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
- Across Clues Table (36 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (39 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
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. "Put a sock ___!" | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Bottomless pit | 5 |
| 3A | 10. Home of the W.N.B.A.'s Fever, informally | 4 |
| 4A | 14. Viral phenomenon | 4 |
| 5A | 15. Curse word cover-up | 5 |
| 6A | 16. Singer Del Rey | 4 |
| 7A | 17. Very impressed | 4 |
| 8A | 18. Echolocation technology | 5 |
| 9A | 19. One who can't handle the truth? | 4 |
| 10A | 20. Sport in an octagon, for short | 3 |
| 11A | 21. Chafes excessively | 7 |
| 12A | 23. Acid | 3 |
| 13A | 24. "The door's open!" | 5 |
| 14A | 26. Elasticized part of sweatpants | 5 |
| 15A | 28. Nearly unique | 15 |
| 16A | 33. Assists, in basketball slang | 5 |
| 17A | 34. Headed for the hills | 3 |
| 18A | 35. Romaine course | 5 |
| 19A | 36. Influential individual | 4 |
| 20A | 37. Collection of photographs or songs | 5 |
| 21A | 39. Broadway award | 4 |
| 22A | 40. Lump in one's throat | 6 |
| 23A | 42. Modifies | 6 |
| 24A | 44. Org. with Orioles, Blue Jays and Cardinals | 3 |
| 25A | 46. City with Carnival samba parades, informally | 3 |
| 26A | 47. Compromise that, ideally, leaves both parties satisfied | 11 |
| 27A | 52. Take to the skies | 4 |
| 28A | 54. English soccer star ___ James | 5 |
| 29A | 55. Sonic boom generator? | 4 |
| 30A | 58. Prediction of a negative outcome that is true of 21-, 28- and 47-Across | 15 |
| 31A | 61. "We feel the same way" | 5 |
| 32A | 62. Airport raced through in "Home Alone," in brief | 3 |
| 33A | 63. Info collected by a spy | 5 |
| 34A | 64. Sound of a cartoon hit | 5 |
| 35A | 65. Deep sorrow | 3 |
| 36A | 66. Cruising the Caribbean, say | 5 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. "Put a sock ___!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Bottomless pit"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
- Similar words include: abysm
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABYSS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "10. Home of the W.N.B.A.'s Fever, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INDY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "14. Viral phenomenon"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEME
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "15. Curse word cover-up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a short high tone produced as a signal or warning
- Similar words include: beep
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLEEP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "16. Singer Del Rey"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "17. Very impressed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that inspire awe in
- Similar words include: awe, awestricken, awestruck
- Opposite of: unawed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "18. Echolocation technology"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a measuring instrument that sends out an acoustic pulse in water and measures distances in terms of the time for the echo of the pulse to return
- Similar words include: asdic, echo sounder
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "19. One who can't handle the truth?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
- Similar words include: prevaricator
- Opposite of: square shooter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "20. Sport in an octagon, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MMA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "21. Chafes excessively"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUBSRAW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "23. Acid"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a powerful hallucinogenic drug manufactured from lysergic acid
- Similar words include: lysergic acid diethylamide
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "24. "The door's open!""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that to come or go into
- Similar words include: go in, recruit, go into
- Opposite of: drop out, exit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "26. Elasticized part of sweatpants"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
- Similar words include: waistline, shank
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAIST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "28. Nearly unique"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXCEEDINGLYRARE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "33. Assists, in basketball slang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a united states coin worth one tenth of a dollar
- Similar words include: dime bag, slur, dim
- Opposite of: focus
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIMES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "34. Headed for the hills"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
- Similar words include: bunk, ladder, pass
- Opposite of: malfunction, idle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "35. Romaine course"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "36. Influential individual"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface
- Similar words include: ikon, image, picture
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "37. Collection of photographs or songs"
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: record album
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBUM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "39. Broadway award"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TONY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "40. Lump in one's throat"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either of two masses of lymphatic tissue one on each side of the oral pharynx
- Similar words include: palatine tonsil, tonsilla, faucial tonsil
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TONSIL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "42. Modifies"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
- Similar words include: indemnity, reparation, ameliorate
- Opposite of: worsen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMENDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "44. Org. with Orioles, Blue Jays and Cardinals"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MLB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "46. City with Carnival samba parades, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the former capital and 2nd largest city of brazil; chief brazilian port; famous as a tourist attraction
- Similar words include: Rio de Janeiro
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "47. Compromise that, ideally, leaves both parties satisfied"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAPPYMEDIUM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "52. Take to the skies"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the act of rising upward into the air
- Similar words include: soar up, soar upwards, hang glide
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "54. English soccer star ___ James"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REECE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "55. Sonic boom generator?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEGA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "58. Prediction of a negative outcome that is true of 21-, 28- and 47-Across"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THISWONTENDWELL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "61. "We feel the same way""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USTOO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "62. Airport raced through in "Home Alone," in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "63. Info collected by a spy"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "64. Sound of a cartoon hit"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOINK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "65. Deep sorrow"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
- Similar words include: suffering, woefulness
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "66. Cruising the Caribbean, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATSEA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Spiritual leader at a mosque | 4 |
| 2D | 2. State that's home to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum | 9 |
| 3D | 3. "Sheesh, gimme a break!" | 9 |
| 4D | 4. ___ talk | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Really ridiculous | 6 |
| 6D | 6. Carnivorous cinematic alien | 4 |
| 7D | 7. Deep desires | 4 |
| 8D | 8. Cook in a very hot cast-iron pan, say | 4 |
| 9D | 9. Be a bed hog, maybe | 6 |
| 10D | 10. Under the weather | 3 |
| 11D | 11. Where employees work on tips and receive tips | 9 |
| 12D | 12. Half of a biological helix | 9 |
| 13D | 13. Spot for a swing set | 4 |
| 14D | 21. Dee who directed 2017's "Mudbound" | 4 |
| 15D | 22. Methods | 4 |
| 16D | 25. Decade after the aughts | 5 |
| 17D | 27. Steaming mad | 5 |
| 18D | 28. Make some alterations | 4 |
| 19D | 29. Not online, for short | 3 |
| 20D | 30. Snatch up | 3 |
| 21D | 31. Wildebeest | 3 |
| 22D | 32. Ice cream brand with an apostrophe in its name | 4 |
| 23D | 37. Football standout | 6 |
| 24D | 38. Word with name or voyage | 6 |
| 25D | 41. Little pest | 3 |
| 26D | 43. "Little old me?" | 3 |
| 27D | 45. "Toodle-oo!" | 6 |
| 28D | 46. Fall back | 6 |
| 29D | 47. Western half of Hispaniola | 5 |
| 30D | 48. Activity that may prompt burning questions? | 5 |
| 31D | 49. Parisian subway | 5 |
| 32D | 50. Squad captained by Lindsey Horan to win Olympic gold in '24, for short | 5 |
| 33D | 51. Gets together with | 5 |
| 34D | 52. Bit of concert memorabilia, once | 4 |
| 35D | 53. Very, very much | 4 |
| 36D | 56. Utter delight | 4 |
| 37D | 57. Penne ___ vodka | 4 |
| 38D | 59. Stir-frying vessel | 3 |
| 39D | 60. Part of una semana | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Spiritual leader at a mosque"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (islam) the man who leads prayers in a mosque; for shiites an imam is a recognized authority on islamic theology and law and a spiritual guide
- Similar words include: imaum
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. State that's home to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEWMEXICO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. "Sheesh, gimme a break!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMEANCMON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. ___ talk"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing edwardian style clothes
- Similar words include: Teddy boy
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Really ridiculous"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless; --albert camus
- Similar words include: laughable, derisory, ludicrous
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABSURD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Carnivorous cinematic alien"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an indistinct shapeless form
- Similar words include: blot, spot, fleck
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Deep desires"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a yearning for something or to do something
- Similar words include: yen, languish, pine
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YENS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Cook in a very hot cast-iron pan, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make very hot and dry
- Similar words include: singe, scorch, withered
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Be a bed hog, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities
- Similar words include: conurbation, sprawling, urban sprawl
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPRAWL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Under the weather"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
- Similar words include: sick, ominous, badly
- Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Where employees work on tips and receive tips"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAILSALON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Half of a biological helix"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNASTRAND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Spot for a swing set"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
- Similar words include: K, railyard, curtilage
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YARD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "21. Dee who directed 2017's "Mudbound""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "22. Methods"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
- Similar words include: shipway, means, agency
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAYS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "25. Decade after the aughts"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the time of life between the ages of 12 and 20
- Similar words include: adolescent, stripling, teenager
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEENS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "27. Steaming mad"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that feeling or showing extreme anger
- Similar words include: ireful
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "28. Make some alterations"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting
- Similar words include: edit out, blue-pencil, cut
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "29. Not online, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "30. Snatch up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that tag the base runner to get him out
- Similar words include: collar, apprehend, pick up
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "31. Wildebeest"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that large african antelope having a head with horns like an ox and a long tufted tail
- Similar words include: wildebeest
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GNU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "32. Ice cream brand with an apostrophe in its name"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDYS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "37. Football standout"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLPRO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "38. Word with name or voyage"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
- Similar words include: maiden over, inaugural, initiative
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAIDEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "41. Little pest"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
- Similar words include: hob, scamp, gremlin
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "43. "Little old me?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "45. "Toodle-oo!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYENOW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "46. Fall back"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that pull back or move away or backward
- Similar words include: pull back, drop off, draw back
- Opposite of: gain, advance
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECEDE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "47. Western half of Hispaniola"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a republic in the west indies on the western part of the island of hispaniola; achieved independence from france in 1804; the poorest and most illiterate nation in the western hemisphere
- Similar words include: Hayti, Hispaniola, Republic of Haiti
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAITI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "48. Activity that may prompt burning questions?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that malicious burning to destroy property
- Similar words include: incendiarism, fire-raising
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARSON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "49. Parisian subway"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city)
- Similar words include: underground, subway, subway system
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: METRO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "50. Squad captained by Lindsey Horan to win Olympic gold in '24, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USWNT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "51. Gets together with"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
- Similar words include: forgather, run into, adjoin
- Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEETS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "52. Bit of concert memorabilia, once"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a short piece remaining on a trunk or stem where a branch is lost
- Similar words include: butt, nub, counterfoil
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "53. Very, very much"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHSO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "56. Utter delight"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that great merriment
- Similar words include: hilarity, gloating, gleefulness
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "57. Penne ___ vodka"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "59. Stir-frying vessel"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that pan with a convex bottom; used for frying in chinese cooking
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "60. Part of una semana"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an intelligence agency of the united states in the department of defense; is responsible for providing intelligence in support of military planning and operations and weapons acquisition
- Similar words include: Defense Intelligence Agency
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIA
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
36 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
75 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.
