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
- Across Clues Table (37 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (37 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging
Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!
Across Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1. Meh | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Labors like the Seven Dwarfs | 5 |
| 3A | 10. Looped in via email | 4 |
| 4A | 14. Covid-19, colloquially | 4 |
| 5A | 15. Brand acquired by Hasbro in 1998 | 5 |
| 6A | 16. Mauna Loa output | 4 |
| 7A | 17. Car with a logo similar to the Olympic rings | 4 |
| 8A | 18. Start of a counting rhyme | 5 |
| 9A | 19. Slightly | 4 |
| 10A | 20. Honorable conduct on the field | 13 |
| 11A | 23. Recluses | 7 |
| 12A | 24. On-schedule | 6 |
| 13A | 27. Musician's gift | 3 |
| 14A | 28. Super Mario character with a mushroom for a head | 4 |
| 15A | 30. Fish eggs | 3 |
| 16A | 31. Kid around | 4 |
| 17A | 34. When hunting restrictions are lifted | 10 |
| 18A | 37. Epic poem originally passed down orally | 5 |
| 19A | 39. CPR expert | 3 |
| 20A | 40. Pretense | 5 |
| 21A | 41. Carnival diversion requiring precision | 10 |
| 22A | 44. One-named singer who lives in an Irish castle | 4 |
| 23A | 45. Bikini season, in Bordeaux | 3 |
| 24A | 46. "Hmm ... I pass" | 4 |
| 25A | 47. Word before data or deal | 3 |
| 26A | 49. Peak in the Alaska Range | 6 |
| 27A | 51. Slender e-cig | 7 |
| 28A | 55. "You're free to criticize it" ... or a comment one might make about 20-, 34- and 41-Across? | 13 |
| 29A | 58. Genderqueer identity, informally | 4 |
| 30A | 60. Windowside perches | 5 |
| 31A | 61. "Back in my day ..." | 4 |
| 32A | 62. Instrument also called the "sprightly companion" | 4 |
| 33A | 63. Greek salad morsel | 5 |
| 34A | 64. Gave the green light | 4 |
| 35A | 65. Catches red-handed | 4 |
| 36A | 66. "Duly ___" | 5 |
| 37A | 67. They go for bucks | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Meh"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that pompous or pretentious talk or writing
- Similar words include: claptrap, rant, fustian
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLAH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Labors like the Seven Dwarfs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted
- Similar words include: mine
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "10. Looped in via email"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CCED
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4A: "14. Covid-19, colloquially"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RONA
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5A: "15. Brand acquired by Hasbro in 1998"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATARI
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6A: "16. Mauna Loa output"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that rock that in its molten form (as magma) issues from volcanos; lava is what magma is called when it reaches the surface
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAVA
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7A: "17. Car with a logo similar to the Olympic rings"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUDI
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8A: "18. Start of a counting rhyme"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EENIE
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9A: "19. Slightly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATAD
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10A: "20. Honorable conduct on the field"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fairness in following the rules of the game
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPORTSMANSHIP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "23. Recluses"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one retired from society for religious reasons
- Similar words include: troglodyte, solitary, hermit
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERMITS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "24. On-schedule"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that before a time limit expires
- Similar words include: well-timed, seasonably, seasonable
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIMELY
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13A: "27. Musician's gift"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
- Similar words include: spike, capitulum, auricle
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR
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14A: "28. Super Mario character with a mushroom for a head"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species
- Similar words include: frog, salientian, anuran
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "30. Fish eggs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fish eggs or egg-filled ovary; having a grainy texture
- Similar words include: hard roe
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROE
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16A: "31. Kid around"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
- Similar words include: jocularity, laugh, joke
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JEST
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17A: "34. When hunting restrictions are lifted"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPENSEASON
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18A: "37. Epic poem originally passed down orally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a greek epic poem (attributed to homer) describing the siege of troy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILIAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "39. CPR expert"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMT
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20A: "40. Pretense"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the side that is forward or prominent
- Similar words include: battlefront, front line, straw man
- Opposite of: rear, back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRONT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "41. Carnival diversion requiring precision"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BALLOONPOP
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22A: "44. One-named singer who lives in an Irish castle"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENYA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "45. Bikini season, in Bordeaux"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "46. "Hmm ... I pass""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UHNO
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25A: "47. Word before data or deal"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that informal terms for nakedness
- Similar words include: stark naked, naked as a jaybird, new
- Opposite of: cooked
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "49. Peak in the Alaska Range"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mountain in south central alaska; the highest peak in north america (20,300 feet high)
- Similar words include: Mount McKinley, Mt. McKinley, McKinley
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENALI
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27A: "51. Slender e-cig"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VAPEPEN
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28A: "55. "You're free to criticize it" ... or a comment one might make about 20-, 34- and 41-Across?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THATSFAIRGAME
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29A: "58. Genderqueer identity, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENBY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "60. Windowside perches"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states operatic soprano (born in 1929)
- Similar words include: Beverly Sills, sill, Belle Miriam Silverman
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILLS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "61. "Back in my day ...""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that on one occasion
- Similar words include: one time, at one time, erst
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONCE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "62. Instrument also called the "sprightly companion""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a slender double-reed instrument; a woodwind with a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece
- Similar words include: hautboy, hautbois
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBOE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "63. Greek salad morsel"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that small ovoid fruit of the european olive tree; important food and source of oil
- Similar words include: Olea europaea, European olive tree
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLIVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "64. Gave the green light"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "65. Catches red-handed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that tag the base runner to get him out
- Similar words include: cop, nail, arrest
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NABS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "66. "Duly ___""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make mention of
- Similar words include: far-famed, take down, remark
- Opposite of: ignore
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOTED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "67. They go for bucks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the united states; created in 1977
- Similar words include: perform, Department of Energy, behave
- Opposite of: unmake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOES
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Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Brazen | 5 |
| 2D | 2. Jeweler's magnifying glass | 5 |
| 3D | 3. "Star Wars" series starring Diego Luna | 5 |
| 4D | 4. Music genre named for its voluminous dos | 9 |
| 5D | 5. Distinguished conductor | 7 |
| 6D | 6. Agenda topics | 5 |
| 7D | 7. Nickname for grandma | 4 |
| 8D | 8. Environmental activist Brockovich | 4 |
| 9D | 9. Naps, in Nicaragua | 7 |
| 10D | 10. ___ to fame | 5 |
| 11D | 11. One preferring purrs to pooches | 9 |
| 12D | 12. Actress Mendes | 3 |
| 13D | 13. "Old man" | 3 |
| 14D | 21. Spanish aunt | 3 |
| 15D | 22. 720p+ resolution, informally | 5 |
| 16D | 25. Bonkers | 5 |
| 17D | 26. Gossip, from the Yiddish | 5 |
| 18D | 28. It's kept by a metronome | 5 |
| 19D | 29. Not fooled by | 4 |
| 20D | 31. Meshed (with) | 5 |
| 21D | 32. Thrill | 5 |
| 22D | 33. Jay's reticent partner of filmdom | 9 |
| 23D | 35. Ivy League school with a dolphin on its coat of arms, informally | 4 |
| 24D | 36. "Is everything cool between us?" | 9 |
| 25D | 38. Nonmedical childbirth assistant | 5 |
| 26D | 42. "Them's fightin' words!" | 7 |
| 27D | 43. Talked up | 7 |
| 28D | 48. Arbor Day mo. | 3 |
| 29D | 50. "Now I remember" | 5 |
| 30D | 51. Part of a heart or faucet | 5 |
| 31D | 52. Japanese bread crumbs | 5 |
| 32D | 53. Host with a mic | 5 |
| 33D | 54. More than wants | 5 |
| 34D | 56. Rural structure seen in a Grant Wood lithograph | 4 |
| 35D | 57. Dart (about) | 4 |
| 36D | 58. Seemingly for-EH-ver | 3 |
| 37D | 59. Thunder setting, in brief | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Brazen"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that offensively bold
- Similar words include: cheeky, nervy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRASH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Jeweler's magnifying glass"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that small magnifying glass (usually set in an eyepiece) used by jewelers and horologists
- Similar words include: jeweler's loupe
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOUPE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. "Star Wars" series starring Diego Luna"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANDOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Music genre named for its voluminous dos"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAIRMETAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Distinguished conductor"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an artist of consummate skill
- Similar words include: master
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAESTRO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Agenda topics"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
- Similar words include: item, particular, token
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEMS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Nickname for grandma"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NANA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Environmental activist Brockovich"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an early name of ireland that is now used in poetry
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Naps, in Nicaragua"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a nap in the early afternoon (especially in hot countries)
- Similar words include: siesta
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIESTAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. ___ to fame"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
- Similar words include: call, exact, title
- Opposite of: forfeit, disclaim
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLAIM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. One preferring purrs to pooches"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATPERSON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Actress Mendes"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVA
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13D: "13. "Old man""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
- Similar words include: papa, pa, daddy
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "21. Spanish aunt"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that brief episode in which the brain gets insufficient blood supply; symptoms depend on the site of the blockage
- Similar words include: transient ischemic attack
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "22. 720p+ resolution, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIDEF
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "25. Bonkers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone deranged and possibly dangerous
- Similar words include: round the bend, crackers, nuts
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOONY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Gossip, from the Yiddish"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (yiddish) a vulgar shrew; a shallow coarse termagant
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YENTA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "28. It's kept by a metronome"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (music) the speed at which a composition is to be played
- Similar words include: pacing, pace
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEMPO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "29. Not fooled by"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONTO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "31. Meshed (with)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
- Similar words include: correspond, change course, tally
- Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JIBED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "32. Thrill"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fill with high spirits; fill with optimism
- Similar words include: lift up, intoxicate, pick up
- Opposite of: depress
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "33. Jay's reticent partner of filmdom"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILENTBOB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "35. Ivy League school with a dolphin on its coat of arms, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that englishman and quaker who founded the colony of pennsylvania (1644-1718)
- Similar words include: Pennsylvania, William Penn, University of Pennsylvania
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PENN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "36. "Is everything cool between us?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREWEGOOD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "38. Nonmedical childbirth assistant"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes
- Similar words include: monitrice, labor coach, birthing coach
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOULA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "42. "Them's fightin' words!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHITSON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "43. Talked up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that express approval of
- Similar words include: praise
- Opposite of: criticize
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRAISED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "48. Arbor Day mo."
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!
29D: "50. "Now I remember""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHYES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "51. Part of a heart or faucet"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VALVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "52. Japanese bread crumbs"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANKO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "53. Host with a mic"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and introduces other speakers)
- Similar words include: compere, host, master of ceremonies
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMCEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "54. More than wants"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a condition requiring relief
- Similar words include: demand, necessitate, postulate
- Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "56. Rural structure seen in a Grant Wood lithograph"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cylindrical tower used for storing silage
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "57. Dart (about)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sudden quick movement
- Similar words include: fleet, dart, flutter
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "58. Seemingly for-EH-ver"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the longest division of geological time
- Similar words include: aeon
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "59. Thunder setting, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NBA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Expert Solving Strategies
Start Smart
Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.
Decode the Clues
Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.
Use Cross-References
Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.
Build Vocabulary
Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.
Today's Puzzle Stats
37 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
74 Total Clues
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