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Showing posts sorted by date for query LADEN. 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

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Last updated: July 21, 2026 at 06:09 AM

Monday, March 9, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers March 09, 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. Constellation word before Major or Minor 4
2A 5. Something to blow off or let off 5
3A 10. "So-o-o cute!" 3
4A 13. Western defense grp. 4
5A 14. "I ___ been a contender ..." 6
6A 15. Lead-in to natal or nuptial 3
7A 16. *Outdoor sport with sticks (1979, 1984) 11
8A 18. Gentle touch 3
9A 19. Letters for a mind reader 3
10A 20. Grunt from a pigpen 4
11A 21. Athlete's representative 5
12A 23. Take weapons away from 6
13A 25. *Period for Fred, Wilma and Pebbles (2016, 2023) 8
14A 28. More in-your-business 6
15A 30. Encourages to buy a more expensive model, say 7
16A 31. Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have ___" 3
17A 32. Monster of folk tales 4
18A 34. Goal for collectors 3
19A 35. *Temporary guest from a canine shelter (1988, 1991) 9
20A 39. Oscars airer 3
21A 42. "Pencils down!" 4
22A 43. Double-decker, e.g. 3
23A 45. Strings along 7
24A 48. Some steaks 6
25A 51. *Popular fruit dessert (2001) 8
26A 53. Rebel as a group 6
27A 55. Zimbalist Jr. of "77 Sunset Strip" 5
28A 56. Plastic Ono Band's "Happy ___ (War Is Over)" 4
29A 58. Network for "The Wire" and "Euphoria" 3
30A 59. Birthplace of the bossa nova, informally 3
31A 60. Academy Award category ... or a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues 11
32A 64. Vietnamese holiday with a palindromic name 3
33A 65. Baltimore baseball pro 6
34A 66. Colorful body part ... or a colorful flower 4
35A 67. "___ gratia artis" (classic MGM motto) 3
36A 68. Chicken noodle scoop 5
37A 69. Heredity unit 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Constellation word before Major or Minor"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Something to blow off or let off"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water at boiling temperature diffused in the atmosphere
  • Similar words include: steam clean, steamer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. "So-o-o cute!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Western defense grp."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an international organization created in 1949 by the north atlantic treaty for purposes of collective security
  • Similar words include: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. "I ___ been a contender ...""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Lead-in to natal or nuptial"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. *Outdoor sport with sticks (1979, 1984)"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Gentle touch"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Letters for a mind reader"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
  • Similar words include: E.S.P., clairvoyance, extrasensory perception
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Grunt from a pigpen"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the short low gruff noise of the kind made by hogs
  • Similar words include: grunt, squeal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Athlete's representative"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
  • Similar words include: agentive role, federal agent, factor
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Take weapons away from"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove offensive capability from
  • Similar words include: demilitarise, demilitarize, unarm
  • Opposite of: arm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. *Period for Fred, Wilma and Pebbles (2016, 2023)"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. More in-your-business"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that offensively curious or inquisitive
  • Similar words include: prying, nosy, snoopy
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Encourages to buy a more expensive model, say"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have ___""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that negation of a word or group of words
  • Similar words include: non
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Monster of folk tales"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Goal for collectors"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. *Temporary guest from a canine shelter (1988, 1991)"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Oscars airer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
  • Similar words include: ABCs, alphabet, ABC's
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. "Pencils down!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an instance or single occasion for some event
  • Similar words include: clip, prison term, sentence
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Double-decker, e.g."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Strings along"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Some steaks"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. *Popular fruit dessert (2001)"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. Rebel as a group"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Zimbalist Jr. of "77 Sunset Strip""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. Plastic Ono Band's "Happy ___ (War Is Over)""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a christian holiday celebrating the birth of christ; a quarter day in england, wales, and ireland
  • Similar words include: Christmas Day, Dec 25, Christmas
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: XMAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "58. Network for "The Wire" and "Euphoria""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Birthplace of the bossa nova, informally"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

31A: "60. Academy Award category ... or a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Vietnamese holiday with a palindromic name"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the new year in vietnam; observed for three days after the first full moon after january 20th
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Baltimore baseball pro"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mostly tropical songbird; the male is usually bright orange and black
  • Similar words include: Old World oriole, American oriole, New World oriole
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORIOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Colorful body part ... or a colorful flower"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  • Similar words include: sword lily, iris diaphragm, fleur-de-lis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. "___ gratia artis" (classic MGM motto)"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless and odorless inert gas; one of the six inert gases; comprises approximately 1% of the earth's atmosphere
  • Similar words include: are, argon, Arkansas
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "68. Chicken noodle scoop"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle; frequently used to transfer liquids from one container to another
  • Similar words include: laden, lade
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. Heredity unit"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (genetics) a segment of dna that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding dna as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity
  • Similar words include: factor, cistron
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GENE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Like expired parking meters 5
2D 2. ___ Bran 6
3D 3. Bobby, Peter or Greg, to Carol Brady 7
4D 4. Internet pioneer 3
5D 5. "Coming ___ to a theater near you" 4
6D 6. Partner of nips 5
7D 7. Relative of a reindeer 3
8D 8. Suffix with lemon or orange 3
9D 9. Ancient Central American pyramid builders 6
10D 10. They go to a higher court 7
11D 11. Round up, as cattle 7
12D 12. Receiving the most rain 7
13D 14. Grandfather clock sound 5
14D 17. Piquant triangular chip 6
15D 22. "Gosh!" 3
16D 24. Starting on 4
17D 26. Small castle tower 6
18D 27. Guest opinion column 4
19D 29. Corkscrew-shaped pasta 6
20D 33. Opal or ruby 3
21D 36. "Enough already!" 4
22D 37. Double-reed woodwind player 6
23D 38. Biceps, boastfully 4
24D 39. Canadian province north of Montana 7
25D 40. More brawny 7
26D 41. Bugs Bunny's supply 7
27D 44. "Now, you listen to me ..." 7
28D 46. Beats by ___ (headphone brand) 3
29D 47. Word with sex or status 6
30D 49. Support for a knee or a neck 5
31D 50. Enters a game at the half, say 6
32D 52. Praise enthusiastically 5
33D 54. Group assisting a sheriff 5
34D 57. Like a bull or buck 4
35D 61. Memorable period 3
36D 62. Caesar of old comedy 3
37D 63. 18-wheeler 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Like expired parking meters"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not given support
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNFED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. ___ Bran"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dried grape
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAISIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Bobby, Peter or Greg, to Carol Brady"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the son your spouse by a former marriage
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEPSON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Internet pioneer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "Coming ___ to a theater near you""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in the near future
  • Similar words include: shortly, presently, before long
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Partner of nips"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that eatables (especially sweets)
  • Similar words include: tuck, gather, pucker
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUCKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Relative of a reindeer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in europe and `moose' in north america
  • Similar words include: Cervus elaphus, American elk, Cervus elaphus canadensis
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Suffix with lemon or orange"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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!

9D: "9. Ancient Central American pyramid builders"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of an american indian people of yucatan and belize and guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between ad 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy
  • Similar words include: Mayan language, Maya, Mayan
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAYANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. They go to a higher court"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that earnest or urgent request
  • Similar words include: appeal, prayer, entreaty
  • Opposite of: repel
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPEALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Round up, as cattle"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an angry dispute
  • Similar words include: quarrel, haggle, brawl
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRANGLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Receiving the most rain"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
  • Similar words include: soused, sozzled, squiffy
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WETTEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Grandfather clock sound"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument
  • Similar words include: gong, bell
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHIME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Piquant triangular chip"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. "Gosh!""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Starting on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Small castle tower"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small tower extending above a building
  • Similar words include: gun turret, gun enclosure
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TURRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Guest opinion column"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Corkscrew-shaped pasta"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "33. Opal or ruby"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
  • Similar words include: treasure, gemstone, precious stone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "36. "Enough already!""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "37. Double-reed woodwind player"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a musician who plays the oboe
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBOIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "38. Biceps, boastfully"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
  • Similar words include: torpedo, hit man, ordnance
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "39. Canadian province north of Montana"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the three prairie provinces in western canada; rich in oil and natural gas and minerals
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBERTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "40. More brawny"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that muscular and heavily built
  • Similar words include: burly, beefy, husky
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEEFIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Bugs Bunny's supply"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant
  • Similar words include: cultivated carrot, Daucus carota sativa, carrot
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARROTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "44. "Now, you listen to me ...""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Beats by ___ (headphone brand)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Word with sex or status"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
  • Similar words include: symbolisation, symbolic representation, symbolization
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYMBOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Support for a knee or a neck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a support that steadies or strengthens something else
  • Similar words include: energize, duet, stabilize
  • Opposite of: de-energise, sedate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Enters a game at the half, say"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Praise enthusiastically"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that praise, glorify, or honor
  • Similar words include: glorify, exalt, laud
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXTOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "54. Group assisting a sheriff"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a temporary police force
  • Similar words include: posse comitatus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POSSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "57. Like a bull or buck"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)
  • Similar words include: virile, manly, manful
  • Opposite of: female
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "61. Memorable 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: epoch, geological era, earned run average
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "62. Caesar of old comedy"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "63. 18-wheeler"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gear (including necessary machinery) for a particular enterprise
  • Similar words include: getup, fishing gear, cheat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIG

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Expert Solving Strategies

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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
37 Down Clues
74 Total Clues

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Last updated: March 09, 2026 at 05:07 AM