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Thursday, May 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 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. Gossiped-about duo 4
2A 5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi 4
3A 9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting 5
4A 14. Curbside call 4
5A 15. Egg's outline 4
6A 16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" 5
7A 17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" 4
8A 18. St. Benedict, for one 4
9A 19. Central meeting points 5
10A 20. timiL 12
11A 23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph 3
13A 25. Capital of Portugal, to natives 6
14A 29. Crown of jewels 6
15A 31. Penultimate Greek letter 3
16A 33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" 3
17A 34. Goat's cry 3
18A 35. Golfer's suppor- 9
19A 38. Move like a fox 5
20A 40. Get a lode of this! 3
21A 41. John from Britain 5
22A 42. Evade 9
23A 44. "Bad" beginning 3
24A 45. Like news that everyone already knows 3
25A 46. Legal boundaries? 3
26A 47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat 6
27A 50. More melted, as a marshmallow 6
28A 53. Tree alongside a ski run 3
29A 54. Bro, e.g. 3
30A 55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s 12
31A 59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot 5
32A 62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden 4
33A 63. Ordered 4
34A 64. Increase, as interest 5
35A 65. German Ms. 4
36A 66. Pupil's surroundings 4
37A 67. Environmentalist Adams 5
38A 68. Site for many stars? 4
39A 69. Sounds of disapproval 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Gossiped-about duo"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
  • Similar words include: point, particular, detail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
  • Similar words include: Nile River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NILE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Curbside call"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, hack, taxicab
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Egg's outline"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • Similar words include: ovoid, elliptical, ovate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. St. Benedict, for one"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
  • Similar words include: Thelonious Sphere Monk, Thelonious Monk, monastic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Central meeting points"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a connecting point at which several lines come together
  • Similar words include: client, node, knob
  • Opposite of: antinode
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. timiL"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: shaft of light, irradiation, light beam
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Capital of Portugal, to natives"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city and economic and cultural center of portugal; a major port in western portugal on tagus river where it broadens and empties into the atlantic
  • Similar words include: Lisbon, capital of Portugal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LISBOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Crown of jewels"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  • Similar words include: crown
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIADEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Penultimate Greek letter"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: build up, sleeve, gird
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Goat's cry"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Golfer's suppor-"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Move like a fox"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
  • Similar words include: malinger, lurk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKULK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Get a lode of this!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. John from Britain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Evade"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very short skirt
  • Similar words include: mini
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINISKIRT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. "Bad" beginning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Like news that everyone already knows"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
  • Similar words include: sometime, former, one-time
  • Opposite of: young, new
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Legal boundaries?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: EL, elevated railway, elevated
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that semiformal evening dress for men
  • Similar words include: dinner jacket, black tie, tux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUXEDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. More melted, as a marshmallow"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft and sticky
  • Similar words include: icky, gooey
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOOIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Tree alongside a ski run"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nonresinous wood of a fir tree
  • Similar words include: fir tree, true fir
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Bro, e.g."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's brother or sister
  • Similar words include: blood relation, blood relative, cognate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brushing or rustling sound
  • Similar words include: lap, swoosh, posh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: fierceness, madness, hysteria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FURY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Ordered"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: bid, entreat, press
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Increase, as interest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tightly woven fabric with raised cords
  • Similar words include: temper, irritation, offend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIQUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. German Ms."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a german courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. Environmentalist Adams"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "68. Site for many stars?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp high-pitched cry (especially by a dog)
  • Similar words include: yelping, yap, yip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "69. Sounds of disapproval"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
  • Similar words include: tut, tut-tut, tsk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Short negative review 6
2D 2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom 6
3D 3. "Bingo!" 11
4D 4. Stole material 4
5D 5. Southern denial 6
6D 6. Something tickled on a piano 5
7D 7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying) 4
8D 8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo 4
9D 9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle" 5
10D 10. Goes around and around 5
11D 11. Make sense, with "up" 3
12D 12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles 3
13D 13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc. 3
14D 21. Inflicts 6
15D 22. Muse of history 4
16D 26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically 11
17D 27. Milkshake flavor 4
18D 28. Gospel shout 4
19D 30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945 4
20D 31. Contented sounds 5
21D 32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation 4
22D 35. Curl 4
23D 36. Hip-knee connectors 6
24D 37. Source of linseed oil 4
25D 38. It's all a haze 4
26D 39. Drug bust unit 4
27D 43. Model Miranda 4
28D 47. Make neat 6
29D 48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name 6
30D 49. Fixate 6
31D 51. Give out 5
32D 52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV 5
33D 53. Far from house-trained 5
34D 56. Dodgy 4
35D 57. 100% 4
36D 58. End piece? 4
37D 59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus" 3
38D 60. Prevail 3
39D 61. Some test figs. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Short negative review"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Bingo!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Stole material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Southern denial"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Something tickled on a piano"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  • Similar words include: pearl, tusk, bone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the land on which real estate is located
  • Similar words include: realm, down, commonwealth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii; a pineapple-growing area
  • Similar words include: Lanai Island
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Goes around and around"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
  • Similar words include: iteration, intertwine, loop topology
  • Opposite of: open circuit, uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Make sense, with "up""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: minimal brain damage, append, sum
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
  • Similar words include: Army Intelligence, three-toed sloth, artificial insemination
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Inflicts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
  • Similar words include: wreak, work, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WREAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Muse of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the muse of history
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically"

11 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Milkshake flavor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chocolate cookie with white cream filling
  • Similar words include: oreo cookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Gospel shout"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a primeval egyptian personification of air and breath; worshipped especially at thebes
  • Similar words include: Amun, Amon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that surrealist spanish painter (1904-1989)
  • Similar words include: Salvador Dali
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Contented sounds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a low vibrating sound typical of a contented cat
  • Similar words include: birr, whir, whiz
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that printing: cancel, as of a correction or deletion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Curl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
  • Similar words include: scroll, curlicue, gyre
  • Opposite of: uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Hip-knee connectors"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the longest and thickest bone of the human skeleton; extends from the pelvis to the knee
  • Similar words include: thighbone, femoris, femur
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEMURS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Source of linseed oil"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. It's all a haze"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Drug bust unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: kg, kilogram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KILO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Model Miranda"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Make neat"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Fixate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that haunt like a ghost; pursue
  • Similar words include: haunt, ghost
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBSESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Give out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an important question that is in dispute and must be settled
  • Similar words include: topic, egress, subject
  • Opposite of: recall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Far from house-trained"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild and menacing
  • Similar words include: ferine, savage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Dodgy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that subject to accident or chance or change
  • Similar words include: fluky, flukey, chancy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. 100%"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free of extraneous elements of any kind
  • Similar words include: everlasting, thoroughgoing, sodding
  • Opposite of: unsaturated, impure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. End piece?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a notice of someone's death; usually includes a short biography
  • Similar words include: necrology, obituary
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Prevail"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a victory (as in a race or other competition)
  • Similar words include: bring home the bacon, acquire, advance
  • Opposite of: fall back, losings
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Some test figs."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test; the ratio of a person's mental age to their chronological age (multiplied by 100)
  • Similar words include: IQ, intelligence quotient, I.Q.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IQS

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

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

Last updated: May 21, 2026 at 07:05 AM

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 13, 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. Uber alternative 4
2A 5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26 3
3A 8. Hosp. triage specialists 6
4A 14. One acting on impulse? 4
5A 15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe 3
6A 16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot 6
7A 17. *Peers 8
8A 19. Order to relax 6
9A 20. Group of reps 3
10A 21. Back-comb, in a way 5
11A 23. ___ mater 4
12A 24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics 12
13A 27. Brews 6
14A 30. Heated competition? 4
15A 31. Kilauea output 4
16A 32. Some porcelain pieces 5
17A 34. Shiba ___ (dog breed) 3
18A 37. *Number of Supreme Court justices 15
19A 41. Ethane or methane 3
20A 42. Belittle 5
21A 43. Conscious of systemic societal problems 4
22A 44. Big inits. in frozen desserts 4
23A 45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel 6
24A 47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist 12
25A 52. Beauty supply chain 4
26A 53. "Swell!" 5
27A 54. Under the weather 3
28A 57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity 6
29A 60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match 8
30A 62. It was discovered by the Curies 6
31A 63. Kind of line at the beach 3
32A 64. Try a new course, say 4
33A 65. TikTok phenomena 6
34A 66. Guileful 3
35A 67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Uber alternative"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, taxicab, hack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element of the alkali metal group; turns yellow in air; occurs in celestite and strontianite
  • Similar words include: atomic number 38, strontium, Sr
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Hosp. triage specialists"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. One acting on impulse?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron
  • Similar words include: axone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seed of a pea plant used for food
  • Similar words include: pea plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. *Peers"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Order to relax"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Group of reps"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Back-comb, in a way"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. ___ mater"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Brews"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a steep place (as on a hill)
  • Similar words include: steep, engross, infuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEEPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Heated competition?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
  • Similar words include: play, contact, get together
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Kilauea output"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rock that in its molten form (as magma) issues from volcanos; lava is what magma is called when it reaches the surface
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Some porcelain pieces"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern asia; the most populous country in the world
  • Similar words include: Red China, Nationalist China, mainland China
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHINA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Shiba ___ (dog breed)"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. *Number of Supreme Court justices"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Ethane or methane"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
  • Similar words include: boast, gun, accelerator pedal
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Belittle"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
  • Similar words include: humiliate, mortify, humble
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Conscious of systemic societal problems"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be awake, be alert, be there
  • Similar words include: stir up, awake, wake
  • Opposite of: fall asleep, cause to sleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Big inits. in frozen desserts"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
  • Similar words include: wheel spoke, spoke, radius
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOKES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Beauty supply chain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. "Swell!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Under the weather"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: badly, complaint, sick
  • Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that egyptian god of tombs and ruler of the underworld; usually depicted as a man with the head of a jackal
  • Similar words include: Anpu
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANUBIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. It was discovered by the Curies"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores
  • Similar words include: Ra, atomic number 88
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADIUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Kind of line at the beach"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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, topaz
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Try a new course, say"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: swerve, trend, slue
  • Opposite of: back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. TikTok phenomena"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general direction in which something tends to move
  • Similar words include: drift, veer, trend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Guileful"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by skill in deception
  • Similar words include: foxy, dodgy, knavish
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reason for wanting something done
  • Similar words include: rice beer, interest, saki
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Array behind the counter at a tavern 4
2D 2. Wheel assembly component 4
3D 3. Strike from a list 4
4D 4. Important contacts 3
5D 5. Many fast pitches 6
6D 6. Majestic 5
7D 7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones" 5
8D 8. Fuel economy org. 3
9D 9. Tattletale 3
10D 10. Imagined while sleeping 6
11D 11. Toothbrush handle? 5
12D 12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail 5
13D 13. Criminally good deal 5
14D 18. "Quit it!" 4
15D 22. Its fur might trim a royal robe 6
16D 24. College faculty head 4
17D 25. Email status 4
18D 26. Opposite of "nah" 4
19D 27. Real grind 4
20D 28. Seville snack 4
21D 29. Holiday preceders 4
22D 32. Handout with a kids' menu 6
23D 33. Bulls and bucks 3
24D 34. Avoids injury, say 4
25D 35. Personification of victory 4
26D 36. Wields 4
27D 38. Formal accord 4
28D 39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City" 4
29D 40. Furry "Star Wars" creature 4
30D 44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short 6
31D 45. Smooth and glossy 6
32D 46. Seminar head, informally 4
33D 47. Ice cream purchase 5
34D 48. Forearm-related, in a way 5
35D 49. Practice piece 5
36D 50. Tree "houses" 5
37D 51. Palace, in Hindi 5
38D 54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance 4
39D 55. Garlic relative 4
40D 56. Strings of yore 4
41D 58. T-shaped birth control insert 3
42D 59. Texting inits. 3
43D 61. Fixtures at sports bars 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Array behind the counter at a tavern"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) signal to turn the lights out
  • Similar words include: beg, hydrant, tap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Wheel assembly component"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shaft on which a wheel rotates
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Strike from a list"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Important contacts"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the united states
  • Similar words include: In, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Hoosier State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Many fast pitches"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
  • Similar words include: patter, spiel, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Majestic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
  • Similar words include: royal, imperial, majestic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REGAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Fuel economy org."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
  • Similar words include: Environmental Protection Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Tattletale"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
  • Similar words include: dirty dog, lowlife, git
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Imagined while sleeping"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Toothbrush handle?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Criminally good deal"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "Quit it!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Its fur might trim a royal robe"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive white fur of the ermine
  • Similar words include: shorttail weasel, Mustela erminea
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERMINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. College faculty head"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
  • Similar words include: James Byron Dean, James Dean, doyen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Email status"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 senti equal 1 kroon in estonia
  • Similar words include: get off, charge, send off
  • Opposite of: unsent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Opposite of "nah""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not only so, but
  • Similar words include: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Real grind"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that work doggedly or persistently
  • Similar words include: slug, pad, keep one's shoulder to the wheel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Seville snack"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the thin fibrous bark of the paper mulberry and pipturus albidus
  • Similar words include: tapa bark, tappa bark, tappa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Holiday preceders"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) adam's wife in judeo-christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; god created eve from adam's rib and placed adam and eve in the garden of eden
  • Similar words include: evening, eventide, even
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Handout with a kids' menu"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that writing implement consisting of a colored stick of composition wax used for writing and drawing
  • Similar words include: wax crayon
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAYON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Bulls and bucks"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in texas and kansas)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 2, helium, he
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Avoids injury, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Personification of victory"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) winged goddess of victory; identified with roman victoria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Wields"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: habit, purpose, usage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Formal accord"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  • Similar words include: accord, treaty
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Furry "Star Wars" creature"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Smooth and glossy"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
  • Similar words include: silky, sleek, slick
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATINY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Seminar head, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
  • Similar words include: professor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. Ice cream purchase"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united states liquid unit equal to 32 fluid ounces; four quarts equal one gallon
  • Similar words include: dry quart
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. Forearm-related, in a way"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relating to or near the ulna
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ULNAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. Practice piece"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "50. Tree "houses""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
  • Similar words include: nestle, draw close, nest
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESTS

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37D: "51. Palace, in Hindi"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "55. Garlic relative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild allium ampeloprasum
  • Similar words include: Allium porrum, scallion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEEK

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40D: "56. Strings of yore"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRE

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41D: "58. T-shaped birth control insert"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that contraceptive device consisting of a piece of bent plastic or metal that is inserted through the vagina into the uterus
  • Similar words include: intrauterine device
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IUD

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42D: "59. Texting inits."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: Sm, samarium, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

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43D: "61. Fixtures at sports bars"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that broadcasting visual images of stationary or moving objects; ; - ernie kovacs
  • Similar words include: telly, television set, TV
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TVS

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 13, 2026 at 06:37 AM