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

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 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: 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. "Chocolate" pets 4
2A 5. Genome component 3
3A 8. Breaks in winter weather 5
4A 13. ___ vera 4
5A 14. Gave a hand 5
6A 16. Greet someone informally 5
7A 17. "Easy-peasy!" 16
8A 20. Attire for an infant 6
9A 21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon 6
10A 22. Severity 5
11A 23. Urban environmental hazard 4
12A 24. Pen tips 4
13A 28. Clean with a rough spray 9
14A 31. Blood ___ 5
15A 32. Acorn producer 3
16A 33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g. 6
17A 34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across? 14
18A 40. 2000-09, with "the" 6
19A 41. ___ and haw 3
20A 42. Jumbo 5
21A 43. Colorful taffy candy brand 9
22A 49. Laptop brand 4
23A 50. Tons 4
24A 51. Not having quite enough money 5
25A 53. "Really?" 6
26A 55. Backside 6
27A 56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record 16
28A 60. Toyota hybrid 5
29A 61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink 5
30A 62. Things assayers assay 4
31A 63. Reactions akin to "OMG!" 5
32A 64. Pigs' digs 3
33A 65. Fill up 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Chocolate" pets"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
  • Similar words include: research laboratory, laboratory, science laboratory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Genome component"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: desoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Breaks in winter weather"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
  • Similar words include: warming, melt, dissolve
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. ___ vera"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Gave a hand"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
  • Similar words include: portion out, share, deal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Greet someone informally"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "Easy-peasy!""

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADABINGBADABOOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Attire for an infant"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the first light of day
  • Similar words include: morning, dawning, cockcrow
  • Opposite of: sunset
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Severity"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something hard to endure
  • Similar words include: hardness, asperity, rigorousness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIGOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Urban environmental hazard"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Pen tips"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the writing point of a pen
  • Similar words include: neb, pen nib, bill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Clean with a rough spray"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blast of wind laden with sand
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANDBLAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Blood ___"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
  • Similar words include: blood serum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Acorn producer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
  • Similar words include: oak tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g."

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who serves (or waits to be called to serve) on a jury
  • Similar words include: juryman, jurywoman, juror
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JURORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across?"

14 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. 2000-09, with "the""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cipher, goose egg, nix
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUGHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. ___ and haw"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
  • Similar words include: ahem
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Jumbo"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for a large person
  • Similar words include: with child, vauntingly, declamatory
  • Opposite of: little, small
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Colorful taffy candy brand"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "49. Laptop brand"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that type genus of the aceraceae; trees or shrubs having winged fruit
  • Similar words include: genus Acer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "50. Tons"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Not having quite enough money"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed
  • Similar words include: forgetful, abruptly, poor
  • Opposite of: tall, long
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. "Really?""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Backside"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record"

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDWINESUPERNOVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. Toyota hybrid"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Things assayers assay"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Similar words include: ore
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Reactions akin to "OMG!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
  • Similar words include: puff, gasp, pant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Pigs' digs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid
  • Similar words include: pigpen, stye, pigsty
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Fill up"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill to satisfaction
  • Similar words include: satiate, replete, fill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Hard work 5
2D 2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic" 6
3D 3. Corner store 6
4D 4. Fall, e.g. 6
5D 5. Reading room 3
6D 6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple 8
7D 7. Subjects of some Billboard charts 6
8D 8. Old Russian ruler 4
9D 9. Cuban dance style 8
10D 10. Actress Edebiri 3
11D 11. "Which person are you referring to?" 3
12D 12. ___ card 3
13D 14. A standard one has 21 pips 3
14D 15. Fortune-telling deck 5
15D 18. Aviary inhabitant 4
16D 19. Hound 3
17D 25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders 4
18D 26. Town 4
19D 27. Texting format, in brief 3
20D 29. Many internet spammers 4
21D 30. Rule 3
22D 31. Teacher for a day 3
23D 33. Part of a doorframe 4
24D 34. Tortilla chip dip, informally 4
25D 35. Shrek, e.g. 4
26D 36. "Wow, real mature" 8
27D 37. Sport-___ 3
28D 38. "Ow! Watch it!" 8
29D 39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke) 3
30D 40. In the manner of 3
31D 43. Power-saving computer mode 5
32D 44. They're often made at weddings 6
33D 45. One may accept the terms and conditions 4
34D 46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly 6
35D 47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua 6
36D 48. Hot pot holder 6
37D 50. Novelist Rand 3
38D 52. Backcomb 5
39D 54. Cat's warning 4
40D 55. Old-school term for "cool" 3
41D 56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief 3
42D 57. Long period 3
43D 58. Put down 3
44D 59. Salary 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Hard work"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: fag, toil, DoL
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Corner store"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hispanic shop selling wine and groceries
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BODEGA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fall, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
  • Similar words include: flavor, harden, flavour
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEASON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Reading room"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
  • Similar words include: hideout, hideaway, lair
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in southern japan on kyushu; a leading port and shipbuilding center; on august 9, 1945 nagasaki became the second populated area to receive an atomic bomb
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAGASAKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Subjects of some Billboard charts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one or more recordings issued together; originally released on 12-inch phonograph records (usually with attractive record covers) and later on cassette audiotape and compact disc
  • Similar words include: album, record album
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBUMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Old Russian ruler"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male monarch or emperor (especially of russia prior to 1917)
  • Similar words include: tzar, czar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Cuban dance style"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that music composed in duple time for dancing the habanera
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HABANERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Actress Edebiri"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Which person are you referring to?""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
  • Similar words include: World Health Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ card"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. A standard one has 21 pips"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
  • Similar words include: give-up the ghost, drop dead, buy the farm
  • Opposite of: be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. Fortune-telling deck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
  • Similar words include: tarot card
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "18. Aviary inhabitant"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
  • Similar words include: birdwatch, hiss, snort
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIRD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Hound"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the genus canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
  • Similar words include: go after, cad, chase after
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
  • Similar words include: atomic number 26, iron out, Fe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Town"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that colloquial american term for a town
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BURG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Texting format, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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, MS, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Many internet spammers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Similar words include: bot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Rule"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the collection of rules imposed by authority
  • Similar words include: legal philosophy, police, natural law
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Teacher for a day"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the united states
  • Similar words include: substitute, Cuban sandwich, submarine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of a doorframe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that upright consisting of a vertical side member of a door or window frame
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Tortilla chip dip, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Shrek, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cruel wicked and inhuman person
  • Similar words include: monster, fiend, demon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. "Wow, real mature""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Sport-___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the shoshonean people of utah and colorado and new mexico
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. "Ow! Watch it!""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "40. In the manner of"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Power-saving computer mode"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
  • Similar words include: eternal sleep, nap, kip
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. They're often made at weddings"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slices of bread that have been toasted
  • Similar words include: toast, drink, salute
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOASTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "45. One may accept the terms and conditions"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
  • Similar words include: substance abuser, drug user, exploiter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that massive powerful herbivorous odd-toed ungulate of southeast asia and africa having very thick skin and one or two horns on the snout
  • Similar words include: rhino, rhinoceros
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHINOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ground snakes
  • Similar words include: genus Sonora
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "48. Hot pot holder"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIVET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "50. Novelist Rand"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "52. Backcomb"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "54. Cat's warning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
  • Similar words include: snort, whoosh, bird
  • Opposite of: applaud
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HISS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "55. Old-school term for "cool""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informed about the latest trends
  • Similar words include: hip, hip to
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "57. Long period"

3 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: geological era, earned run average, epoch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "58. Put down"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that god of the underworld; counterpart of greek pluto
  • Similar words include: Orcus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "59. Salary"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that remunerates
  • Similar words include: make up, earnings, yield
  • Opposite of: default
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

33 Across Clues
44 Down Clues
77 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: July 21, 2026 at 06:09 AM

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 01, 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. Designation for a potato 5
2A 6. Kind of party 4
3A 10. Counter, as a claim 5
4A 15. ___ Holmes, 2020s role for Millie Bobby Brown 5
5A 16. Strongly nudge 4
6A 17. In opposition to everyone else 5
7A 18. Jack ___ 5
8A 19. Position in a bridge game 4
9A 20. Covers for campers 5
10A 21. Claim on property 4
11A 22. "Really?" 6
12A 24. Astrophysicist ___ deGrasse Tyson 4
13A 25. "I should care because ...?" 3
14A 26. It's just a little bit off 8
15A 28. Little bit of life? 3
16A 29. Chocolate toffee bar since 1981 4
17A 30. Modern component in a digital display, in brief 4
18A 32. Places to stretch out 5
19A 35. What may precede a texter's two cents 4
20A 38. Mexican milk 5
21A 42. Fitting kind of exam for a dental student 4
22A 43. Least friendly 6
23A 45. Anchor, as a boat 4
24A 46. 1880s-'90s veep ___ P. Morton 4
25A 47. Kids 6
26A 48. Rightmost compartment in a till 4
27A 49. Shape of a skating rink 4
28A 51. Subtle glow 4
29A 53. Theoretical world coexisting with ours ... as depicted in this puzzle 16
30A 61. Hit musical set in Buenos Aires 5
31A 62. Ceramic collectible, maybe 4
32A 63. Adjust the price on 5
33A 64. Theoretical timeline where things play out a little differently ... as featured in this puzzle 16
34A 67. "Call Me Maybe" singer Carly ___ Jepsen 3
35A 68. How one might dress in a professional setting 8
36A 69. Just one taste 3
37A 70. Abbr. in a birth announcement 3
38A 71. That ship 3
39A 72. Family member, familiarly 3
40A 73. C7H5N3O6, for short 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Designation for a potato"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fleshy underground stem or root serving for reproductive and food storage
  • Similar words include: genus Tuber
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUBER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Kind of party"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male deer, especially an adult male red deer
  • Similar words include: tell on, snitch, denounce
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Counter, as a claim"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof
  • Similar words include: refute, controvert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REBUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. ___ Holmes, 2020s role for Millie Bobby Brown"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Strongly nudge"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an instinctive motive
  • Similar words include: barrack, press, cheer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. In opposition to everyone else"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that isolated from others
  • Similar words include: only, exclusively, solitary
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. Jack ___"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small fatty european fish; usually smoked or canned like sardines
  • Similar words include: brisling, Clupea sprattus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPRAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Position in a bridge game"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
  • Similar words include: tail, nates, buns
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Covers for campers"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that waterproofed canvas
  • Similar words include: tarp, tarpaulin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Claim on property"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged
  • Similar words include: spleen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "Really?""

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Astrophysicist ___ deGrasse Tyson"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. "I should care because ...?""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. It's just a little bit off"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "28. Little bit of life?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "29. Chocolate toffee bar since 1981"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "30. Modern component in a digital display, in brief"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a self-luminous diode (it glows when an electrical field is applied to the electrodes) that does not require backlighting or diffusers
  • Similar words include: organic light-emitting diode
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Places to stretch out"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upholstered seat for more than one person
  • Similar words include: lounge, couch, sofa
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. What may precede a texter's two cents"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Mexican milk"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Fitting kind of exam for a dental student"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an examination conducted by spoken communication
  • Similar words include: oral examination, oral exam, viva
  • Opposite of: anal, aboral
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Least friendly"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain
  • Similar words include: gelid, wintry, polar
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICIEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Anchor, as a boat"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the muslim people of north africa; of mixed arab and berber descent; converted to islam in the 8th century; conqueror of spain in the 8th century
  • Similar words include: tie up, wharf, berth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. 1880s-'90s veep ___ P. Morton"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (new testament) disciple of jesus; traditionally considered to be the author of the first gospel
  • Similar words include: Matthew, Saint Matthew, St. Matthew
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEVI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. Kids"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
  • Similar words include: vexer, ride, beleaguer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEASES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Rightmost compartment in a till"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: single, unity, 1
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. Shape of a skating rink"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. Subtle glow"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: gloriole, nimbus, aureole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Theoretical world coexisting with ours ... as depicted in this puzzle"

16 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARALLELUNIVERSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Hit musical set in Buenos Aires"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Ceramic collectible, maybe"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open jar of glass or porcelain used as an ornament or to hold flowers
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Adjust the price on"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Theoretical timeline where things play out a little differently ... as featured in this puzzle"

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALTERNATEREALITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. "Call Me Maybe" singer Carly ___ Jepsen"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. How one might dress in a professional setting"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that with modesty; in a modest manner
  • Opposite of: immodestly
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MODESTLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "69. Just one taste"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small drink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "70. Abbr. in a birth announcement"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 16 ounces avoirdupois
  • Similar words include: lb, pound
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "71. That ship"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "72. Family member, familiarly"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female person who has the same parents as another person
  • Similar words include: Si, atomic number 14, SI unit
  • Opposite of: brother
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "73. C7H5N3O6, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Automotive giant headquartered in Austin, Tex. 5
2D 2. Detach from a bulletin board 5
3D 3. Used a drill on 5
4D 4. Spirit 4
5D 5. Chinese zodiac creature 3
6D 6. Bed for fish? 9
7D 7. Reward for a dog 5
8D 8. Marbled gemstone 5
9D 9. Escapes, as a dog 9
10D 10. Double-crosser 3
11D 11. Zip 4
12D 12. Yawning, say 5
13D 13. Shift from the top of a social media feed 5
14D 14. Pioneer in developing alternating current 5
15D 22. On the other hand, in brief 3
16D 23. Component of most salad dressings 3
17D 26. Mo. parts 3
18D 27. Lurker in a reef 3
19D 29. Get ready for dinner, say 8
20D 31. Aspiring actor's submission 8
21D 32. The sun 3
22D 33. It might be conveyed on a conveyor belt 3
23D 34. Websites whose URLs are stored, typically 9
24D 36. Lost, for short 3
25D 37. Gentlemen 3
26D 39. Trickster 9
27D 40. Garden tool 3
28D 41. Places where people are usually lying, for short 3
29D 43. "___ be fine" 4
30D 44. Taiwanese president ___ Ing-wen 4
31D 50. Clear warnings 6
32D 52. Tanning agents, informally 6
33D 53. Gemstone with biological roots 5
34D 54. H.S. media room 5
35D 55. Dodge deceptively 5
36D 56. Behind 4
37D 57. Purposes 4
38D 58. "Phooey!" 5
39D 59. Posh clothing material 5
40D 60. Site of the Ten Plagues 5
41D 65. Traditional Japanese drama 3
42D 66. QB Manning 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Automotive giant headquartered in Austin, Tex."

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Detach from a bulletin board"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove the pins from; unfasten the pins of
  • Opposite of: pin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNPIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Used a drill on"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Spirit"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
  • Similar words include: panache, zeal, ardour
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Chinese zodiac creature"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Bed for fish?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Reward for a dog"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something considered choice to eat
  • Similar words include: deal, kickshaw, regale
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Marbled gemstone"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an impure form of quartz consisting of banded chalcedony; used as a gemstone and for making mortars and pestles
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Escapes, as a dog"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Double-crosser"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Zip"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
  • Similar words include: panache, zeal, ardour
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Yawning, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Shift from the top of a social media feed"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove the pins from; unfasten the pins of
  • Opposite of: pin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNPIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Pioneer in developing alternating current"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. On the other hand, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a branch of the tai languages
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Component of most salad dressings"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water
  • Similar words include: inunct, anele, rock oil
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Mo. parts"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Lurker in a reef"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Get ready for dinner, say"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that produce saliva
  • Similar words include: drool
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALIVATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Aspiring actor's submission"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. The sun"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid
  • Similar words include: colloidal solution, soh, colloidal suspension
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. It might be conveyed on a conveyor belt"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Websites whose URLs are stored, typically"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something regarded with special favor or liking
  • Similar words include: favourite, front-runner, ducky
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAVORITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Lost, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Gentlemen"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

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: he, helium, He
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Trickster"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Garden tool"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Places where people are usually lying, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: erbium, Er, emergency room
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. "___ be fine""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Taiwanese president ___ Ing-wen"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Clear warnings"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fear resulting from the awareness of danger
  • Similar words include: alarm system, consternation, alarum
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALARMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Tanning agents, informally"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Gemstone with biological roots"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
  • Similar words include: ivory, bead, off-white
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEARL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. H.S. media room"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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35D: "55. Dodge deceptively"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
  • Similar words include: bilk, hedge, elude
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVADE

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36D: "56. Behind"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
  • Similar words include: deep, belatedly, tardily
  • Opposite of: early
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LATE

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37D: "57. Purposes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "58. "Phooey!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "59. Posh clothing material"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a smooth fabric of silk or rayon; has a glossy face and a dull back
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATIN

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40D: "60. Site of the Ten Plagues"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in northeastern africa known as the united arab republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 bc
  • Similar words include: Egyptian Empire, United Arab Republic, Arab Republic of Egypt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGYPT

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41D: "65. Traditional Japanese drama"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "66. QB Manning"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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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

40 Across Clues
42 Down Clues
82 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 01, 2026 at 07:52 AM