Search Clues

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

Monday, May 11, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 11, 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. ___ Spiegel (German magazine) 3
2A 4. Animal that ranges around Peru 5
3A 9. Pointed, as a weapon 5
4A 14. Lumberjack's tool 3
5A 15. Cameroon neighbor 5
6A 16. Yell "#$%!" 5
7A 17. Rankings of song popularity used as the music industry standard 15
8A 20. Swells up 6
9A 21. Number in a septet 5
10A 22. Pb, in chemistry 4
11A 23. Own (up) 4
12A 24. Freeze's opposite 4
13A 28. Whirling water 4
14A 29. Up to, as a certain time 3
15A 30. Take fowl foully 5
16A 31. Canapé or deviled egg, for example 11
17A 34. Clears of charges 7
18A 38. A million gazillion 7
19A 39. Movie production facilities with controlled acoustics 11
20A 41. Leave stunned 5
21A 42. Monk's counterpart 3
22A 43. Cut of pork or lamb 4
23A 47. Spa service on the toes, in brief 4
24A 48. "Please, no more!" 4
25A 50. "That is so funny" 4
26A 51. Braid 5
27A 53. Helping for someone very, very hungry 6
28A 55. Insignificant amount 15
29A 59. Tired from overexposure 5
30A 60. "It was the ___ I could do" 5
31A 61. Big part of an elephant 3
32A 62. Storage places for lawn mowers 5
33A 63. Go kaboom, as a volcano 5
34A 64. Deadpan 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. ___ Spiegel (German magazine)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that denoting a quantity consisting of 500 items or units
  • Similar words include: five hundred, d, 500
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Animal that ranges around Peru"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Pointed, as a weapon"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
  • Similar words include: purpose, point, aim
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIMED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Lumberjack's tool"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
  • Similar words include: ax
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Cameroon neighbor"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic on the west coast of africa
  • Similar words include: Gabun, Gabonese Republic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GABON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Yell "#$%!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter obscenities or profanities
  • Similar words include: curse, affirm, depose
  • Opposite of: mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Rankings of song popularity used as the music industry standard"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Swells up"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of domestic animals caused by excessive gas
  • Similar words include: bloat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Number in a septet"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
  • Similar words include: sevener, 7, septet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEVEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Pb, in chemistry"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an advantage held by a competitor in a race
  • Similar words include: atomic number 82, tether, pass
  • Opposite of: follow, deficit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Own (up)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield
  • Similar words include: Fes, fesse, Fez
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Freeze's opposite"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
  • Similar words include: unfreeze, melting, dethaw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Whirling water"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that founder of christian science in 1866 (1821-1910)
  • Similar words include: Mary Baker Eddy, swirl, Mary Morse Baker Eddy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Up to, as a certain time"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Take fowl foully"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hunt illegally
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POACH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Canapé or deviled egg, for example"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Clears of charges"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  • Similar words include: behave, carry, acquit
  • Opposite of: convict
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACQUITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. A million gazillion"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that innumerable but many
  • Similar words include: umteen
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UMPTEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Movie production facilities with controlled acoustics"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Leave stunned"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affect with wonder
  • Similar words include: flummox, puzzle, beat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Monk's counterpart"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a woman religious
  • Similar words include: nun buoy, conical buoy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Cut of pork or lamb"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
  • Similar words include: chopper, hack, chop up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Spa service on the toes, in brief"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. "Please, no more!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something ending
  • Similar words include: full point, cease, block off
  • Opposite of: begin, start
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. "That is so funny""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Braid"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
  • Similar words include: tress, braid, pleat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Helping for someone very, very hungry"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
  • Similar words include: tierce, third base, third gear
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THIRDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Insignificant amount"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Tired from overexposure"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
  • Similar words include: weary, fag, jade
  • Opposite of: refresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JADED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. "It was the ___ I could do""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is of no importance
  • Similar words include: to the lowest degree
  • Opposite of: most
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Big part of an elephant"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: spike, pinna, capitulum
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Storage places for lawn mowers"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an outbuilding with a single story; used for shelter or storage
  • Similar words include: throw off, drop, moult
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Go kaboom, as a volcano"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that start abruptly
  • Similar words include: push through, irrupt, ignite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERUPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Deadpan"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • Similar words include: juiceless, teetotal, ironic
  • Opposite of: sweet, phlegmy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Practice casually, with "in" 6
2D 2. Kicked out, as from a country 6
3D 3. Fill with more ammunition 6
4D 4. Pride letters 4
5D 5. Vientiane is its capital 4
6D 6. Lawyers' org. 3
7D 7. Tasty little bites 7
8D 8. Peruvian mountains 5
9D 9. Tennis star Arthur 4
10D 10. "Don't involve me anymore" 8
11D 11. French for "sea" 3
12D 12. Gobble down 3
13D 13. Medical pros: Abbr. 3
14D 18. Noblewoman 4
15D 19. Rival of Walgreens 3
16D 23. Winning a blue ribbon 5
17D 25. Possess 4
18D 26. Unit initially conceived as the amount of land that can be plowed in a day 4
19D 27. "___ in doubt ..." 4
20D 29. Pre-K enrollees 4
21D 30. Enlivens, with "up" 4
22D 31. ___-and-seek 4
23D 32. Unearthed 5
24D 33. Rain clouds, to some 4
25D 34. Rapper ___ Rocky 4
26D 35. "___ as you are" 4
27D 36. College courtyard 4
28D 37. Opened, as a fly 8
29D 40. Request from someone craving more 7
30D 43. Fashionable 4
31D 44. Listened, poetically 6
32D 45. "Goodness me!" ... or a phonetic hint to 17-, 31-, 39- and 55-Across 6
33D 46. Croissant, éclair or Danish 6
34D 48. The "S" of S.F. 3
35D 49. Mr., Ms. or Mrs. 5
36D 52. Tube tops? 4
37D 53. Recipe amt. 4
38D 54. Jabba the ___ ("Star Wars" villain) 4
39D 55. Party pros playing tunes 3
40D 56. "Go team!" 3
41D 57. Poem of praise 3
42D 58. Contents of l'océan 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Practice casually, with "in""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid
  • Similar words include: smatter, paddle, splash around
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DABBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Kicked out, as from a country"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expel from a country
  • Similar words include: exile, expatriate, deport
  • Opposite of: repatriate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXILED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Fill with more ammunition"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that place a new load on
  • Similar words include: recharge
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELOAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pride letters"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Vientiane is its capital"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern asia; achieved independence from france in 1949
  • Similar words include: Laotian, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lao
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lawyers' org."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth; worn by arabs
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Tasty little bites"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small quantity of anything
  • Similar words include: morsel, bit, bite
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORSELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Peruvian mountains"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain range in south america running 5000 miles along the pacific coast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANDES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Tennis star Arthur"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states tennis player who was the first black to win united states and english singles championships (1943-1993)
  • Similar words include: Arthur Ashe, Arthur Robert Ashe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Don't involve me anymore""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. French for "sea""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that denoting a quantity consisting of 1,000 items or units
  • Similar words include: one thousand, thousand, 1000
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Gobble down"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take in solid food
  • Similar words include: feed, run through, exhaust
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Medical pros: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Noblewoman"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a polite name for any woman
  • Similar words include: noblewoman, ma'am, madam
  • Opposite of: Lord, nobleman
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Rival of Walgreens"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a summary of your academic and work history
  • Similar words include: resume, CV, curriculum vitae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Winning a blue ribbon"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the first or highest in an ordering or series
  • Similar words include: offset, first of all, world-class
  • Opposite of: middle, last
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Possess"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who possesses great material wealth
  • Similar words include: make, give, birth
  • Opposite of: abstain, refuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Unit initially conceived as the amount of land that can be plowed in a day"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
  • Similar words include: Akko, Akka, Accho
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. "___ in doubt ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Pre-K enrollees"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Enlivens, with "up""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. ___-and-seek"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
  • Similar words include: obliterate, hide out, enshroud
  • Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Unearthed"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Rain clouds, to some"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sign of something about to happen
  • Similar words include: presage, predict, forecast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. Rapper ___ Rocky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that as soon as possible
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. "___ as you are""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
  • Similar words include: descend, ejaculate, fare
  • Opposite of: go, leave
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. College courtyard"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of four children born at the same time from the same pregnancy
  • Similar words include: quadriceps, musculus quadriceps femoris, quadrangle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "37. Opened, as a fly"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open the zipper of
  • Similar words include: unzip
  • Opposite of: zip up
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNZIPPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Request from someone craving more"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various alternatives; some other
  • Similar words include: some other
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANOTHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. Fashionable"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegance by virtue of being fashionable
  • Similar words include: chichi, stylishness, last word
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Listened, poetically"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that listen; used mostly in the imperative
  • Similar words include: harken, hearken, hark
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARKED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "45. "Goodness me!" ... or a phonetic hint to 17-, 31-, 39- and 55-Across"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Croissant, éclair or Danish"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dough of flour and water and shortening
  • Similar words include: pastry dough
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. The "S" of S.F."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. Mr., Ms. or Mrs."

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
  • Similar words include: entitle, deed of conveyance, claim
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TITLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Tube tops?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "53. Recipe amt."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Jabba the ___ ("Star Wars" villain)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Party pros playing tunes"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who announces and plays popular recorded music
  • Similar words include: dj, disk-jockey, disc jockey
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DJS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. "Go team!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "57. Poem of praise"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "58. Contents of l'océan"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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

34 Across Clues
42 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: May 11, 2026 at 06:54 AM

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

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

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