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

Monday, June 29, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers June 29, 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: Challenging

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. Not true 5
2A 6. N.Y.C. club that hosted Blondie and the Ramones 4
3A 10. "Scram!" 4
4A 14. Clientele 5
5A 15. BTS fandom 4
6A 16. Classic TV series with asterisks separating the letters of its name 4
7A 17. Screen addiction, e.g. 10
8A 19. Canyon call back 4
9A 20. Word after B or D 3
10A 21. Length x width, for a rectangle 4
11A 22. What food is at dinner 5
12A 23. Where boxers trade jabs 12
13A 26. Cocktail with gin and lime juice 6
14A 29. Word before cheese or uncle 3
15A 30. Hedonistic sort 4
16A 31. Medium-spicy chili peppers 9
17A 37. Clever chap 15
18A 40. Driving slowly in the fast lane and "replying all" to a mass email, for two 9
19A 41. Vishnu avatar 4
20A 42. "Now ___ seen everything" 3
21A 43. Snail's tentacle or butterfly's antenna 6
22A 45. Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Linus Pauling, Martin Luther King Jr. and so on 12
23A 51. Carne ___ (Mexican dish) 5
24A 52. Uncle's wife 4
25A 53. Long sandwich with cold cuts, maybe 3
26A 56. Bouquet holder 4
27A 57. "Meow, meow, meow!," e.g. 10
28A 60. Similar (to) 4
29A 61. Like a child in an amusement park 4
30A 62. "___, meenie, miney, mo" 5
31A 63. Young lady 4
32A 64. Author Morrison who is part of the 45-Across 4
33A 65. Puffs of perfume 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Not true"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
  • Similar words include: put on, fictitious, fictive
  • Opposite of: true
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FALSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. N.Y.C. club that hosted Blondie and the Ramones"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. "Scram!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument
  • Similar words include: scarper, scat singing, run
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Clientele"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. BTS fandom"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
  • Similar words include: ground forces, U. S. Army, United States Army
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Classic TV series with asterisks separating the letters of its name"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mixture of mashed malt grains and hot water; used in brewing
  • Similar words include: romance, grind, crunch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Screen addiction, e.g."

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Canyon call back"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves
  • Similar words include: sound reflection, resound, ring
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Word after B or D"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time for earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
  • Similar words include: sidereal day, twenty-four hour period, Clarence Shepard Day Jr.
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Length x width, for a rectangle"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: domain, orbit, expanse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. What food is at dinner"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take in solid food
  • Similar words include: wipe out, use up, consume
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EATEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Where boxers trade jabs"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Cocktail with gin and lime juice"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cocktail made of gin or vodka and lime juice
  • Similar words include: auger, screw auger, wimble
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIMLET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Word before cheese or uncle"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chance to speak
  • Similar words include: pronounce, suppose, allege
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Hedonistic sort"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dissolute man in fashionable society
  • Similar words include: rip, blood, rakehell
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Medium-spicy chili peppers"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant bearing very hot and finely tapering long peppers; usually red
  • Similar words include: long pepper, cayenne pepper, jalapeno pepper
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JALAPENOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "37. Clever chap"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. Driving slowly in the fast lane and "replying all" to a mass email, for two"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Vishnu avatar"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that avatar of vishnu whose name is synonymous with god; any of three incarnations: ramachandra or parashurama or balarama
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. "Now ___ seen everything""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Snail's tentacle or butterfly's antenna"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of a pair of mobile appendages on the head of e.g. insects and crustaceans; typically sensitive to touch and taste
  • Similar words include: antenna, approach, advance
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEELER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Linus Pauling, Martin Luther King Jr. and so on"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "51. Carne ___ (Mexican dish)"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "52. Uncle's wife"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
  • Similar words include: auntie, aunty
  • Opposite of: uncle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Long sandwich with cold cuts, maybe"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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: Italian sandwich, U-boat, hoagie
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "56. Bouquet holder"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. "Meow, meow, meow!," e.g."

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. Similar (to)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that similar in quality or character
  • Similar words include: kindred, consanguineal, kin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AKIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Like a child in an amusement park"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that highly excited
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. "___, meenie, miney, mo""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Young lady"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a girl or young woman who is unmarried
  • Similar words include: jeune fille, lassie, young girl
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Author Morrison who is part of the 45-Across"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Puffs of perfume"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Elmer who hunts "wabbits" 4
2D 2. On the ocean 4
3D 3. Impose, as a tax 4
4D 4. ___ Lanka 3
5D 5. Make a break from jail 6
6D 6. Spelunker 5
7D 7. Thorny patch 5
8D 8. Big inits. in pickup trucks and vans 3
9D 9. "Ta-ta!" 3
10D 10. Spread, as cream cheese 5
11D 11. Saguaros, e.g. 5
12D 12. Pale 5
13D 13. Underwear that's barely there 5
14D 18. The "E" in Q.E.D. 4
15D 22. Home to the Sphinx 5
16D 23. A quarter or more of one's life, typically 5
17D 24. Majorca and Minorca 5
18D 25. Indian bread 4
19D 26. Rubbery part of a handlebar 4
20D 27. Actress Skye 4
21D 28. Mixed-breed dog 4
22D 31. Talks in an unserious way 5
23D 32. What wines and cheeses do over time 3
24D 33. Wading bird 5
25D 34. Novelist Stephenson 4
26D 35. "My treat!" 4
27D 36. One of seven in the Big Dipper 4
28D 38. Woman's name meaning "night" 5
29D 39. ___ Strauss & Co. 4
30D 43. "Adventures of Huckleberry ___" 4
31D 44. Regard 6
32D 45. Like the force of an armada 5
33D 46. Home to Universal Studios Japan 5
34D 47. On a need-to-know ___ 5
35D 48. Utopias 5
36D 49. Claw 5
37D 50. One of the Super Mario brothers 5
38D 53. Pride and gluttony, for two 4
39D 54. Amount of work on a college transcript 4
40D 55. Drones, e.g. 4
41D 57. What puts the sizzle in bacon 3
42D 58. Freudian "I" 3
43D 59. Floral necklace 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Elmer who hunts "wabbits""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. On the ocean"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in the direction of the sea
  • Similar words include: seawards, seaward
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Impose, as a tax"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a charge imposed and collected
  • Similar words include: raise, levy en masse, impose
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEVY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. ___ Lanka"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Make a break from jail"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of escaping physically
  • Similar words include: outflow, flight, escape cock
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESCAPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Spelunker"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Thorny patch"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips
  • Similar words include: Rosa eglanteria, tree heath, sweetbrier
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRIAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Big inits. in pickup trucks and vans"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "Ta-ta!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that you advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
  • Similar words include: arrivederci, good-by, good day
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Spread, as cream cheese"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slanderous defamation
  • Similar words include: slur, blur, spot
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Saguaros, e.g."

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any succulent plant of the family cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the new world and usually having spines
  • Similar words include: cactus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CACTI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Pale"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anemic looking from illness or emotion; ; ; ; ; - mary w. shelley
  • Similar words include: white, bloodless, blanched
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Underwear that's barely there"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that leather strip that forms the flexible part of a whip
  • Similar words include: G-string, flip-flop, lash
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. The "E" in Q.E.D."

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Home to the Sphinx"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. A quarter or more of one's life, typically"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
  • Similar words include: sopor, quietus, catch some Z's
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Majorca and Minorca"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island
  • Similar words include: isle, islet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Indian bread"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that leavened bread baked in a clay oven in india; usually shaped like a teardrop
  • Similar words include: nan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Rubbery part of a handlebar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of grasping
  • Similar words include: hold, suitcase, travelling bag
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Actress Skye"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Mixed-breed dog"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
  • Similar words include: mongrel, cur
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUTT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Talks in an unserious way"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
  • Similar words include: swing, jive, swing music
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JIVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. What wines and cheeses do over time"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Wading bird"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various usually white herons having long plumes during breeding season
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. Novelist Stephenson"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. "My treat!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. One of seven in the Big Dipper"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
  • Similar words include: maven, virtuoso, wiz
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. Woman's name meaning "night""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. ___ Strauss & Co."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. "Adventures of Huckleberry ___""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of finland
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FINN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Regard"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the condition of being honored (esteemed or respected or well regarded)
  • Similar words include: respect, prize, repute
  • Opposite of: disrespect, disesteem
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTEEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "45. Like the force of an armada"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that connected with or belonging to or used in a navy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Home to Universal Studios Japan"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that port city on southern honshu on osaka bay; a commercial and industrial center of japan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSAKA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "47. On a need-to-know ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relation that provides the foundation for something
  • Similar words include: fundament, foundation, groundwork
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "48. Utopias"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
  • Similar words include: paradise, heaven, Eden
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "49. Claw"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hooked claw especially on a bird of prey
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "50. One of the Super Mario brothers"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "53. Pride and gluttony, for two"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that estrangement from god
  • Similar words include: wickedness, sinfulness, sin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "54. Amount of work on a college transcript"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
  • Similar words include: building block, unit of measurement, social unit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "55. Drones, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
  • Similar words include: personify, equal, follow
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "57. What puts the sizzle in bacon"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft greasy substance occurring in organic tissue and consisting of a mixture of lipids (mostly triglycerides)
  • Similar words include: fatty tissue, fatten, fatten out
  • Opposite of: thin, nonfat
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "58. Freudian "I""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: self-importance, egotism, self
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "59. Floral necklace"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
  • Similar words include: leu, chaplet, wreath
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEI

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
43 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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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: June 29, 2026 at 08:31 AM

Monday, May 25, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 25, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

Master today's NYT crossword with our expert hint system. We provide synonyms, antonyms, and strategic clues to help you solve without spoiling the fun. Perfect for crossword lovers who want that satisfying "aha!" moment.

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Jokes (around) 4
2A 5. Not very spicy 4
3A 9. Super 8 or Red Roof Inn 5
4A 14. Paper cut? 4
5A 15. Big name in laptops 4
6A 16. Public relations concern 5
7A 17. Steamy segment in a movie 9
8A 19. Fruit that makes your lips pucker 5
9A 20. Tennis skirt feature 5
10A 21. Lack of light 8
11A 23. Locale for a plastic flamingo 4
12A 26. Yoga studio essential 3
13A 27. De-tension center? 3
14A 30. Variety of chili that can reach a Scoville score of 1+ million 11
15A 36. European ski destination 4
16A 38. Volcanic spew 3
17A 39. Sample collected by Ancestry.com 6
18A 40. Daily Planet reporter Lois 4
19A 41. Show the ropes 5
20A 43. "___ sesame!" 4
21A 44. Comfortable 6
22A 46. Anguish 3
23A 47. Manage, as a bar 4
24A 48. California national park known for its dryness 11
25A 51. Pigs' digs 3
26A 52. Number starting a countdown 3
27A 53. Sitting on 4
28A 55. Bring dishonor upon 8
29A 60. "I'm sleepy" signals 5
30A 64. Ancient Mexican empire 5
31A 65. 1980s hit with the lyric "Me mind on fire, me soul on fire" ... or how one might describe 17-, 30- and 48-Across? 9
32A 68. Back of a car or front of an elephant 5
33A 69. Orchestral woodwind 4
34A 70. Place of buzziness? 4
35A 71. Most watches have three of these 5
36A 72. Japanese electronics giant 4
37A 73. An estimated 25% of modern phone calls 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Jokes (around)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a young person of either sex
  • Similar words include: child, jolly, kidskin
  • Opposite of: parent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KIDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Not very spicy"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
  • Similar words include: meek, balmy, modest
  • Opposite of: intense
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MILD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Super 8 or Red Roof Inn"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motor hotel
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOTEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Paper cut?"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting
  • Similar words include: redact, delete, cut
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Big name in laptops"

4 letters Category: Common Word

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!

6A: "16. Public relations concern"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an iconic mental representation
  • Similar words include: envision, effigy, simulacrum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Steamy segment in a movie"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Fruit that makes your lips pucker"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh
  • Similar words include: lemon yellow, maize, Citrus limon
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEMON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Tennis skirt feature"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various types of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and then pressing or stitching into shape
  • Similar words include: plait, plicate, ruffle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Lack of light"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that absence of light or illumination
  • Similar words include: dark, iniquity, wickedness
  • Opposite of: lightness, light
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARKNESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Locale for a plastic flamingo"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a field of cultivated and mowed grass
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "26. Yoga studio essential"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
  • Similar words include: matted, lusterlessness, matte
  • Opposite of: disentangle, unsnarl
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. De-tension center?"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: watering place, health club, watering hole
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Variety of chili that can reach a Scoville score of 1+ million"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "36. European ski destination"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large mountain system in south-central europe; scenic beauty and winter sports make them a popular tourist attraction
  • Similar words include: the Alps, alp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "38. Volcanic spew"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the residue that remains when something is burned
  • Similar words include: ash tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "39. Sample collected by Ancestry.com"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
  • Similar words include: spittle, spit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALIVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. Daily Planet reporter Lois"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrow way or road
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Show the ropes"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an english pirate who operated in the caribbean and off the atlantic coast of north america (died in 1718)
  • Similar words include: instruct, learn, Thatch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEACH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. "___ sesame!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: undefendable, receptive, surface
  • Opposite of: fold, closed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Comfortable"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Anguish"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
  • Similar words include: suffering, woefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Manage, as a bar"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined
  • Similar words include: incline, lean, be given
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. California national park known for its dryness"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Pigs' digs"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. Number starting a countdown"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
  • Similar words include: decade, x, X
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Sitting on"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that on, to, or at the top
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Bring dishonor upon"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
  • Similar words include: asperse, sully, denigrate
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BESMIRCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. "I'm sleepy" signals"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
  • Similar words include: yaw, oscitancy, yawn
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YAWNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Ancient Mexican empire"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the nahuatl people who established an empire in mexico that was overthrown by cortes in 1519
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AZTEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. 1980s hit with the lyric "Me mind on fire, me soul on fire" ... or how one might describe 17-, 30- and 48-Across?"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "68. Back of a car or front of an elephant"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
  • Similar words include: tree trunk, proboscis, torso
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUNK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "69. Orchestral woodwind"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slender double-reed instrument; a woodwind with a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece
  • Similar words include: hautboy, hautbois
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "70. Place of buzziness?"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a teeming multitude
  • Similar words include: beehive
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "71. Most watches have three of these"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
  • Similar words include: helping hand, bridge player, handwriting
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "72. Japanese electronics giant"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "73. An estimated 25% of modern phone calls"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a canned meat made largely from pork
  • Similar words include: junk e-mail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Seaweed in an underwater forest 4
2D 2. Revered figure 4
3D 3. Go off the deep end? 4
4D 4. Incredible bargain 5
5D 5. Kraft ___ & Cheese 3
6D 6. Lead-in to maker or breaker 3
7D 7. Give, but expect back 4
8D 8. Experienced during sleep 6
9D 9. Frothy drink often served with boba 7
10D 10. A ladybug landing on you is considered a good one 4
11D 11. Opposite of wild 4
12D 12. Alter ___ (other selves) 4
13D 13. Camera shop purchase 4
14D 18. Adult male deer 4
15D 22. A hardened criminal might have a long one 8
16D 24. "Yeah, yeah" 8
17D 25. Missing part of the Great Sphinx of Giza 4
18D 27. Leafy lunch order 5
19D 28. Piece of armadillo armor 5
20D 29. Common sleep disorder 5
21D 31. Item worn over the shoulders 5
22D 32. "The ___ thickens ..." 4
23D 33. Vocal cords, informally 5
24D 34. Happening 5
25D 35. Singer Newman with the hit "You've Got a Friend in Me" 5
26D 37. Chair or pew 4
27D 42. Coke or Pepsi 4
28D 45. Gimmicky routines 7
29D 49. Dried poblanos used in mole sauce 6
30D 50. Toy on a string 4
31D 54. Trails 5
32D 55. Relaxing soak 4
33D 56. Book just after Ezekiel, alphabetically 4
34D 57. Flabbergast 4
35D 58. Patch up 4
36D 59. Drifter in search of work 4
37D 61. What to do with egg whites when making meringue 4
38D 62. Luminous stellar explosion 4
39D 63. Women in ___ (educational advocacy group) 4
40D 66. Colossal quantity 3
41D 67. "Yoo-hoo!" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Seaweed in an underwater forest"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Revered figure"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a material effigy that is worshipped
  • Similar words include: god, paragon, graven image
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Go off the deep end?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
  • Similar words include: plunk, nosedive, plunge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Incredible bargain"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an advantageous purchase
  • Similar words include: slip, buy, bargain
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Kraft ___ & Cheese"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
  • Similar words include: mack, macintosh, mackintosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lead-in to maker or breaker"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Give, but expect back"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bestow a quality on
  • Similar words include: bring, contribute, add
  • Opposite of: borrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Experienced during sleep"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy
  • Similar words include: daydream, dream, stargaze
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREAMT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Frothy drink often served with boba"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. A ladybug landing on you is considered a good one"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Opposite of wild"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that correct by punishment or discipline
  • Similar words include: reclaim, meek, cultivate
  • Opposite of: wild
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Alter ___ (other selves)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: ego, egotism, self
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Camera shop purchase"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images
  • Similar words include: lens of the eye, lense, genus Lens
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Adult male deer"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. A hardened criminal might have a long one"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. "Yeah, yeah""

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one or some or every or all without specification
  • Similar words include: whatsoever, any
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHATEVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Missing part of the Great Sphinx of Giza"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: intrude, poke, scent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Leafy lunch order"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Piece of armadillo armor"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
  • Similar words include: crustal plate, home base, home
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Common sleep disorder"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that transient cessation of respiration
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APNEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Item worn over the shoulders"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cloak consisting of an oblong piece of cloth used to cover the head and shoulders
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. "The ___ thickens ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
  • Similar words include: plot of ground, secret plan, diagram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Vocal cords, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
  • Similar words include: pipe up, pip, mop up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIPES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Happening"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that happens at a given place and time
  • Similar words include: issue, case, outcome
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Singer Newman with the hit "You've Got a Friend in Me""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feeling great sexual desire
  • Similar words include: horny, aroused, turned on
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RANDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. Chair or pew"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Coke or Pepsi"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large genus of african trees bearing kola nuts
  • Similar words include: El Salvadoran colon, Colon, colon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Gimmicky routines"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (yiddish) a little; a piece
  • Similar words include: schtick, shtick, schtik
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHTICKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "49. Dried poblanos used in mole sauce"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "50. Toy on a string"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "54. Trails"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a course of conduct
  • Similar words include: itinerary, path, route
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "55. Relaxing soak"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a constant temperature or to lubricate it)
  • Similar words include: bathe, bathroom, tub
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "56. Book just after Ezekiel, alphabetically"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a jewish priest and scribe sent by the persian king to restore jewish law and worship in jerusalem
  • Similar words include: Book of Ezra
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EZRA

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34D: "57. Flabbergast"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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35D: "58. Patch up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sewing that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment)
  • Similar words include: doctor, reparation, repair
  • Opposite of: break
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEND

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36D: "59. Drifter in search of work"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disreputable vagrant
  • Similar words include: bum, tramp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOBO

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37D: "61. What to do with egg whites when making meringue"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an instrument with a handle and a flexible lash that is used for whipping
  • Similar words include: welt, trounce, pip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHIP

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38D: "62. Luminous stellar explosion"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a star that ejects some of its material in the form of a cloud and become more luminous in the process
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOVA

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39D: "63. Women in ___ (educational advocacy group)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
  • Similar words include: stalk, shank, stem turn
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEM

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40D: "66. Colossal quantity"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united states unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds
  • Similar words include: net ton, long ton, short ton
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TON

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41D: "67. "Yoo-hoo!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 25, 2026 at 08:04 AM