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Monday, August 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 17, 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. One of two fruit flavors in Sprite 4
2A 5. Has no choice 4
3A 9. "The ___ thickens" 4
4A 13. Islamic prayer leader 4
5A 14. Poker player's buy-in 4
6A 15. Italian "Paul" 5
7A 16. Well-dressed guy 9
8A 18. Arctic Indigenous group 5
9A 19. Venomous arachnid 8
10A 20. Not dormant, as a volcano 6
11A 21. A, in German 3
12A 22. Autobahn speedometer meas. 3
13A 24. Take, as advice 4
14A 25. It captures ballpark smooches 7
15A 29. Stand for a poster 5
16A 31. Egyptian fertility goddess 4
17A 32. Hilarious person 4
18A 34. Doll with neon hair 5
19A 37. Ping-Pong table divider 3
20A 38. Containers for fruit preserves 7
21A 40. Burj Khalifa's country, for short 3
22A 41. Birds in V-formations 5
23A 43. Capital with fjord tours 4
24A 44. Facility that produces coins 4
25A 45. Casts a ballot 5
26A 47. Lengthy rants 7
27A 49. Sulky state 4
28A 51. ___ Geo Wild (cable channel) 3
29A 53. Popular chain for RVers 3
30A 54. Snacked 6
31A 56. Hot pepper named for Cuba's capital 8
32A 61. Off Broadway awards 5
33A 62. "Totally agree!" ... or what the circled letters are, in different languages 9
34A 63. Like throwbacks 5
35A 64. Abbr. before a recipient's name on an envelope 4
36A 65. The Roaring Twenties and the Swinging Sixties 4
37A 66. Otherwise 4
38A 67. Hotel worker 4
39A 68. Overhaul 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. One of two fruit flavors in Sprite"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a caustic substance produced by heating limestone
  • Similar words include: birdlime, calcined lime, lime hydrate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Has no choice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a necessary or essential thing
  • Similar words include: moldiness, mustiness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. "The ___ thickens""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
  • Similar words include: patch, plat, secret plan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Islamic prayer leader"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (islam) the man who leads prayers in a mosque; for shiites an imam is a recognized authority on islamic theology and law and a spiritual guide
  • Similar words include: imaum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Poker player's buy-in"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Italian "Paul""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Well-dressed guy"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Arctic Indigenous group"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people inhabiting the arctic (northern canada or greenland or alaska or eastern siberia); the algonquians called them eskimo (`eaters of raw flesh') but they call themselves the inuit (`the people')
  • Similar words include: Esquimau, Eskimo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INUIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Venomous arachnid"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in scorpio
  • Similar words include: Scorpio the Scorpion, Scorpio
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCORPION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Not dormant, as a volcano"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chemical agent capable of activity
  • Similar words include: participating, combat-ready, dynamic
  • Opposite of: passive voice, stative
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. A, in German"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "22. Autobahn speedometer meas."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ratio of the distance traveled (in kilometers) to the time spent traveling (in hours)
  • Similar words include: km/h, kilometres per hour, kilometers per hour
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KPH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Take, as advice"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
  • Similar words include: listen, regard, mind
  • Opposite of: inattentiveness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "25. It captures ballpark smooches"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Stand for a poster"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Egyptian fertility goddess"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that egyptian goddess of fertility; daughter of geb; sister and wife of osiris
  • Similar words include: Inter-Services Intelligence, Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Hilarious person"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a public act of violence by an unruly mob
  • Similar words include: debauch, wow, roister
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Doll with neon hair"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
  • Similar words include: trolling, round
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Ping-Pong table divider"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the tcp/ip network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
  • Similar words include: meshing, cyberspace, profit
  • Opposite of: gross
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Containers for fruit preserves"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a jar for holding jellies or preserves
  • Similar words include: jampot, jamjar
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAMJARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Burj Khalifa's country, for short"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Birds in V-formations"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
  • Similar words include: jackass, twat, zany
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEESE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Capital with fjord tours"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of norway; the country's main port; located at the head of a fjord on norway's southern coast
  • Similar words include: Christiania, capital of Norway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Facility that produces coins"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: good deal, flock, strike
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "45. Casts a ballot"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative
  • Similar words include: voting, voter turnout, suffrage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VOTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "47. Lengthy rants"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long monotonous harangue
  • Similar words include: screed
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCREEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. Sulky state"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of agitated irritation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. ___ Geo Wild (cable channel)"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Popular chain for RVers"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Snacked"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that eat a snack; eat lightly
  • Similar words include: snack, nosh
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSHED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "56. Hot pepper named for Cuba's capital"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. Off Broadway awards"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "62. "Totally agree!" ... or what the circled letters are, in different languages"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. Like throwbacks"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fashion reminiscent of the past
  • Similar words include: retroactive, ex post facto
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. Abbr. before a recipient's name on an envelope"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "65. The Roaring Twenties and the Swinging Sixties"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "66. Otherwise"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "67. Hotel worker"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female domestic
  • Similar words include: maidservant, housemaid, maiden
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "68. Overhaul"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that do over, as of (part of) a house
  • Similar words include: refashion, reconstruct, remake
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Covers for pots 4
2D 2. Apple with a big screen 4
3D 3. ___ tofu (Sichuan dish) 4
4D 4. Catherine the Great, e.g. 7
5D 5. Sauce for mozzarella sticks 8
6D 6. Erase 4
7D 7. Reeked 5
8D 8. Half a score 3
9D 9. "Pink" animal of film 7
10D 10. 1963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title 10
11D 11. Martini garnish 5
12D 12. Schlepped 5
13D 15. Insta posting 3
14D 17. Sweeping in scope 4
15D 20. "Now I understand!" 3
16D 23. Fragrant bits tossed at newlyweds 6
17D 25. Key chess piece 4
18D 26. "That makes sense" 4
19D 27. On-location inspections 10
20D 28. Boozy brunch drink 6
21D 30. Lines on a GPS 3
22D 33. Breakfast beverages, for short 3
23D 35. Come down to earth 4
24D 36. "Sounds like a plan!" 4
25D 38. Hot tub nozzle 3
26D 39. Green Day or Pink Floyd 8
27D 42. "And that's that!" 7
28D 44. Wander aimlessly 7
29D 46. Wrap up 3
30D 48. Singer Chappell 4
31D 49. Sound asleep? 5
32D 50. 2016 prize for Bob Dylan 5
33D 52. Greek letter that symbolizes an angle 5
34D 55. That, in Spain 3
35D 57. ___ Spumante 4
36D 58. BrontΓ«'s "Jane ___" 4
37D 59. Enjoy a fantasy, say 4
38D 60. ___ buco 4
39D 62. Sweet potato 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Covers for pots"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
  • Similar words include: palpebra, chapeau, eyelid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Apple with a big screen"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. ___ tofu (Sichuan dish)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Catherine the Great, e.g."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMPRESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Sauce for mozzarella sticks"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sauce for pasta; contains tomatoes and garlic and herbs
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARINARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Erase"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
  • Similar words include: unwrap, loosen, unmake
  • Opposite of: wrap, make
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Reeked"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be extremely bad in quality or in one's performance
  • Similar words include: stink, reek
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STANK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Half a score"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
  • Similar words include: tenner, X, decade
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "Pink" animal of film"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large spotted feline of tropical america similar to the leopard; in some classifications considered a member of the genus felis
  • Similar words include: Panthera onca, cougar, painter
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANTHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. 1963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Martini garnish"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small ovoid fruit of the european olive tree; important food and source of oil
  • Similar words include: European olive tree, Olea europaea
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Schlepped"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that carry with difficulty
  • Similar words include: summate, tote up, add up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "15. Insta posting"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
  • Similar words include: picture, photograph, film
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Sweeping in scope"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  • Similar words include: heroic poem, heroic, epic poem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "20. "Now I understand!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Fragrant bits tossed at newlyweds"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
  • Similar words include: petal, flower petal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Key chess piece"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
  • Similar words include: top executive, mogul, baron
  • Opposite of: female monarch, queen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. "That makes sense""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. On-location inspections"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Boozy brunch drink"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that evergreen australasian tree having white or silvery bark and young leaves and yellow flowers
  • Similar words include: silver wattle, buck's fizz, Acacia dealbata
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIMOSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Lines on a GPS"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Breakfast beverages, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Come down to earth"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. "Sounds like a plan!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brutal terrorist group active in kashmir; fights against india with the goal of restoring islamic rule of india
  • Similar words include: Army of the Pure, have, get
  • Opposite of: forbid, disallow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Hot tub nozzle"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
  • Similar words include: jet plane, jet-propelled plane, jet-black
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Green Day or Pink Floyd"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. "And that's that!""

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Wander aimlessly"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bend or curve, as in a stream or river
  • Similar words include: weave, ramble, wind
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEANDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. Wrap up"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Singer Chappell"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft sheepskin leather that is colored and finished to resemble morocco; used in bookbinding
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Sound asleep?"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the rattling noise produced when snoring
  • Similar words include: stertor, snoring, saw wood
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. 2016 prize for Bob Dylan"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that swedish chemist remembered for his invention of dynamite and for the bequest that created the nobel prizes (1833-1896)
  • Similar words include: Alfred Nobel, Alfred Bernhard Nobel
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOBEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Greek letter that symbolizes an angle"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 8th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "55. That, in Spain"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. ___ Spumante"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. BrontΓ«'s "Jane ___""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shallow salt lake in south central australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent
  • Similar words include: Lake Eyre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Enjoy a fantasy, say"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is read
  • Similar words include: show, scan, take
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: READ

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. ___ buco"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Sweet potato"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that edible tuber of any of several yams
  • Similar words include: yam plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YAM

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: August 17, 2026 at 04:08 AM

Monday, July 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 20, 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. Scarecrow stuffing 5
2A 6. Ralph who ran for president four times 5
3A 11. Some HP products 3
4A 14. Ebb 5
5A 15. Top-tier group 5
6A 16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi 3
7A 17. On/off device 11
8A 19. Empty space between things 3
9A 20. Something at either end of a hammock, often 4
10A 21. Brain tests, for short 4
11A 22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout) 5
12A 24. Golf club for teeing off 6
13A 26. Small orchard 5
14A 27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points 12
15A 31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short 4
16A 33. Regret 3
17A 34. Pursue 4
18A 35. Young Yorkie, e.g. 3
19A 36. Better halves 7
20A 40. Blue state? 3
21A 41. GPS guesses 4
22A 43. April 15 deadline org. 3
23A 44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. 4
24A 46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport 12
25A 50. Like many English bogs 5
26A 51. Begin to grow choppers 6
27A 54. Measure around the middle 5
28A 55. Norse god of thunder 4
29A 57. Agricultural locale 4
30A 59. Chicken ___ king 3
31A 60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across 11
32A 63. Rapper Tone ___ 3
33A 64. Reef material 5
34A 65. Winning Monopoly player's collection 5
35A 66. Had dinner, say 3
36A 67. Transmits 5
37A 68. Hockey feints 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Scarecrow stuffing"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
  • Similar words include: drinking straw, pale yellow, stalk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STRAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Ralph who ran for president four times"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Some HP products"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time
  • Similar words include: microcomputer, personal computer, PC
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Ebb"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less active or intense
  • Similar words include: let up, slack, slack off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Top-tier group"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
  • Similar words include: elect, elite group
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. On/off device"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Empty space between things"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: opening, crack, breach
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Something at either end of a hammock, often"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

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: tree diagram, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, corner
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Brain tests, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a graphical record of electrical activity of the brain; produced by an electroencephalograph
  • Similar words include: electroencephalogram, encephalogram, EEG
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

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: particular, token, detail
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Golf club for teeing off"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the operator of a motor vehicle
  • Similar words include: device driver, number one wood
  • Opposite of: nondriver
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRIVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Small orchard"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small growth of trees without underbrush
  • Similar words include: plantation, woodlet, orchard
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Regret"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: sorrow, regret, ruefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Pursue"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
  • Similar words include: assay, search, look for
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Young Yorkie, e.g."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf
  • Similar words include: puppy, whelp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Better halves"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's partner in marriage
  • Similar words include: partner, mate, better half
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOUSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Blue state?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
  • Similar words include: suffering, woefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. GPS guesses"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. April 15 deadline org."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
  • Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Like many English bogs"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or pertaining to or of the nature of peat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEATY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Begin to grow choppers"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grow teeth; cut the baby teeth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEETHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Measure around the middle"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

28A: "55. Norse god of thunder"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) god of thunder and rain and farming; pictured as wielding a hammer emblematic of the thunderbolt; identified with teutonic donar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Agricultural locale"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
  • Similar words include: produce, grow, raise
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Chicken ___ king"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

31A: "60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Rapper Tone ___"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Reef material"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a variable color averaging a deep pink
  • Similar words include: precious coral, red coral
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Winning Monopoly player's collection"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that performance of moral or religious acts
  • Similar words include: human activity, title, works
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Had dinner, say"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: consume, run through, use up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Transmits"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: station, transport, get off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Hockey feints"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Add some seasoning to 4
2D 2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally 5
3D 3. Wild party 5
4D 4. Faith no more? 7
5D 5. More than damp 3
6D 6. Big name in baseball caps 6
7D 7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona 4
8D 8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code 4
9D 9. And more like that: Abbr. 3
10D 10. Put back on the payroll 6
11D 11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase 9
12D 12. Creature that blends into its surroundings 9
13D 13. Drinks daintily 4
14D 18. Prognosticator 4
15D 23. Young 'uns 4
16D 25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally 4
17D 26. Utter delight 4
18D 28. Item for a painter or hairstylist 5
19D 29. Vehicle to and from school 3
20D 30. Barely get, with "out" 3
21D 31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this 9
22D 32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s 9
23D 35. Get-up-and-go 3
24D 37. "It's a shame, really!" 4
25D 38. Monster of Tolkiendom 3
26D 39. Very wise 4
27D 42. 32-card card game 4
28D 45. Liberate 7
29D 47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers 6
30D 48. Bikini and others 6
31D 49. Spongy ball material 4
32D 52. "Frida" star Salma 5
33D 53. Slowly chip away at 5
34D 54. Fancy party 4
35D 55. Gull relative 4
36D 56. Lettuce unit 4
37D 58. "No ___, no fuss!" 4
38D 61. Opponent 3
39D 62. Unfamiliar 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Add some seasoning to"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
  • Similar words include: saltiness, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, common salt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Wild party"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Faith no more?"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the doctrine or belief that there is no god
  • Similar words include: godlessness
  • Opposite of: theism
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHEISM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. More than damp"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: pissed, loaded, soaked
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big name in baseball caps"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shorter of the two telegraphic signals used in morse code
  • Similar words include: dit, dot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. And more like that: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Put back on the payroll"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Creature that blends into its surroundings"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a changeable or inconstant person
  • Similar words include: chamaeleon, Chamaeleon
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAMELEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Drinks daintily"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small drink
  • Similar words include: sip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Prognosticator"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person with unusual powers of foresight
  • Similar words include: oracle, prophet, prophesier
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Young 'uns"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small amount (especially of a drink)
  • Similar words include: summate, total, tote up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magnetic tape recorder for recording (and playing back) tv programs
  • Similar words include: VCR, videocassette recorder
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VCRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Utter delight"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Item for a painter or hairstylist"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dense growth of bushes
  • Similar words include: coppice, copse, clash
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Vehicle to and from school"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
  • Similar words include: motorbus, autobus, busbar
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Barely get, with "out""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness
  • Similar words include: automatic pilot, robot pilot
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUTOPILOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Get-up-and-go"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liveliness and energy
  • Similar words include: ginger, peppiness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. "It's a shame, really!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
  • Similar words include: pathos, feel for, ruth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Monster of Tolkiendom"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Very wise"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
  • Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. 32-card card game"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Liberate"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • Similar words include: moral philosophy, ethical code, morals
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHICS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Bikini and others"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
  • Similar words include: atoll
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOLLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Spongy ball material"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. "Frida" star Salma"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english economist (born in austria) noted for work on the optimum allocation of resources (1899-1992)
  • Similar words include: Friedrich August von Hayek
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAYEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Slowly chip away at"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
  • Similar words include: gnaw, fret, gnaw at
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Fancy party"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gay festivity
  • Similar words include: gala affair, jamboree, blowout
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Gull relative"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small slender gull having narrow wings and a forked tail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TERN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Lettuce unit"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
  • Similar words include: maneuver, headway, manoeuvre
  • Opposite of: tail, foot
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. "No ___, no fuss!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of confusion and disorderliness
  • Similar words include: Mus, messiness, mess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUSS

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38D: "61. Opponent"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
  • Similar words include: enemy, foeman, opposition
  • Opposite of: friend
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOE

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39D: "62. Unfamiliar"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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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

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 20, 2026 at 06:29 AM