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

Monday, September 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 21, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Where Mongolia is 4
2A 5. Scaredy-cat 4
3A 9. Leafs (through) 5
4A 14. Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize 4
5A 15. Berry at a smoothie shop 4
6A 16. Company behind the game Pong 5
7A 17. Mentally pooped 15
8A 20. 1960s service site, informally 3
9A 21. Common injury site for a basketball player, informally 3
10A 22. Thick, as plant growth 4
11A 23. Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam 14
12A 28. Commercial that may come with a jingle 7
13A 29. Took a chair 3
14A 30. Eager 4
15A 31. Hair parter 4
16A 34. Continue a subscription 5
17A 38. Barely passing grade 3
18A 39. Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across 7
19A 41. Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate 3
20A 42. Sometimes-floral organic compound 5
21A 44. Draped Indian garment 4
22A 45. ___-X (computer command to cut text) 4
23A 46. Crosses (out) 3
24A 48. Conjures up, say 7
25A 50. "If I'm being honest ..." 14
26A 54. Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna 4
27A 55. Opposite of 'neath 3
28A 56. Fools' mo. 3
29A 57. "A fight requires more than one person" 15
30A 63. "I'm available to help" 5
31A 64. Modern note-taking aid 4
32A 65. Plant in a marsh 4
33A 66. Spanish babies 5
34A 67. What a paper airplane icon may indicate 4
35A 68. Thing in a grove 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Where Mongolia is"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Scaredy-cat"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy
  • Similar words include: chicken, weakly interacting massive particle, crybaby
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Leafs (through)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
  • Similar words include: varlet, foliate, Thomas Nelson Page
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something of little value
  • Similar words include: darn, curse, infernal
  • Opposite of: bless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAMN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Berry at a smoothie shop"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Company behind the game Pong"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Mentally pooped"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. 1960s service site, informally"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Common injury site for a basketball player, informally"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Thick, as plant growth"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually
  • Similar words include: alky, boozer, alcoholic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "28. Commercial that may come with a jingle"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Took a chair"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
  • Similar words include: Sabbatum, posture, pose
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Eager"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `for') ardently or excessively desirous
  • Similar words include: zealous, esurient, greedy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Hair parter"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
  • Similar words include: comb out, disentangle, ransack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Continue a subscription"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new
  • Similar words include: regenerate, reincarnate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Barely passing grade"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time of life between 40 and 50
  • Similar words include: 40, mid-forties, 1940s
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FORTIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Sometimes-floral organic compound"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Draped Indian garment"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dress worn primarily by hindu women; consists of several yards of light material that is draped around the body
  • Similar words include: saree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. ___-X (computer command to cut text)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Crosses (out)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless inert gaseous element occurring in the earth's atmosphere in trace amounts
  • Similar words include: xenon, disco biscuit, cristal
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: XES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Conjures up, say"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make or cause to be or to become
  • Similar words include: produce, create, make
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. "If I'm being honest ...""

14 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make very hot and dry
  • Similar words include: blacken, singe, char
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Opposite of 'neath"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. Fools' mo."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following march and preceding may
  • Similar words include: April
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. "A fight requires more than one person""

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "63. "I'm available to help""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "64. Modern note-taking aid"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Plant in a marsh"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera arundo and phragmites
  • Similar words include: vibrating reed, John Reed, beating-reed instrument
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Spanish babies"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. What a paper airplane icon may indicate"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: air, transmit, send off
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. Thing in a grove"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
  • Similar words include: shoetree, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, tree diagram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Big letters in home security 3
2D 2. ___ Paulo, Brazil 3
3D 3. Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks" 9
4D 4. Relief for an upset stomach 7
5D 5. Simple two-player card game 3
6D 6. Drink cooler 3
7D 7. Angry with 5
8D 8. Throw from a mound 5
9D 9. Butter square 3
10D 10. Any Olympian 7
11D 11. First name of Julius Caesar 5
12D 12. Artist Max 5
13D 13. Worshiper in a turban 4
14D 18. Texter's qualifier 4
15D 19. Cries in a fΓΊtbol stadium 4
16D 23. Barter 5
17D 24. Roof overhangs 5
18D 25. It may have a hard or soft shell 4
19D 26. Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons 5
20D 27. Paves the way? 4
21D 32. N.Y.C. subway letters 3
22D 33. Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper 5
23D 35. Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery 9
24D 36. Spearfishing bird 5
25D 37. People of SW Britain 5
26D 39. Without charge 4
27D 40. The Emerald Isle 4
28D 43. Like skydiving or cliff-diving 7
29D 45. Dashboard or bumper 7
30D 47. Place to put a coin 4
31D 49. Coup d'___ 4
32D 50. Joke with 5
33D 51. Like some wine barrels 5
34D 52. ___ and Clark 5
35D 53. Familiar narrative device 5
36D 54. Leave dumbfounded 4
37D 58. French possessive 3
38D 59. Catch some rays 3
39D 60. Bizarre 3
40D 61. "Golly!" 3
41D 62. Poetic tribute 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Big letters in home security"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. ___ Paulo, Brazil"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks""

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Relief for an upset stomach"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity (especially in the stomach)
  • Similar words include: alkalizer, gastric antacid, antiacid
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Simple two-player card game"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: make peace, peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Drink cooler"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Angry with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Throw from a mound"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
  • Similar words include: cant over, flip, cant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Butter square"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Any Olympian"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person trained to compete in sports
  • Similar words include: jock
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHLETE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. First name of Julius Caesar"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor who succeeded tiberius and whose uncontrolled passions resulted in manifest insanity; noted for his cruelty and tyranny; was assassinated (12-41)
  • Similar words include: Caligula, Gaius Caesar
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAIUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Artist Max"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that painter (born in germany, resident of france and the united states) who was a cofounder of dadaism; developed the technique of collage (1891-1976)
  • Similar words include: Max Ernst
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERNST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Worshiper in a turban"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adherent of sikhism
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIKH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Texter's qualifier"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Cries in a fΓΊtbol stadium"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Barter"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
  • Similar words include: trade in, switch, craft
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Roof overhangs"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. It may have a hard or soft shell"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of mexican descent
  • Similar words include: greaser, wetback
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TACO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: smell, olfactory property, aroma
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Paves the way?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
  • Similar words include: seaman, pitch, tar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. N.Y.C. subway letters"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
  • Similar words include: birchen, birken, birch tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIRCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Spearfishing bird"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

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: "37. People of SW Britain"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or resident of wales
  • Similar words include: Cambrian, welch, Cymric
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WELSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Without charge"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are free
  • Similar words include: relinquish, gratis, liberate
  • Opposite of: confine, lodge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. The Emerald Isle"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of ireland; achieved independence from the united kingdom in 1921
  • Similar words include: Republic of Ireland, Irish Republic, Ireland
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Like skydiving or cliff-diving"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the furthest or highest degree of something
  • Similar words include: utmost, extremum, extreme point
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXTREME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Dashboard or bumper"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Place to put a coin"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position in a grammatical linguistic construction in which a variety of alternative units are interchangeable
  • Similar words include: time slot, expansion slot, one-armed bandit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Coup d'___"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Joke with"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
  • Similar words include: cod, fluff, pester
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Like some wine barrels"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that consisting of or made of wood of the oak tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAKEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. ___ and Clark"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
  • Similar words include: Frederick Carleton Lewis, Carl Lewis, C. S. Lewis
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEWIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Familiar narrative device"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
  • Similar words include: figure of speech, image, figure
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Leave dumbfounded"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. French possessive"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur and tellurium; occurs in several allotropic forms; a stable grey metallike allotrope conducts electricity better in the light than in the dark and is used in photocells; occurs in sulfide ores (as pyrite)
  • Similar words include: sulfur, reciprocal ohm, southward
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Catch some rays"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: sunburn, suntan, burn
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "60. Bizarre"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not divisible by two
  • Similar words include: uneven, unmatched, queer
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "61. "Golly!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "62. Poetic tribute"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: September 21, 2026 at 09:08 AM

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 08, 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. Cartographers' concerns 4
2A 5. Go by 6
3A 11. Helpful skill for guessers 3
4A 14. Working obediently 4
5A 15. Mickey with an Oscar nomination for "The Wrestler" 6
6A 16. ChampiΓ±ones ___ plancha (Spanish dish) 3
7A 17. [C/P]ause 11
8A 19. Droop 3
9A 20. Food mentioned in the Lord's Prayer 5
10A 21. What "Eat" stands for in the mnemonic "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" 4
11A 22. Buzz before a release 4
12A 23. Low-quality synthetic images, informally 6
13A 25. Prepare to drive, in golf 5
14A 27. [L/C]ure 12
15A 32. Result of touching poison ivy 4
16A 35. "The Deer Hunter" setting, in brief 3
17A 36. Old, as a joke 5
18A 37. Casual refusal 3
19A 38. "Way to go, kid!" 7
20A 41. Heir to the throne, maybe 3
21A 42. Like a good explanation, say 5
22A 44. Brain ___ 3
23A 45. Prominent features of tarsiers 4
24A 46. [M/H]inds 12
25A 50. Fitness fad popularized by Billy Blanks 5
26A 51. "Animal Farm" or "The Simpsons" 6
27A 55. Soccer great Mia 4
28A 57. Apartment with a high ceiling 4
29A 60. New beginning 5
30A 61. Pub order 3
31A 62. [Z/R]est 11
32A 64. Magic setting, in brief 3
33A 65. List of things to discuss 6
34A 66. Mother of a stable family? 4
35A 67. ___ pal 3
36A 68. Individual 6
37A 69. Hershey toffee bar 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Cartographers' concerns"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface (or part of it)
  • Similar words include: single-valued function, represent, map
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Go by"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: slip by, go along, pass
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAPSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Helpful skill for guessers"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Working obediently"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Mickey with an Oscar nomination for "The Wrestler""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. ChampiΓ±ones ___ plancha (Spanish dish)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. [C/P]ause"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Droop"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shape that sags
  • Similar words include: droop, sag down, flag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Food mentioned in the Lord's Prayer"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
  • Similar words include: clams, staff of life, shekels
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. What "Eat" stands for in the mnemonic "Never Eat Soggy Waffles""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
  • Similar words include: Orient, due east, E
  • Opposite of: west
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Buzz before a release"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that blatant or sensational promotion
  • Similar words include: ballyhoo, hoopla, plug
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Low-quality synthetic images, informally"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Prepare to drive, in golf"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. [L/C]ure"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Result of touching poison ivy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation
  • Similar words include: scratch, itchiness, urge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. "The Deer Hunter" setting, in brief"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Old, as a joke"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that urinate, of cattle and horses
  • Similar words include: cold, moth-eaten, dusty
  • Opposite of: fresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Casual refusal"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. "Way to go, kid!""

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Heir to the throne, maybe"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male human offspring
  • Similar words include: Word, Logos, boy
  • Opposite of: daughter, girl
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Like a good explanation, say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of being free of suspicion
  • Similar words include: clear up, sack, elucidate
  • Opposite of: overcast, unclear
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Brain ___"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
  • Similar words include: putrefaction, molder, hogwash
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Prominent features of tarsiers"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that opinion or judgment
  • Similar words include: eye, center, heart
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. [M/H]inds"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Fitness fad popularized by Billy Blanks"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. "Animal Farm" or "The Simpsons""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that witty language used to convey insults or scorn; ; ; --jonathan swift
  • Similar words include: caustic remark, sarcasm, irony
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Soccer great Mia"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Apartment with a high ceiling"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that floor consisting of a large unpartitioned space over a factory or warehouse or other commercial space
  • Similar words include: garret, pigeon loft, attic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. New beginning"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that device for resetting instruments or controls
  • Similar words include: readjust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Pub order"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

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!

31A: "62. [Z/R]est"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Magic setting, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. List of things to discuss"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
  • Similar words include: docket, agendum, schedule
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGENDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Mother of a stable family?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that female equine animal
  • Similar words include: maria, female horse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. ___ pal"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
  • Similar words include: gallon
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "68. Individual"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human being
  • Similar words include: mortal, somebody, individual
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERSON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. Hershey toffee bar"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Black ___, nickname for Kobe Bryant 5
2D 2. Company that created Pong 5
3D 3. Fish, roads or weapons that are long and thin 5
4D 4. Sneakiness 7
5D 5. Goof 3
6D 6. Brain or ear part 4
7D 7. Coolness, of a sort 4
8D 8. Magician's cry 6
9D 9. Many a Winter Olympian 6
10D 10. "Holy moley!" 3
11D 11. "No sweat!" 9
12D 12. ___ on the wrist 4
13D 13. Word with home or half 4
14D 18. What cologne may mask 4
15D 22. Injured 4
16D 24. Pub order 4
17D 26. Site for "unique and creative" items 4
18D 28. "Sleep is like a ___: It only comes to you if you ignore it": Gillian Flynn 3
19D 29. Big box store that merged with Sears in 2005 5
20D 30. Sunburn remedy 4
21D 31. X's, sometimes 4
22D 32. Ruler division 4
23D 33. Tall story 4
24D 34. Weekly reward for a strict dieter, maybe 9
25D 38. Keister, in Leicester 4
26D 39. Feathered accessory that won't constrict you 3
27D 40. Singer Redding 4
28D 43. First in a race? 4
29D 45. Regards highly 7
30D 47. Do a favor 6
31D 48. Worker overhead 6
32D 49. Cooking fat 4
33D 52. Chris with the 1991 hit "Wicked Game" 5
34D 53. Cool again, maybe 5
35D 54. Heavens 5
36D 55. Rest like a bat 4
37D 56. Jessica of "Fantastic Four" 4
38D 58. Marshy areas 4
39D 59. Task on a list 4
40D 62. Greatly surpass, as competitors in a race 3
41D 63. Raced 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Black ___, nickname for Kobe Bryant"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that arboreal snake of central and southern africa whose bite is often fatal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAMBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Company that created Pong"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Fish, roads or weapons that are long and thin"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
  • Similar words include: freeway, thruway, motorway
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIKES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Sneakiness"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that avoiding detection by moving carefully
  • Similar words include: stealing
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEALTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Goof"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Similar words include: mistake, stray, drift
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Brain or ear part"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (anatomy) a somewhat rounded subdivision of a bodily organ or part
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOBE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Coolness, of a sort"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: gloriole, halo, atmosphere
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Magician's cry"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of tempo) very fast
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRESTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Many a Winter Olympian"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who skates
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKATER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Holy moley!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "No sweat!""

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ on the wrist"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)
  • Similar words include: bang, smack, smacking
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Word with home or half"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
  • Similar words include: Thomas Nelson Page, Sir Frederick Handley Page, varlet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. What cologne may mask"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: olfactory perception, smell, olfactory sensation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Injured"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
  • Similar words include: injury, ache, smart
  • Opposite of: be well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Pub order"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a british imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
  • Similar words include: dry pint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Site for "unique and creative" items"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. "Sleep is like a ___: It only comes to you if you ignore it": Gillian Flynn"

3 letters πŸ’­ 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: Caterpillar, cast, honk
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Big box store that merged with Sears in 2005"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Sunburn remedy"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. X's, sometimes"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

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: ten, X, decade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Ruler division"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
  • Similar words include: in, column inch, edge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Tall story"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

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: fib, tarradiddle, narration
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Weekly reward for a strict dieter, maybe"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Keister, in Leicester"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: rear end, buns, prat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Feathered accessory that won't constrict you"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur
  • Similar words include: feather boa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Singer Redding"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

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!

28D: "43. First in a race?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) in judeo-christian mythology; the first man and the husband of eve and the progenitor of the human race
  • Similar words include: XTC, X, cristal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Regards highly"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Do a favor"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that force somebody to do something
  • Similar words include: bind, accommodate, obligate
  • Opposite of: disoblige
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBLIGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Worker overhead"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a craftsman who lays or repairs roofs
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOFER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Cooking fat"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog
  • Similar words include: dramatize, pad, embroider
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Chris with the 1991 hit "Wicked Game""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Cool again, maybe"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fashion reminiscent of the past
  • Similar words include: retroactive, ex post facto
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Heavens"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies
  • Similar words include: aether, vinyl ether, divinyl ether
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Rest like a bat"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a special way of doing something
  • Similar words include: bent, fall, cling
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Jessica of "Fantastic Four""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "58. Marshy areas"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 fen equal 1 yuan in china
  • Similar words include: marshland, fenland, fen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FENS

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39D: "59. Task on a list"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "62. Greatly surpass, as competitors in a race"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
  • Similar words include: overlap, wash, swosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAP

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41D: "63. Raced"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
  • Similar words include: incline, hightail it, pass
  • Opposite of: idle, malfunction
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 08, 2026 at 06:10 AM