 11. They might be on one's radar 8
12D 12. Pet 6
13D 13. Porters, for example 4
14D 14. Race prior to a race? 3
15D 15. Fifth-year student leader at Hogwarts 7
16D 16. Barely runs? 7
17D 17. Fruit snack brand 5
18D 21. Excites 5
19D 23. Again and again, in verse 8
20D 24. Over-the-top performers 4
21D 28. Item on a rack 5
22D 32. Mercedes alternative 4
23D 34. Idly doodling, maybe 5
24D 37. How the car in this puzzle's theme would be sold 4
25D 38. Blog feed letters 3
26D 40. Disrelishes and then some 5
27D 41. Hands (out) 5
28D 42. Linguistic suffix 3
29D 44. "Fabulous!" 6
30D 45. It has a rind but supposedly no rhyme 6
31D 46. Deliberately malicious 6
32D 47. Opposite of "You'll pay for that!"? 4
33D 48. God who aids the Trojan fleet in the first book of the "Aeneid" 7
34D 50. Long stories have them 4
35D 53. Runs out of gas 4
36D 55. Divinely elect 6
37D 56. Old yeller? 6
38D 57. Faddish 6
39D 59. California's Big ___ 3
40D 60. Keeps in the loop, electronically 3
41D 61. Similar (to) 4
42D 63. Pioneering astronaut Jemison 3
43D 64. "The Good Wife" figure: Abbr. 3
44D 67. Declares off limits 4
45D 68. Fix a litter problem? 4
46D 69. Show signs 5
47D 71. Palm off (on) 5
48D 73. Mooch 8
49D 75. Hangs on a clothesline 5
50D 77. Isis Naija Gaston, ___ Ice Spice 3
51D 78. Madonna's "La ___ Bonita" 4
52D 80. Kick out 5
53D 81. Planned detour 8
54D 83. "Shark Tank" shark Greiner 4
55D 84. Horror franchise that includes 1992's "Army of Darkness" 8
56D 85. It all adds up to this 3
57D 86. "West Side Story" conflict 7
58D 87. Edmund who wrote "View From the Summit" 7
59D 89. "Now, wait just one minute!" 7
60D 91. Suppress 5
61D 92. Like cheesecake vis-à-vis sponge cake 6
62D 93. "That was a close one!" 4
63D 94. What wets the appetite? 6
64D 95. "The idea!" 6
65D 96. Penny pincher 5
66D 99. Intrinsically 5
67D 101. Jazz singer Carmen 5
68D 103. Part of a plot, at times 4
69D 104. The third one is dangerous 4
70D 106. Once-common fish in the Thames 4
71D 107. Veal cordon ___ 4
72D 109. Smidgen 3
73D 111. Inits. at sea 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Caption below the first of two photos"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that earlier in time; previously
  • Similar words include: earlier, in front, ahead
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEFORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Opposite of exodus"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process of flowing in
  • Similar words include: inflow
  • Opposite of: outflow, efflux
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INFLUX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Dumbbell exercises"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)
  • Similar words include: roll, coil, ringlet
  • Opposite of: uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Giant or dwarf"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
  • Similar words include: starring, prima, superstar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. ___-de-camp"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
  • Similar words include: auxiliary, aide-de-camp, adjutant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Backs out, say"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relation of direct opposition
  • Similar words include: lift, invert, vacate
  • Opposite of: obverse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REVERSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Indignation"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
  • Similar words include: wrath, ira, anger
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Ninnies"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is regarded as contemptible
  • Similar words include: tease, tantalise, twerp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. What someone flat-footed lacks"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
  • Similar words include: impish, implike, mischievous
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Like an honorable knight"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance
  • Similar words include: dashing, fop, beau
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALLANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. They might be on one's radar"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a driver who exceeds the safe speed limit
  • Similar words include: speeder, speed demon
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPEEDERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Pet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gentle affectionate stroking (or something resembling it)
  • Similar words include: fondle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Porters, for example"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
  • Similar words include: ale
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Race prior to a race?"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rate of revolution of a motor
  • Similar words include: revolutions per minute, rpm, rev up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REV

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15D: "15. Fifth-year student leader at Hogwarts"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chief officer or chief magistrate
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PREFECT

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16D: "16. Barely runs?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unbroken series of events
  • Similar words include: blotch, streak, stripe
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STREAKS

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17D: "17. Fruit snack brand"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states feminist and suffragist (1793-1880)
  • Similar words include: Lucretia Coffin Mott, Mott
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOTTS

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18D: "21. Excites"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: send, place, beam
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENDS

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19D: "23. Again and again, in verse"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that many times at short intervals
  • Similar words include: frequently, often, oft
  • Opposite of: rarely, infrequently
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFTTIMES

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20D: "24. Over-the-top performers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
  • Similar words include: jambon, Ham, overact
  • Opposite of: underact
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAMS

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21D: "28. Item on a rack"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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22D: "32. Mercedes alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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23D: "34. Idly doodling, maybe"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to be bored
  • Similar words include: world-weary, bore, blase
  • Opposite of: interest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BORED

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24D: "37. How the car in this puzzle's theme would be sold"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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25D: "38. Blog feed letters"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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26D: "40. Disrelishes and then some"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
  • Similar words include: hat, hatred, hate
  • Opposite of: love
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Hands (out)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a line that indicates a boundary
  • Similar words include: boundary line, borderline, border
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: METES

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28D: "42. Linguistic suffix"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the compass point midway between east and southeast
  • Similar words include: east southeast
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESE

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29D: "44. "Fabulous!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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30D: "45. It has a rind but supposedly no rhyme"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that round yellow to orange fruit of any of several citrus trees
  • Similar words include: orangish, orange tree, Orange River
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORANGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Deliberately malicious"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lewd or lascivious woman
  • Similar words include: easy, unprovoked, sluttish
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WANTON

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32D: "47. Opposite of "You'll pay for that!"?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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33D: "48. God who aids the Trojan fleet in the first book of the "Aeneid""

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (roman mythology) god of the sea; counterpart of greek poseidon
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEPTUNE

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34D: "50. Long stories have them"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field
  • Similar words include: electric arc, arch, electric discharge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Runs out of gas"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
  • Similar words include: atomic number 66, dysprosium, pall
  • Opposite of: be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Divinely elect"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that choose by or as if by divine intervention
  • Similar words include: oil, inunct, anele
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANOINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Old yeller?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that used affectionately to refer to an eccentric but amusing old man
  • Similar words include: old codger
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CODGER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Faddish"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in accord with the latest fad
  • Similar words include: voguish
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRENDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. California's Big ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a port in southern lebanon on the mediterranean sea; formerly a major phoenician seaport famous for silks
  • Similar words include: Tyre
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. Keeps in the loop, electronically"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metric unit of volume equal to one thousandth of a liter
  • Similar words include: cubic centimeter, milliliter, ml
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "61. Similar (to)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that similar in quality or character
  • Similar words include: kindred, consanguineal, consanguineous
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AKIN

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42D: "63. Pioneering astronaut Jemison"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "64. "The Good Wife" figure: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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44D: "67. Declares off limits"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a decree that prohibits something
  • Similar words include: forbidding, prohibition, banning
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45D: "68. Fix a litter problem?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove the ovaries of
  • Similar words include: neuter, alter, castrate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46D: "69. Show signs"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: atomic number 10, neon, Ne
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47D: "71. Palm off (on)"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to force onto another
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48D: "73. Mooch"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that live off somebody's generosity
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FREELOAD

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49D: "75. Hangs on a clothesline"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • Similar words include: dry out, dry, prohibitionist
  • Opposite of: wet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRIES

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50D: "77. Isis Naija Gaston, ___ Ice Spice"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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51D: "78. Madonna's "La ___ Bonita""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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52D: "80. Kick out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expel or eject without recourse to legal process
  • Similar words include: force out
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVICT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53D: "81. Planned detour"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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54D: "83. "Shark Tank" shark Greiner"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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55D: "84. Horror franchise that includes 1992's "Army of Darkness""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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56D: "85. It all adds up to this"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of money
  • Similar words include: tot up, totality, join
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUM

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57D: "86. "West Side Story" conflict"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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58D: "87. Edmund who wrote "View From the Summit""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that new zealand mountaineer who in 1953 first attained the summit of mount everest with his sherpa guide tenzing norgay (born in 1919)
  • Similar words include: Edmund Hillary, Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, Sir Edmund Hillary
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HILLARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59D: "89. "Now, wait just one minute!""

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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60D: "91. Suppress"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put down by force or intimidation
  • Similar words include: subdue, invalidate, avoid
  • Opposite of: validate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUASH

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61D: "92. Like cheesecake vis-à-vis sponge cake"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that possessing material wealth
  • Similar words include: racy, deep, robust
  • Opposite of: lean, poor
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62D: "93. "That was a close one!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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63D: "94. What wets the appetite?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
  • Similar words include: spittle, spit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALIVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64D: "95. "The idea!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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65D: "96. Penny pincher"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a stingy hoarder of money and possessions (often living miserably)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MISER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66D: "99. Intrinsically"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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67D: "101. Jazz singer Carmen"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68D: "103. Part of a plot, at times"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69D: "104. The third one is dangerous"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
  • Similar words include: railing, vituperate, rail in
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

70D: "106. Once-common fish in the Thames"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

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
  • Similar words include: eel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

71D: "107. Veal cordon ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cheese containing a blue mold
  • Similar words include: blue cheese
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLEU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

72D: "109. Smidgen"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slight amount or degree of difference
  • Similar words include: shade
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

73D: "111. Inits. at sea"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metric unit of length equal to 100 meters
  • Similar words include: hectometer, hectometre, hm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HMS

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

67 Across Clues
73 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 02, 2026 at 06:15 AM