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

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 06, 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. Don't believe it 3
2A 4. Soccer great Mia 4
3A 8. Prepared (for) 6
4A 14. Feature of a spy film 8
5A 16. Scalper's transaction 6
6A 17. Prairie bloom for which a creamery is named 8
7A 18. DC good guy 6
8A 19. They're found in a circle 5
9A 20. Dispensary inits. 3
10A 22. Late spring or early summer bloom 5
11A 23. Leave speechless 3
12A 24. Texter's "I can't even" 3
13A 26. In perpetuity 4
14A 28. Winter coat? 3
15A 29. Narrow margin of victory 4
16A 30. Lunchbox staple, informally 3
17A 33. All primes except 2 10
18A 37. Country nearest to the Equator without touching it 4
19A 38. Hybridized, botanically ... or like four pairs of answers in this puzzle (and the circled letters they intersect on)? 15
20A 40. "Stop right there!" 4
21A 41. "Great Scott!" 10
22A 42. Bird adapted for silent flight 3
23A 43. Charging option 4
24A 44. Deciding periods, in brief 3
25A 45. Airdrops? 4
26A 46. [I'm a good boy!] 3
27A 47. Summer cooler 3
28A 50. Movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 5
29A 53. Dip 3
30A 55. Philosopher William of ___ 5
31A 57. Become part of a club 6
32A 59. ___ method (type of teaching) 8
33A 61. Bloom whose toxic nectar is one source of "mad honey" 6
34A 62. Flower found along a metaphorical path of ease 8
35A 63. A bad review might merit a rotten one 6
36A 64. Like some advice 4
37A 65. Manhattan liquor 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Don't believe it"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
  • Similar words include: prevarication, dwell, lie down
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Soccer great Mia"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Prepared (for)"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult
  • Similar words include: stimulate, stabilize, stabilise
  • Opposite of: sedate, de-energize
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRACED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Feature of a spy film"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends
  • Similar words include: scheme, machination, fascinate
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTRIGUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Scalper's transaction"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the selling of something purchased
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Prairie bloom for which a creamery is named"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sometimes placed in genus scilla
  • Similar words include: prairie gentian, Campanula rotundifolia, wood hyacinth
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLUEBELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. DC good guy"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an orderly assigned to serve a british military officer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. They're found in a circle"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the length of a line segment between the center and circumference of a circle or sphere
  • Similar words include: wheel spoke, radius, spoke
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADII

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Dispensary inits."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Late spring or early summer bloom"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous plants widely cultivated for their showy single or double red or pink or white flowers
  • Similar words include: paeony
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEONY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Leave speechless"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
  • Similar words include: fear, veneration, reverence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Texter's "I can't even""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. In perpetuity"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at any time
  • Similar words include: always, of all time, ever so
  • Opposite of: never
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Winter coat?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: meth, frappe, ice-skating rink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Narrow margin of victory"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
  • Similar words include: tomentum, pilus, hairsbreadth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Lunchbox staple, informally"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. All primes except 2"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Country nearest to the Equator without touching it"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in western south america; achieved independence from spain in 1821; was the heart of the inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries
  • Similar words include: Republic of Peru
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Hybridized, botanically ... or like four pairs of answers in this puzzle (and the circled letters they intersect on)?"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. "Stop right there!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of inactivity following an interruption
  • Similar words include: stay, stanch, halting
  • Opposite of: start
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. "Great Scott!""

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Bird adapted for silent flight"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
  • Similar words include: bird of Minerva, hooter, bird of night
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Charging option"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an endorsement made in a passport that allows the bearer to enter the country issuing it
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Deciding periods, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "45. Airdrops?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thin fog with condensation near the ground
  • Similar words include: fog, obscure, mist over
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "46. [I'm a good boy!]"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Summer cooler"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice
  • Similar words include: fruit drink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. Movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Dip"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shape that sags
  • Similar words include: sag down, flag, swag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Philosopher William of ___"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english scholastic philosopher and assumed author of occam's razor (1285-1349)
  • Similar words include: Ockham, William of Occam, William of Ockham
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OCCAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. Become part of a club"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that register formally as a participant or member
  • Similar words include: enter, enrol, recruit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "59. ___ method (type of teaching)"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or relating to socrates or to his method of teaching
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOCRATIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. Bloom whose toxic nectar is one source of "mad honey""

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AZALEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Flower found along a metaphorical path of ease"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads
  • Similar words include: primula
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRIMROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. A bad review might merit a rotten one"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mildly acid red or yellow pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable
  • Similar words include: love apple, tomato plant, Lycopersicon esculentum
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Like some advice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

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!

37A: "65. Manhattan liquor"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seed of the cereal grass
  • Similar words include: Secale cereale, rye whiskey, rye whisky
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. First sign of fall 5
2D 2. Family tree addition 5
3D 3. One of 12 in a Pulitzer-winning piece by composer/pianist William Bolcom 5
4D 4. Blossom in a lei 8
5D 5. Period in history 3
6D 6. Bed cover 5
7D 7. Scary Spice, by another nickname 4
8D 8. Texter's "just a sec" 3
9D 9. Harvesting machine 6
10D 10. Cousin of edelweiss 5
11D 11. Pattern based on nature, for short 4
12D 12. Stylish flair 4
13D 13. Turn down 4
14D 15. King, in Portuguese 3
15D 21. First word from a wedding officiant 6
16D 25. Home of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music 7
17D 27. Alice, in Wonderland 7
18D 28. Part of M.I.T.: Abbr. 4
19D 29. Very, slangily 5
20D 30. Politician Buttigieg 4
21D 31. Partner of born 4
22D 32. Sport with throws 4
23D 33. Siete + uno 4
24D 34. Cry in a gunfight 4
25D 35. Cutie pie 4
26D 36. Gives a lift 6
27D 37. Besties 4
28D 39. "I'll pass" 8
29D 43. Flower found at the end of a rainbow? 6
30D 45. Cold, hard cash 5
31D 46. Ancient marketplace 5
32D 47. Company man? 5
33D 48. "Link" in a botanical chain 5
34D 49. Play the host 5
35D 50. Nitty-gritty 4
36D 51. Automaker Ferrari 4
37D 52. Airport transport 4
38D 54. Some vipers 4
39D 56. Viper, e.g. 3
40D 58. Language of Vientiane 3
41D 60. Smoke 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. First sign of fall"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in libra
  • Similar words include: Libra the Scales, Libra the Balance, Balance
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIBRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Family tree addition"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. One of 12 in a Pulitzer-winning piece by composer/pianist William Bolcom"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Blossom in a lei"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any plant of the genus hibiscus
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIBISCUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Period in history"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Bed cover"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protective covering of rotting vegetable matter spread to reduce evaporation and soil erosion
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MULCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Scary Spice, by another nickname"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Texter's "just a sec""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Harvesting machine"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who helps to gather the harvest
  • Similar words include: harvester, Grim Reaper
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Cousin of edelweiss"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus aster with showy daisylike flowers
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Pattern based on nature, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background
  • Similar words include: camouflage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Stylish flair"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Turn down"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that declare untrue; contradict
  • Similar words include: traverse, refuse, abnegate
  • Opposite of: admit, allow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. King, in Portuguese"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. First word from a wedding officiant"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a sincere and heartfelt manner
  • Similar words include: affectionately, dear, in a heartfelt way
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEARLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Home of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that largest city of tennessee; located in southwestern tennessee on bluffs overlooking the mississippi river
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMPHIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Alice, in Wonderland"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who visits
  • Similar words include: visitant
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISITOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Part of M.I.T.: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in or of the present month
  • Similar words include: instant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Very, slangily"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Politician Buttigieg"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Partner of born"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that copulate with a female, used especially of horses
  • Similar words include: engender, multiply, cover
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Sport with throws"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sport adapted from jujitsu (using principles of not resisting) and similar to wrestling; developed in japan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JUDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Siete + uno"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Cry in a gunfight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gully that is shallower than a ravine
  • Similar words include: drawing card, tie, delineate
  • Opposite of: push, deposit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Cutie pie"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small replica of a person; used as a toy
  • Similar words include: chick, bird, skirt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Gives a lift"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of giving hope or support to someone
  • Similar words include: cost increase, boost, hike up
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Besties"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Similar words include: pal, brother, chum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. "I'll pass""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Flower found at the end of a rainbow?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
  • Similar words include: purplish, reddish blue, purple
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VIOLET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Cold, hard cash"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Ancient marketplace"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 agorot equal 1 shekel in israel
  • Similar words include: public square
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "47. Company man?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a theatrical performer
  • Similar words include: doer, thespian, role player
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. "Link" in a botanical chain"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAISY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Play the host"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and introduces other speakers)
  • Similar words include: host, compere, master of ceremonies
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMCEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Nitty-gritty"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
  • Similar words include: gist, center, sum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. Automaker Ferrari"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "52. Airport transport"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
  • Similar words include: trolley car, tramway, aerial tramway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Some vipers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
  • Similar words include: asp viper, Naja haje, Vipera aspis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Viper, e.g."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
  • Similar words include: railcar, railway car, auto
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "58. Language of Vientiane"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a buddhist people inhabiting the area of the mekong river in laos and thailand and speaking the lao language; related to the thais
  • Similar words include: Laotian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "60. Smoke"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: May 06, 2026 at 06:17 AM

Monday, May 4, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 04, 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. "The ___ is clear!" 5
2A 6. "Mamma Mia" group 4
3A 10. Spaces, as between teeth 4
4A 14. Author Joyce Carol ___ 5
5A 15. Devices for keyless entry 4
6A 16. Amo, amas, ___ 4
7A 17. "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde," informally 10
8A 19. Actress Dunham or Waithe 4
9A 20. Call from an ump 3
10A 21. Group of connected PCs 3
11A 22. Like some columns and bonds 5
12A 23. Methodical way for something to be built 12
13A 27. "This place is fire" 6
14A 30. Sidney who directed "12 Angry Men" and "The Wiz" 5
15A 31. Japanese camera giant 5
16A 32. "The Lion King" villain 4
17A 34. Soph., jr. and sr. 3
18A 37. Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts 15
19A 41. Swiss peak 3
20A 42. Enormous 4
21A 43. New England state with the slogan "The Way Life Should Be" 5
22A 44. Used, as a chair 5
23A 47. Shaggy hairstyle 6
24A 48. Simple game requiring steady hands 12
25A 52. Improvise, as a speech 5
26A 53. When a plane is due, for short 3
27A 54. Used to be 3
28A 57. College figure 4
29A 58. Suddenly feels repulsed by a romantic partner ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across 10
30A 62. Pole on a sailboat 4
31A 63. Tradition for many high school seniors 4
32A 64. Fasten, as a ship's rope 5
33A 65. In addition 4
34A 66. Levelheaded 4
35A 67. "Goodie" on classic radio 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "The ___ is clear!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shore of a sea or ocean
  • Similar words include: seashore, sea-coast, glide
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. "Mamma Mia" group"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Spaces, as between teeth"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: disruption, break, interruption
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Author Joyce Carol ___"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english conspirator who claimed that there was a jesuit plot to assassinate charles ii (1649-1705)
  • Similar words include: Titus Oates, Joyce Carol Oates
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Devices for keyless entry"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vest pocket to hold a pocket watch
  • Similar words include: watch pocket, watch chain, fob
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Amo, amas, ___"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde," informally"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Actress Dunham or Waithe"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a russian river in siberia; flows northward into the laptev sea
  • Similar words include: Lena River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Call from an ump"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball
  • Similar words include: verboten, tabu, kayoed
  • Opposite of: safe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Group of connected PCs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a local computer network for communication between computers; especially a network connecting computers and word processors and other electronic office equipment to create a communication system between offices
  • Similar words include: local area network
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Like some columns and bonds"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dialect of ancient greek spoken and written in attica and athens and ionia
  • Similar words include: Ionic dialect, Attic, Classical Greek
  • Opposite of: nonionic
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IONIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Methodical way for something to be built"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. "This place is fire""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Sidney who directed "12 Angry Men" and "The Wiz""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Japanese camera giant"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. "The Lion King" villain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
  • Similar words include: scrape, cicatrice, mark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Soph., jr. and sr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
  • Similar words include: year, yr, twelvemonth
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Swiss peak"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any high mountain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Enormous"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - w.r.inge
  • Similar words include: immense, vast, Brobdingnagian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. New England state with the slogan "The Way Life Should Be""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in new england
  • Similar words include: Pine Tree State, ME
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Used, as a chair"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Shaggy hairstyle"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Simple game requiring steady hands"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Improvise, as a speech"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. When a plane is due, for short"

3 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: Basque Homeland and Freedom, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Euskadi ta Askatasuna
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Used to be"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in northwestern united states on the pacific
  • Similar words include: exist, represent, comprise
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. College figure"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "58. Suddenly feels repulsed by a romantic partner ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Pole on a sailboat"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vertical spar for supporting sails
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Tradition for many high school seniors"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
  • Similar words include: promenade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Fasten, as a ship's rope"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BELAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. In addition"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in addition
  • Similar words include: as well, too, besides
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Levelheaded"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
  • Similar words include: reasonable
  • Opposite of: insane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. "Goodie" on classic radio"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a song that was formerly popular
  • Similar words include: golden oldie
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLDIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico 4
2D 2. Third-largest Hawaiian island 4
3D 3. Going ___ (fighting) 4
4D 4. Part of a min. 3
5D 5. Chiding sound 3
6D 6. Insurance company whose mascot is a duck 5
7D 7. Sound effect for a bop on the head 5
8D 8. Eng. channel 3
9D 9. Request 3
10D 10. Aplenty 6
11D 11. Bag of hotel room freebies, say 10
12D 12. Feel a suddenly overwhelming fear 5
13D 13. Serving of pancakes 5
14D 18. Move like a fairy 4
15D 22. Tech giant founded in 1911 3
16D 23. Voting group 4
17D 24. Skating locale 4
18D 25. Play loudly, as from a speaker 5
19D 26. Traditional circular dwelling 4
20D 27. Ancient Peruvian 4
21D 28. Cash drawer 4
22D 29. Plays hooky 10
23D 32. Shocks into silence 5
24D 33. Part of a gearwheel 3
25D 35. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe 4
26D 36. Bit of a staircase 4
27D 38. Flapjack franchise 4
28D 39. Reassurance after a loud crash, say 4
29D 40. Puts a limit on 4
30D 45. Resembling 6
31D 46. Spot for three men in a nursery rhyme 3
32D 47. Exam for a future doc 4
33D 48. Culinary personality Lakshmi 5
34D 49. Best imaginable 5
35D 50. Wyoming's Grand ___ National Park 5
36D 51. "Hi, you know who this is" 5
37D 54. Undomesticated 4
38D 55. Smoothie "superfood" 4
39D 56. Scottish terrier breed 4
40D 58. Rte. finder 3
41D 59. Long time in history 3
42D 60. Network for "Succession" and "The Wire" 3
43D 61. Slithery fish 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics
  • Similar words include: coconut, Cocos nucifera, coconut palm
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Third-largest Hawaiian island"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii (between molokai and kauai); the chief island of the state
  • Similar words include: Oahu Island
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAHU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Going ___ (fighting)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Part of a min."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: s, unsweet, second
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Chiding sound"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Insurance company whose mascot is a duck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sound effect for a bop on the head"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Eng. channel"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Request"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inquire about
  • Similar words include: involve, demand, inquire
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Aplenty"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in great numbers
  • Similar words include: abounding
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Bag of hotel room freebies, say"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Feel a suddenly overwhelming fear"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
  • Similar words include: affright, terror, scare
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Serving of pancakes"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an orderly pile
  • Similar words include: hatful, sight, plenty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Move like a fairy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden quick movement
  • Similar words include: fleet, dart, flutter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Tech giant founded in 1911"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Voting group"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of countries in special alliance
  • Similar words include: axis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Skating locale"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that building that contains a surface for ice skating or roller skating
  • Similar words include: skating rink
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Play loudly, as from a speaker"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud harsh or strident noise
  • Similar words include: clamor, claxon, cacophony
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Traditional circular dwelling"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting; originally used by nomadic mongol and turkic people of central asia but now used as inexpensive alternative or temporary housing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Ancient Peruvian"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
  • Similar words include: Incan, Inka
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Cash drawer"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together
  • Similar words include: money box, trough, public treasury
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "29. Plays hooky"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Shocks into silence"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Part of a gearwheel"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a subordinate who performs an important but routine function
  • Similar words include: sprocket
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in western nevada at the foot of the sierra nevada mountains; known for gambling casinos and easy divorce and remarriage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Bit of a staircase"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
  • Similar words include: pace, ill-use, tread
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Flapjack franchise"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Reassurance after a loud crash, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Puts a limit on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tight-fitting headdress
  • Similar words include: capital, chapiter, hood
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Resembling"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Spot for three men in a nursery rhyme"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body
  • Similar words include: bath, tubful, bathing tub
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "47. Exam for a future doc"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Culinary personality Lakshmi"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Best imaginable"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain
  • Similar words include: saint, apotheosis, nonpareil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Wyoming's Grand ___ National Park"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the large western branch of sioux people which was made up of several groups that lived on the plains
  • Similar words include: Lakota, Teton Sioux, Teton Dakota
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TETON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. "Hi, you know who this is""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "54. Undomesticated"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wild primitive state untouched by civilization
  • Similar words include: unfounded, violent, waste
  • Opposite of: tame
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WILD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "55. Smoothie "superfood""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Scottish terrier breed"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "58. Rte. finder"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a navigational system involving satellites and computers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on earth by computing the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver
  • Similar words include: Global Positioning System
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "59. Long time in history"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "60. Network for "Succession" and "The Wire""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "61. Slithery fish"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 04, 2026 at 06:26 AM