Search Clues

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

Monday, August 31, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 31, 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. Part of a dance 4
2A 5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper 4
3A 9. Slightly intoxicated 5
4A 14. Fancy 4
5A 15. Worms and such on hooks 4
6A 16. Be of the same mind 5
7A 17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys 4
8A 18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli 4
9A 19. Ransacks 5
10A 20. One who regularly drops things 13
11A 23. The : English :: ___ : French 3
12A 24. Letter after sigma 3
13A 25. One dining on Friskies 3
14A 28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building" 5
15A 31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature 9
16A 34. Director DuVernay 3
17A 35. Pathetic 3
18A 36. Examine at length 6
19A 37. Took shots first, then paid for them later 7
20A 40. Clothing sizes for shorter women 7
21A 41. Ski in zigzags 6
22A 42. "Far out!" 3
23A 43. Tetra- minus one 3
24A 44. Newlyweds' getaway 9
25A 46. Owl sounds 5
26A 48. Actress de Armas 3
27A 49. 401(k) relative 3
28A 50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g. 3
29A 51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across? 13
30A 58. Inuit for "house" 5
31A 60. Italian hello 4
32A 61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.) 4
33A 62. Tennis locale 5
34A 63. Pre-Easter observance 4
35A 64. R-rated, maybe 4
36A 65. A cube has 12 of them 5
37A 66. Petrol brand 4
38A 67. Easter egg decorating supplies 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Part of a dance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Slightly intoxicated"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slightly intoxicated
  • Similar words include: tiddly, potty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIPSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Fancy"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegant and sumptuous
  • Similar words include: de luxe, deluxe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Worms and such on hooks"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that serves as an enticement
  • Similar words include: rag, tantalize, twit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Be of the same mind"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be in accord; be in agreement
  • Similar words include: match, consort, tally
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
  • Similar words include: genus Otis, Elisha Graves Otis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Ransacks"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goods or money obtained illegally
  • Similar words include: cabbage, moolah, strip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. One who regularly drops things"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who drops things (especially one who cannot catch a ball)
  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUTTERFINGERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. The : English :: ___ : French"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
  • Similar words include: LE, lupus erythematosus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Letter after sigma"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 19th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. One dining on Friskies"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: kat, sick, khat
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles
  • Similar words include: Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JELLYFISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Director DuVernay"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Pathetic"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; ; - christina rossetti
  • Similar words include: deplorable, pitiful, lamentable
  • Opposite of: glad
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Examine at length"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that examine or consider with attention and in detail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Took shots first, then paid for them later"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Clothing sizes for shorter women"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for short or slender women
  • Similar words include: petite
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Ski in zigzags"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a downhill race over a winding course defined by upright poles
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLALOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. "Far out!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material
  • Similar words include: radian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Tetra- minus one"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Newlyweds' getaway"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a holiday taken by a newly married couple
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONEYMOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Owl sounds"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
  • Similar words include: tinker's dam, Bronx cheer, raspberry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Actress de Armas"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. 401(k) relative"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
  • Similar words include: wrath, individual retirement account, Irish Republican Army
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a humorous play on words
  • Similar words include: wordplay, punning, paronomasia
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPREADTHEWORD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "58. Inuit for "house""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
  • Similar words include: iglu
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGLOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Italian hello"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is hawaiian and ciao is italian)
  • Similar words include: aloha
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "62. Tennis locale"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
  • Similar words include: tribunal, courtroom, motor lodge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. Pre-Easter observance"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 40 weekdays from ash wednesday to holy saturday
  • Similar words include: lend, bestow, add
  • Opposite of: borrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. R-rated, maybe"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of zest or vigor
  • Similar words include: robust, naughty, gamey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "65. A cube has 12 of them"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the boundary of a surface
  • Similar words include: inch, butt, edge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "66. Petrol brand"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "67. Easter egg decorating supplies"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
  • Similar words include: dyestuff, dye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Mess maker 4
2D 2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy 4
3D 3. Off-ramp 4
4D 4. Pulverizing tool 6
5D 5. Alternatives to Lyfts 5
6D 6. Baby whale 4
7D 7. In finite supply 7
8D 8. Lacking a musical key 6
9D 9. A ___ as old as time 4
10D 10. Composer Stravinsky 4
11D 11. Ham on an antipasto platter 10
12D 12. Solidify 3
13D 13. "You called?" 3
14D 21. Sinuous swimmer 3
15D 22. Swallowed hard 6
16D 26. Aver 6
17D 27. Graduate student's project 6
18D 28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist) 6
19D 29. Island of Arthurian legend 6
20D 30. Fruit-resembling mollusk 10
21D 31. The "one" of a one-two 3
22D 32. So far 3
23D 33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr. 3
24D 35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang 6
25D 38. Ginger ___ 3
26D 39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo 3
27D 40. Deep-dish vessel 3
28D 42. Support staff for a rock band 7
29D 45. Soothsayer 6
30D 46. Tint 3
31D 47. "To victory!" 6
32D 50. Part of an Instagram post 5
33D 52. Skin opening 4
34D 53. Goes bad 4
35D 54. Gets bronzed at the beach 4
36D 55. Brand with "anti-aging" products 4
37D 56. Bibimbap base 4
38D 57. Pages on a desk calendar 4
39D 58. "Rocks" at a bar 3
40D 59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Mess maker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a coarse obnoxious person
  • Similar words include: pig, slovenly person, sloven
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that south african prelate and leader of the antiapartheid struggle (born in 1931)
  • Similar words include: ballet skirt, Desmond Tutu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUTU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Off-ramp"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening that permits escape or release
  • Similar words include: snuff it, croak, cash in one's chips
  • Opposite of: be born, enter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pulverizing tool"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores
  • Similar words include: pounder, muller, stamp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PESTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Alternatives to Lyfts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Baby whale"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of domestic cattle
  • Similar words include: sura, calfskin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. In finite supply"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops
  • Similar words include: confine, restrain, express
  • Opposite of: unlimited, local
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIMITED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Lacking a musical key"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that characterized by avoidance of traditional western tonality
  • Similar words include: unkeyed
  • Opposite of: tonal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATONAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. A ___ as old as time"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
  • Similar words include: narrative, narration, tarradiddle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Composer Stravinsky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ham on an antipasto platter"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian salt-cured ham usually sliced paper thin
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROSCIUTTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Solidify"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "You called?""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an affirmative
  • Opposite of: no
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Sinuous swimmer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Swallowed hard"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
  • Similar words include: swig, quaff, gulp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GULPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Aver"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that state categorically
  • Similar words include: verify, asseverate, maintain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Graduate student's project"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument
  • Similar words include: dissertation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THESIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Island of Arthurian legend"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Fruit-resembling mollusk"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. The "one" of a one-two"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: stab, thrust, thrusting
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. So far"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that up to the present time
  • Similar words include: nonetheless, as yet, thus far
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
  • Similar words include: Friday
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Ginger ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an artifact designed to be played with
  • Similar words include: miniature, fiddle, play
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Deep-dish vessel"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel
  • Similar words include: pan off, tear apart, pan out
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Support staff for a rock band"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Soothsayer"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an authoritative person who divines the future
  • Similar words include: prophet, vaticinator, seer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORACLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Tint"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
  • Similar words include: imbue, chromaticity
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. "To victory!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that forward in time or order or degree
  • Similar words include: forth, forrader, ahead
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONWARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Part of an Instagram post"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material
  • Similar words include: pic, picture, photograph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHOTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Skin opening"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)
  • Similar words include: stomate, rivet, centre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Goes bad"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
  • Similar words include: molder, bunk, rotting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Gets bronzed at the beach"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: tangent, suntan, tan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Brand with "anti-aging" products"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Bibimbap base"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
  • Similar words include: Elmer Leopold Rice, Sir Tim Rice, Elmer Reizenstein
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Pages on a desk calendar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time during which someone's life continues
  • Similar words include: twenty-four hour period, mean solar day, daylight
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. "Rocks" at a bar"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
  • Similar words include: divinity, idol, Supreme Being
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOD

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

38 Across Clues
40 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: August 31, 2026 at 09:56 AM

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 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: 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. [Taps casino table] 5
2A 6. Signs of treble? 5
3A 11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend) 3
4A 14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley 5
5A 15. Deck in divination 5
6A 16. Mil. authority 3
7A 17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this 11
8A 19. Possessed 3
9A 20. Lotto-like casino game 4
10A 21. Summer treats in small cups 4
11A 22. Sounds of sudden vanishing 5
12A 24. Zero 4
13A 26. Inverse of kilo- 5
14A 27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889 14
15A 32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit 5
16A 33. Tribal home, maybe, informally 3
17A 34. Reason to take a painkiller 4
18A 35. So-called "melting pot," in brief 3
19A 36. E-bike alternative 7
20A 40. One ___ time 3
21A 41. Bubbles in a bubble bath 4
22A 43. A QR code might access one 3
23A 44. Purplish perennial 5
24A 46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list 14
25A 50. Ransacks 5
26A 51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products 4
27A 52. Stays in line, say 5
28A 53. Hawaiian goose 4
29A 55. Thumbs-down votes 4
30A 59. Buried 3
31A 60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across? 11
32A 63. Fruit drink 3
33A 64. On a higher level 5
34A 65. Second-chance show 5
35A 66. Org. with metal detectors 3
36A 67. Supped 5
37A 68. Paradises 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. [Taps casino table]"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Signs of treble?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it
  • Similar words include: clef
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLEFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Deck in divination"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
  • Similar words include: tarot card
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Mil. authority"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Possessed"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense
  • Similar words include: ingest, receive, sustain
  • Opposite of: refuse, abstain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Lotto-like casino game"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
  • Similar words include: bingo, lotto, beano
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KENO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Summer treats in small cups"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: ice, frost, deoxyephedrine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Sounds of sudden vanishing"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that offensive term for an openly homosexual man
  • Similar words include: pouf, poof, pansy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POOFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Zero"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cipher, zip, zippo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NADA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Inverse of kilo-"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VINCENTVANGOGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Tribal home, maybe, informally"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Reason to take a painkiller"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain
  • Similar words include: languish, smart, hurt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. So-called "melting pot," in brief"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that north american republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in north america plus alaska in northwest north america and the hawaiian islands in the pacific ocean; achieved independence in 1776
  • Similar words include: U.S., US, U. S. Army
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. E-bike alternative"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motorboat resembling a motor scooter
  • Similar words include: motor scooter, sea scooter, water scooter
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCOOTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. One ___ time"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Bubbles in a bubble bath"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the froth produced by soaps or detergents
  • Similar words include: spume, froth, lather
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. A QR code might access one"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the address of a web page on the world wide web
  • Similar words include: universal resource locator, uniform resource locator
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Purplish perennial"

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!

24A: "46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANNIBALLECTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Ransacks"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goods or money obtained illegally
  • Similar words include: sugar, swag, despoil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Stays in line, say"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time during which some action is awaited
  • Similar words include: await, waiting, hold off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Hawaiian goose"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Thumbs-down votes"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: nay
  • Opposite of: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Buried"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prevent from being seen or discovered
  • Similar words include: hide out, obliterate, obscure
  • Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across?"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Fruit drink"

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!

33A: "64. On a higher level"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an earlier section of a written text
  • Similar words include: supra, higher up, to a higher place
  • Opposite of: below
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABOVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Second-chance show"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a program that is broadcast again
  • Similar words include: rebroadcast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RERUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Org. with metal detectors"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
  • Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Supped"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have supper; eat dinner
  • Similar words include: boom, din, dine
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Paradises"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
  • Similar words include: Garden of Eden, Shangri-la, promised land
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Pawn 4
2D 2. Concerning 4
3D 3. One subject to a curfew, maybe 4
4D 4. So-called "Queen of Pop" 7
5D 5. Former Giant Manning 3
6D 6. Healthy self-image? 6
7D 7. Tie up 4
8D 8. God depicted with a bow 4
9D 9. Word between "word" and "word" 3
10D 10. Intervene 6
11D 11. Sound-track? 10
12D 12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage 10
13D 13. Calculated ratios 4
14D 18. Era competitor 4
15D 23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk" 4
16D 25. Behaves 4
17D 26. Where you might lose your way 4
18D 27. Demo graphics, maybe 10
19D 28. "This is news to me!" 10
20D 29. Cyber punk? 5
21D 30. Tick doc 3
22D 31. When repeated, "Preach!" 4
23D 32. When repeated, secret 4
24D 37. Bear's heirs? 4
25D 38. 60 minuti 3
26D 39. Pulse quickly, as the heart 4
27D 42. Bratty kid 4
28D 45. Was a fangirl of, say 7
29D 47. "Really awful" 6
30D 48. Connected 6
31D 49. Scraped (by) 4
32D 52. "Huh?" 4
33D 53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall 4
34D 54. Roof projection 4
35D 56. Farming area 4
36D 57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope" 4
37D 58. Tax IDs 4
38D 61. Result of a solo homer, for short 3
39D 62. "There you ___!" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Pawn"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several white wines from the rhine river valley in germany (`hock' is british usage)
  • Similar words include: Rhine wine, pawn, hock-joint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOCK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Concerning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. One subject to a curfew, maybe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity
  • Similar words include: teenage, adolescent, teenaged
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. So-called "Queen of Pop""

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the mother of jesus; christians refer to her as the virgin mary; she is especially honored by roman catholics
  • Similar words include: Madonna Louise Ciccone, Blessed Virgin, Mary
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADONNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Former Giant Manning"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Healthy self-image?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Tie up"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)
  • Similar words include: entwine, braid, interlace
  • Opposite of: untwine
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. God depicted with a bow"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) god of love; son of aphrodite; identified with roman cupid
  • Similar words include: physical attraction, concupiscence, sexual desire
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Word between "word" and "word""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Intervene"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Sound-track?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Calculated ratios"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
  • Similar words include: betting odds
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Era competitor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
  • Similar words include: surge, lunar time period
  • Opposite of: ebb
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Behaves"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
  • Similar words include: dissemble, play, routine
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Where you might lose your way"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
  • Similar words include: labyrinth, tangle, snarl
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Demo graphics, maybe"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. "This is news to me!""

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Cyber punk?"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
  • Similar words include: round, trolling
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Tick doc"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a doctor who practices veterinary medicine
  • Similar words include: veteran, veterinary surgeon, veterinarian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. When repeated, "Preach!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
  • Similar words include: try, see, find out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. When repeated, secret"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poetic) tranquil silence
  • Similar words include: shut up, quieten, quiet down
  • Opposite of: louden
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Bear's heirs?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an awkward and inexperienced youth
  • Similar words include: sonny boy, sonny, rookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. 60 minuti"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: os, bone, oculus sinister
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Pulse quickly, as the heart"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any competition
  • Similar words include: hasten, cannonball along, hotfoot
  • Opposite of: linger
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Bratty kid"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
  • Similar words include: snob, snoot, prig
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Was a fangirl of, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. "Really awful""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Connected"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make a logical or causal connection
  • Similar words include: colligate, joined, link up
  • Opposite of: disconnect, dissociate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LINKED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Scraped (by)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. "Huh?""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: Ne, atomic number 10
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Roof projection"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Farming area"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Tax IDs"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "61. Result of a solo homer, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a run that is the result of the batter's performance
  • Similar words include: run batted in
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. "There you ___!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
  • Similar words include: equal, comprise, follow
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE

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
39 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: February 25, 2026 at 05:09 AM