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Monday, September 21, 2026

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

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Where Mongolia is 4
2A 5. Scaredy-cat 4
3A 9. Leafs (through) 5
4A 14. Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize 4
5A 15. Berry at a smoothie shop 4
6A 16. Company behind the game Pong 5
7A 17. Mentally pooped 15
8A 20. 1960s service site, informally 3
9A 21. Common injury site for a basketball player, informally 3
10A 22. Thick, as plant growth 4
11A 23. Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam 14
12A 28. Commercial that may come with a jingle 7
13A 29. Took a chair 3
14A 30. Eager 4
15A 31. Hair parter 4
16A 34. Continue a subscription 5
17A 38. Barely passing grade 3
18A 39. Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across 7
19A 41. Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate 3
20A 42. Sometimes-floral organic compound 5
21A 44. Draped Indian garment 4
22A 45. ___-X (computer command to cut text) 4
23A 46. Crosses (out) 3
24A 48. Conjures up, say 7
25A 50. "If I'm being honest ..." 14
26A 54. Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna 4
27A 55. Opposite of 'neath 3
28A 56. Fools' mo. 3
29A 57. "A fight requires more than one person" 15
30A 63. "I'm available to help" 5
31A 64. Modern note-taking aid 4
32A 65. Plant in a marsh 4
33A 66. Spanish babies 5
34A 67. What a paper airplane icon may indicate 4
35A 68. Thing in a grove 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Where Mongolia is"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Scaredy-cat"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Leafs (through)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Mentally pooped"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Took a chair"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Eager"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Hair parter"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Continue a subscription"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Barely passing grade"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Draped Indian garment"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Crosses (out)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Conjures up, say"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

14 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Opposite of 'neath"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. Fools' mo."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Plant in a marsh"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Spanish babies"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. Thing in a grove"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

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

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

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

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. ___ Paulo, Brazil"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Drink cooler"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Angry with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Throw from a mound"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Butter square"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Any Olympian"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Artist Max"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Worshiper in a turban"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Texter's qualifier"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Cries in a fΓΊtbol stadium"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Barter"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Roof overhangs"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Paves the way?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Spearfishing bird"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. People of SW Britain"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Without charge"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. The Emerald Isle"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Dashboard or bumper"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Coup d'___"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Joke with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Like some wine barrels"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. ___ and Clark"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Familiar narrative device"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Leave dumbfounded"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. French possessive"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Catch some rays"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "60. Bizarre"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "61. "Golly!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "62. Poetic tribute"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 13, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Tricky

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Uber alternative 4
2A 5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26 3
3A 8. Hosp. triage specialists 6
4A 14. One acting on impulse? 4
5A 15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe 3
6A 16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot 6
7A 17. *Peers 8
8A 19. Order to relax 6
9A 20. Group of reps 3
10A 21. Back-comb, in a way 5
11A 23. ___ mater 4
12A 24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics 12
13A 27. Brews 6
14A 30. Heated competition? 4
15A 31. Kilauea output 4
16A 32. Some porcelain pieces 5
17A 34. Shiba ___ (dog breed) 3
18A 37. *Number of Supreme Court justices 15
19A 41. Ethane or methane 3
20A 42. Belittle 5
21A 43. Conscious of systemic societal problems 4
22A 44. Big inits. in frozen desserts 4
23A 45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel 6
24A 47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist 12
25A 52. Beauty supply chain 4
26A 53. "Swell!" 5
27A 54. Under the weather 3
28A 57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity 6
29A 60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match 8
30A 62. It was discovered by the Curies 6
31A 63. Kind of line at the beach 3
32A 64. Try a new course, say 4
33A 65. TikTok phenomena 6
34A 66. Guileful 3
35A 67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Uber alternative"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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, taxicab, hack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element of the alkali metal group; turns yellow in air; occurs in celestite and strontianite
  • Similar words include: atomic number 38, strontium, Sr
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Hosp. triage specialists"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. One acting on impulse?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron
  • Similar words include: axone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. *Peers"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Order to relax"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Group of reps"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
  • Similar words include: fixed, set up, localize
  • Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Back-comb, in a way"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. ___ mater"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Brews"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a steep place (as on a hill)
  • Similar words include: steep, engross, infuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEEPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Heated competition?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
  • Similar words include: play, contact, get together
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Kilauea output"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Some porcelain pieces"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern asia; the most populous country in the world
  • Similar words include: Red China, Nationalist China, mainland China
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHINA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Shiba ___ (dog breed)"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. *Number of Supreme Court justices"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Ethane or methane"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Belittle"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
  • Similar words include: humiliate, mortify, humble
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Conscious of systemic societal problems"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be awake, be alert, be there
  • Similar words include: stir up, awake, wake
  • Opposite of: fall asleep, cause to sleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Big inits. in frozen desserts"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
  • Similar words include: wheel spoke, spoke, radius
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOKES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Beauty supply chain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. "Swell!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Under the weather"

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: badly, complaint, sick
  • Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that egyptian god of tombs and ruler of the underworld; usually depicted as a man with the head of a jackal
  • Similar words include: Anpu
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANUBIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. It was discovered by the Curies"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores
  • Similar words include: Ra, atomic number 88
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADIUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Kind of line at the beach"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Try a new course, say"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: swerve, trend, slue
  • Opposite of: back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. TikTok phenomena"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general direction in which something tends to move
  • Similar words include: drift, veer, trend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Guileful"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by skill in deception
  • Similar words include: foxy, dodgy, knavish
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reason for wanting something done
  • Similar words include: rice beer, interest, saki
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Array behind the counter at a tavern 4
2D 2. Wheel assembly component 4
3D 3. Strike from a list 4
4D 4. Important contacts 3
5D 5. Many fast pitches 6
6D 6. Majestic 5
7D 7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones" 5
8D 8. Fuel economy org. 3
9D 9. Tattletale 3
10D 10. Imagined while sleeping 6
11D 11. Toothbrush handle? 5
12D 12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail 5
13D 13. Criminally good deal 5
14D 18. "Quit it!" 4
15D 22. Its fur might trim a royal robe 6
16D 24. College faculty head 4
17D 25. Email status 4
18D 26. Opposite of "nah" 4
19D 27. Real grind 4
20D 28. Seville snack 4
21D 29. Holiday preceders 4
22D 32. Handout with a kids' menu 6
23D 33. Bulls and bucks 3
24D 34. Avoids injury, say 4
25D 35. Personification of victory 4
26D 36. Wields 4
27D 38. Formal accord 4
28D 39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City" 4
29D 40. Furry "Star Wars" creature 4
30D 44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short 6
31D 45. Smooth and glossy 6
32D 46. Seminar head, informally 4
33D 47. Ice cream purchase 5
34D 48. Forearm-related, in a way 5
35D 49. Practice piece 5
36D 50. Tree "houses" 5
37D 51. Palace, in Hindi 5
38D 54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance 4
39D 55. Garlic relative 4
40D 56. Strings of yore 4
41D 58. T-shaped birth control insert 3
42D 59. Texting inits. 3
43D 61. Fixtures at sports bars 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Array behind the counter at a tavern"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) signal to turn the lights out
  • Similar words include: beg, hydrant, tap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Wheel assembly component"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shaft on which a wheel rotates
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Strike from a list"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Important contacts"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the united states
  • Similar words include: In, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Hoosier State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Many fast pitches"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
  • Similar words include: patter, spiel, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Majestic"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
  • Similar words include: royal, imperial, majestic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REGAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Fuel economy org."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Tattletale"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
  • Similar words include: dirty dog, lowlife, git
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Imagined while sleeping"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy
  • Similar words include: woolgather, dream, stargaze
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREAMT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Toothbrush handle?"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Criminally good deal"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an advantageous purchase
  • Similar words include: slip, bargain, buy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "Quit it!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something ending
  • Similar words include: cease, stop consonant, period
  • Opposite of: begin, continuant consonant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Its fur might trim a royal robe"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive white fur of the ermine
  • Similar words include: shorttail weasel, Mustela erminea
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERMINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. College faculty head"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
  • Similar words include: James Byron Dean, James Dean, doyen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Email status"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 senti equal 1 kroon in estonia
  • Similar words include: get off, charge, send off
  • Opposite of: unsent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Opposite of "nah""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Real grind"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that work doggedly or persistently
  • Similar words include: slug, pad, keep one's shoulder to the wheel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Seville snack"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the thin fibrous bark of the paper mulberry and pipturus albidus
  • Similar words include: tapa bark, tappa bark, tappa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Holiday preceders"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) adam's wife in judeo-christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; god created eve from adam's rib and placed adam and eve in the garden of eden
  • Similar words include: evening, eventide, even
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Handout with a kids' menu"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that writing implement consisting of a colored stick of composition wax used for writing and drawing
  • Similar words include: wax crayon
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAYON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Bulls and bucks"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Avoids injury, say"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Personification of victory"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) winged goddess of victory; identified with roman victoria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Wields"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: habit, purpose, usage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Formal accord"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  • Similar words include: accord, treaty
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Furry "Star Wars" creature"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Smooth and glossy"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
  • Similar words include: silky, sleek, slick
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATINY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Seminar head, informally"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
  • Similar words include: professor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. Ice cream purchase"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united states liquid unit equal to 32 fluid ounces; four quarts equal one gallon
  • Similar words include: dry quart
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. Forearm-related, in a way"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relating to or near the ulna
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ULNAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. Practice piece"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "50. Tree "houses""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
  • Similar words include: nestle, draw close, nest
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "51. Palace, in Hindi"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Garlic relative"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild allium ampeloprasum
  • Similar words include: Allium porrum, scallion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEEK

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40D: "56. Strings of yore"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRE

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41D: "58. T-shaped birth control insert"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that contraceptive device consisting of a piece of bent plastic or metal that is inserted through the vagina into the uterus
  • Similar words include: intrauterine device
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IUD

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42D: "59. Texting inits."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: Sm, samarium, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

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43D: "61. Fixtures at sports bars"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that broadcasting visual images of stationary or moving objects; ; - ernie kovacs
  • Similar words include: telly, television set, TV
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TVS

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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

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 13, 2026 at 06:37 AM