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

Thursday, May 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 21, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Gossiped-about duo 4
2A 5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi 4
3A 9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting 5
4A 14. Curbside call 4
5A 15. Egg's outline 4
6A 16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" 5
7A 17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" 4
8A 18. St. Benedict, for one 4
9A 19. Central meeting points 5
10A 20. timiL 12
11A 23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph 3
13A 25. Capital of Portugal, to natives 6
14A 29. Crown of jewels 6
15A 31. Penultimate Greek letter 3
16A 33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" 3
17A 34. Goat's cry 3
18A 35. Golfer's suppor- 9
19A 38. Move like a fox 5
20A 40. Get a lode of this! 3
21A 41. John from Britain 5
22A 42. Evade 9
23A 44. "Bad" beginning 3
24A 45. Like news that everyone already knows 3
25A 46. Legal boundaries? 3
26A 47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat 6
27A 50. More melted, as a marshmallow 6
28A 53. Tree alongside a ski run 3
29A 54. Bro, e.g. 3
30A 55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s 12
31A 59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot 5
32A 62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden 4
33A 63. Ordered 4
34A 64. Increase, as interest 5
35A 65. German Ms. 4
36A 66. Pupil's surroundings 4
37A 67. Environmentalist Adams 5
38A 68. Site for many stars? 4
39A 69. Sounds of disapproval 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Gossiped-about duo"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

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: point, particular, detail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
  • Similar words include: Nile River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NILE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Curbside call"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, hack, taxicab
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Egg's outline"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • Similar words include: ovoid, elliptical, ovate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. St. Benedict, for one"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
  • Similar words include: Thelonious Sphere Monk, Thelonious Monk, monastic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Central meeting points"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. timiL"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: shaft of light, irradiation, light beam
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Capital of Portugal, to natives"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city and economic and cultural center of portugal; a major port in western portugal on tagus river where it broadens and empties into the atlantic
  • Similar words include: Lisbon, capital of Portugal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LISBOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Crown of jewels"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  • Similar words include: crown
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIADEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Penultimate Greek letter"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: build up, sleeve, gird
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Goat's cry"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Golfer's suppor-"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Move like a fox"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
  • Similar words include: malinger, lurk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKULK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Get a lode of this!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. John from Britain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Evade"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very short skirt
  • Similar words include: mini
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINISKIRT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. "Bad" beginning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Like news that everyone already knows"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Legal boundaries?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: EL, elevated railway, elevated
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that semiformal evening dress for men
  • Similar words include: dinner jacket, black tie, tux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUXEDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. More melted, as a marshmallow"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft and sticky
  • Similar words include: icky, gooey
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOOIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Tree alongside a ski run"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nonresinous wood of a fir tree
  • Similar words include: fir tree, true fir
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Bro, e.g."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's brother or sister
  • Similar words include: blood relation, blood relative, cognate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brushing or rustling sound
  • Similar words include: lap, swoosh, posh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Ordered"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: bid, entreat, press
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Increase, as interest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tightly woven fabric with raised cords
  • Similar words include: temper, irritation, offend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIQUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. German Ms."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a german courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Common Word

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: fleur-de-lis, sword lily, iris diaphragm
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. Environmentalist Adams"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "68. Site for many stars?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp high-pitched cry (especially by a dog)
  • Similar words include: yelping, yap, yip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "69. Sounds of disapproval"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Short negative review 6
2D 2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom 6
3D 3. "Bingo!" 11
4D 4. Stole material 4
5D 5. Southern denial 6
6D 6. Something tickled on a piano 5
7D 7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying) 4
8D 8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo 4
9D 9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle" 5
10D 10. Goes around and around 5
11D 11. Make sense, with "up" 3
12D 12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles 3
13D 13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc. 3
14D 21. Inflicts 6
15D 22. Muse of history 4
16D 26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically 11
17D 27. Milkshake flavor 4
18D 28. Gospel shout 4
19D 30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945 4
20D 31. Contented sounds 5
21D 32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation 4
22D 35. Curl 4
23D 36. Hip-knee connectors 6
24D 37. Source of linseed oil 4
25D 38. It's all a haze 4
26D 39. Drug bust unit 4
27D 43. Model Miranda 4
28D 47. Make neat 6
29D 48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name 6
30D 49. Fixate 6
31D 51. Give out 5
32D 52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV 5
33D 53. Far from house-trained 5
34D 56. Dodgy 4
35D 57. 100% 4
36D 58. End piece? 4
37D 59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus" 3
38D 60. Prevail 3
39D 61. Some test figs. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Short negative review"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Bingo!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Stole material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Southern denial"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Something tickled on a piano"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  • Similar words include: pearl, tusk, bone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the land on which real estate is located
  • Similar words include: realm, down, commonwealth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in europe and `moose' in north america
  • Similar words include: Cervus elaphus, Alces alces, Cervus elaphus canadensis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii; a pineapple-growing area
  • Similar words include: Lanai Island
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Goes around and around"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
  • Similar words include: iteration, intertwine, loop topology
  • Opposite of: open circuit, uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Make sense, with "up""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: minimal brain damage, append, sum
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
  • Similar words include: Army Intelligence, three-toed sloth, artificial insemination
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Inflicts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
  • Similar words include: wreak, work, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WREAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Muse of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the muse of history
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically"

11 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Milkshake flavor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Gospel shout"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a primeval egyptian personification of air and breath; worshipped especially at thebes
  • Similar words include: Amun, Amon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that surrealist spanish painter (1904-1989)
  • Similar words include: Salvador Dali
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Contented sounds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a low vibrating sound typical of a contented cat
  • Similar words include: birr, whir, whiz
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that printing: cancel, as of a correction or deletion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Curl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
  • Similar words include: scroll, curlicue, gyre
  • Opposite of: uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Hip-knee connectors"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the longest and thickest bone of the human skeleton; extends from the pelvis to the knee
  • Similar words include: thighbone, femoris, femur
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEMURS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Source of linseed oil"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. It's all a haze"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Drug bust unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: kg, kilogram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KILO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Model Miranda"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Make neat"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Fixate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that haunt like a ghost; pursue
  • Similar words include: haunt, ghost
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBSESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Give out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an important question that is in dispute and must be settled
  • Similar words include: topic, egress, subject
  • Opposite of: recall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Far from house-trained"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild and menacing
  • Similar words include: ferine, savage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Dodgy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that subject to accident or chance or change
  • Similar words include: fluky, flukey, chancy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. 100%"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free of extraneous elements of any kind
  • Similar words include: everlasting, thoroughgoing, sodding
  • Opposite of: unsaturated, impure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. End piece?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a notice of someone's death; usually includes a short biography
  • Similar words include: necrology, obituary
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: health spa, watering hole, resort hotel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Prevail"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a victory (as in a race or other competition)
  • Similar words include: bring home the bacon, acquire, advance
  • Opposite of: fall back, losings
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Some test figs."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test; the ratio of a person's mental age to their chronological age (multiplied by 100)
  • Similar words include: IQ, intelligence quotient, I.Q.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IQS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: May 21, 2026 at 07:05 AM

Monday, January 19, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 19, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Package under a Christmas tree 4
2A 5. Old-fashioned butter maker 5
3A 10. Branded cotton swab 4
4A 14. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan 4
5A 15. In on, as a trend 5
6A 16. Big coffee containers 4
7A 17. 1972 song by Elton John 10
8A 19. Luxury auto whose logo is four overlapping rings 4
9A 20. In progress 7
10A 21. :), ;), :D and others 7
11A 23. Formal "you," in Spanish 5
12A 25. Comedian Wong 3
13A 26. Projects, as a shadow 5
14A 29. 1985 song by John Cougar Mellencamp 9
15A 34. Comes to light 6
16A 36. X minus III, in old Rome 3
17A 37. Cosmonaut Gagarin 4
18A 38. Held the reins 3
19A 39. Spot for a massage 3
20A 41. R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10 3
21A 43. Element used in bronze 3
22A 44. Sporting blade 4
23A 46. Draft pick? 3
24A 48. Firstborn 6
25A 50. 1987 song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles 9
26A 53. Midsection measurement 5
27A 54. Apt rhyme for "shriek" 3
28A 55. Martial arts studios 5
29A 57. Disheveled 7
30A 61. Caribbean island with a liqueur named for it 7
31A 65. Gently persuade 4
32A 66. Capital of Arkansas ... or a description of 17-, 29- and 50-Across? 10
33A 68. In ___ land (daydreaming) 4
34A 69. "I wish I could ___ that!" 5
35A 70. A second helping, say 4
36A 71. "Excuse me ..." 4
37A 72. Things shifted on a bicycle or in a car 5
38A 73. Winter coaster 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Package under a Christmas tree"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something acquired without compensation
  • Similar words include: indue, invest, endow
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Old-fashioned butter maker"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk
  • Similar words include: boil, roil, moil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Branded cotton swab"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. In on, as a trend"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Big coffee containers"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
  • Similar words include: urn
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. 1972 song by Elton John"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Luxury auto whose logo is four overlapping rings"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. In progress"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that currently happening
  • Similar words include: on-going
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONGOING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. :), ;), :D and others"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an emoticon of a smiling face
  • Similar words include: smiley
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMILEYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Formal "you," in Spanish"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Comedian Wong"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
  • Similar words include: Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Muhammad Ali
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Projects, as a shadow"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the actors in a play
  • Similar words include: be sick, put, roll
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. 1985 song by John Cougar Mellencamp"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "34. Comes to light"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: grow, spring up, go up
  • Opposite of: fall, turn in
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "36. X minus III, in old Rome"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
  • Similar words include: 7, sevener, heptad
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VII

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "37. Cosmonaut Gagarin"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. Held the reins"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
  • Similar words include: moderate, precede, conduce
  • Opposite of: follow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Spot for a massage"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: health club, resort hotel, watering place
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Element used in bronze"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
  • Similar words include: put up, can, atomic number 50
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Sporting blade"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Draft pick?"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Firstborn"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the offspring who came first in the order of birth
  • Similar words include: firstborn
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELDEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. 1987 song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. Midsection measurement"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the distance around a person's body
  • Similar words include: cinch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIRTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Apt rhyme for "shriek""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Martial arts studios"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Disheveled"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not neatly combed
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNKEMPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Caribbean island with a liqueur named for it"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a popular island resort in the netherlands antilles
  • Similar words include: curacoa
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURACAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Gently persuade"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a transmission line for high-frequency signals
  • Similar words include: coax cable, palaver, blarney
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Capital of Arkansas ... or a description of 17-, 29- and 50-Across?"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "68. In ___ land (daydreaming)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "69. "I wish I could ___ that!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "70. A second helping, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "71. "Excuse me ...""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.
  • Similar words include: hem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "72. Things shifted on a bicycle or in a car"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
  • Similar words include: train, cogwheel, geartrain
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "73. Winter coaster"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle mounted on runners and pulled by horses or dogs; for transportation over snow
  • Similar words include: sleigh, sledge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. ___ Jail (space on a Monopoly board) 4
2D 2. "Sign me up!" 4
3D 3. Vampire's tooth 4
4D 4. Auditions 7
5D 5. "U-S-A! U-S-A! ...," e.g. 5
6D 6. Movable joints on a door 6
7D 7. ___ code (what most product packages have) 3
8D 8. Google Maps options: Abbr. 4
9D 9. Bring into the mainstream 9
10D 10. Counterpart of quantity 7
11D 11. Factual 4
12D 12. Where the N.F.L.'s Colts play, informally 4
13D 13. Letters before omegas 4
14D 18. Insults 6
15D 22. Springfield is its capital: Abbr. 3
16D 24. Org. with notoriously long lines 3
17D 26. Biblical spy for Moses 5
18D 27. South American flatbread 5
19D 28. Lesser-played part of a 45 5
20D 30. ChatGPT and Google Gemini, for two 3
21D 31. Word before space or Mongolia 5
22D 32. Spot to find a pulse 5
23D 33. Final inning, typically 5
24D 35. Device for starting an engine 9
25D 40. In the style of 3
26D 42. Former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize 6
27D 45. Test taken at the 24-Down 7
28D 47. Finale 3
29D 49. Wins over with charm 7
30D 51. Jewel 3
31D 52. Pete who directed "Up," "Inside Out" and "Soul" 6
32D 56. Novelist Verne 5
33D 57. The N.C.A.A.'s Bruins 4
34D 58. Biblical ark builder 4
35D 59. Dark leafy green 4
36D 60. Fork prong 4
37D 62. Chilly 4
38D 63. Surveyor's measure 4
39D 64. Gave a thumbs-up 4
40D 67. Airport screening grp. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. ___ Jail (space on a Monopoly board)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Sign me up!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Vampire's tooth"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bantu language spoken in cameroon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Auditions"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that trying something to find out about it
  • Similar words include: test, audition, trial run
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRYOUTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "U-S-A! U-S-A! ...," e.g."

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
  • Similar words include: tone, intonate, cantillate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Movable joints on a door"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
  • Similar words include: hinge, flexible joint
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HINGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ code (what most product packages have)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Google Maps options: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Bring into the mainstream"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become normal or return to its normal state
  • Similar words include: renormalise, temper, anneal
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NORMALIZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Counterpart of quantity"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; --shakespeare
  • Similar words include: lineament, prize, timbre
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUALITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Factual"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
  • Similar words include: truthful, dependable, straight
  • Opposite of: false, untruthful
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Where the N.F.L.'s Colts play, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Letters before omegas"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: psi, pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Insults"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that treat, mention, or speak to rudely
  • Similar words include: affront, insult, diss
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Springfield is its capital: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: sick, inauspicious, badly
  • Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Org. with notoriously long lines"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Biblical spy for Moses"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. South American flatbread"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Lesser-played part of a 45"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. ChatGPT and Google Gemini, for two"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
  • Similar words include: Bradypus tridactylus, AI, three-toed sloth
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Word before space or Mongolia"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being on the outside or further from a center
  • Similar words include: tabu, verboten, KO'd
  • Opposite of: safe, inner
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Spot to find a pulse"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
  • Similar words include: carpus, wrist joint, radiocarpal joint
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Final inning, typically"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that position nine in a countable series of things
  • Similar words include: 9th, one-ninth
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NINTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Device for starting an engine"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "40. In the style of"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. Former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "45. Test taken at the 24-Down"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Finale"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: death, goal, oddment
  • Opposite of: beginning, begin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: END

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "49. Wins over with charm"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove offensive capability from
  • Similar words include: demilitarise, unarm, demilitarize
  • Opposite of: arm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISARMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "51. Jewel"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
  • Similar words include: treasure, precious stone, gemstone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "52. Pete who directed "Up," "Inside Out" and "Soul""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "56. Novelist Verne"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "57. The N.C.A.A.'s Bruins"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "58. Biblical ark builder"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of noah and the flood is told in the book of genesis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "59. Dark leafy green"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for money
  • Similar words include: lolly, colewort, cole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KALE

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36D: "60. Fork prong"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prong on a fork or pitchfork or antler
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TINE

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37D: "62. Chilly"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of being at a refreshingly low temperature
  • Similar words include: cool off, cool down, coolheaded
  • Opposite of: warm, heat
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COOL

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38D: "63. Surveyor's measure"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "64. Gave a thumbs-up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "67. Airport screening grp."

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
  • Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSA

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

38 Across Clues
40 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: January 19, 2026 at 04:35 AM