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

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 29, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Big ones can be difficult to manage 4
2A 5. Urge 4
3A 9. British John 5
4A 14. Nincompoop 4
5A 15. Surrounding glow 4
6A 16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It" 5
7A 17. Where some monster home runs land 9
8A 19. Language of the Vikings 5
9A 20. Rich deposits of ore 5
10A 21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short 3
11A 23. Muslim holiday, informally 3
12A 24. Scoped out with intent to rob 5
13A 25. Pretty long time, in an idiom 9
14A 28. Battery fill 4
15A 29. Capital of Yemen 5
16A 30. Copied 4
17A 31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!") 3
18A 32. Terse 4
19A 33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message) 3
20A 35. Another plateful from the buffet, say 13
21A 40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief 3
22A 41. Board appointee, for short 4
23A 42. Work unit 3
24A 44. Chief god of Valhalla 4
25A 47. European viper 5
26A 49. Greek goddess of the earth 4
27A 50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B. 9
28A 52. Storage units 5
29A 53. Dad on "Black-ish" 3
30A 54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks" 3
31A 55. Indie rock singer ___ O 5
32A 56. Couch 5
33A 58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do? 9
34A 62. Unconcealed 5
35A 63. Toll unit on some roads 4
36A 64. Tour de France entry 4
37A 65. "Cooties" 5
38A 66. Hitch up on a farm 4
39A 67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Big ones can be difficult to manage"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Urge"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
  • Similar words include: egg on, goading, poke at
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. British John"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Nincompoop"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: cola, pot, sens
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Surrounding glow"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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: glory, halo, gloriole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Where some monster home runs land"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Language of the Vikings"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inhabitant of scandinavia
  • Similar words include: Scandinavian language, Norseman, Northman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NORSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Rich deposits of ore"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
  • Similar words include: lode, load
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Muslim holiday, informally"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Scoped out with intent to rob"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look over, usually with the intention to rob
  • Similar words include: encase, incase, incased
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Pretty long time, in an idiom"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Battery fill"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt
  • Similar words include: Zen, acidulent, bitter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Capital of Yemen"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of yemen; on the central plateau
  • Similar words include: Sana, Sana'a
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Copied"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imitate uncritically and in every aspect
  • Similar words include: ape, caricature
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!")"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the money risked on a gamble
  • Similar words include: stake, wager, count
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Terse"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by rude or peremptory shortness
  • Similar words include: terse, crisp, brusque
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Another plateful from the buffet, say"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
  • Similar words include: automatic teller machine, automatic teller, automated teller
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Board appointee, for short"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chief executive department of the united states government
  • Similar words include: White House
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Work unit"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cgs unit of work or energy; the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Chief god of Valhalla"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) ruler of the aesir; supreme god of war and poetry and knowledge and wisdom (for which he gave an eye) and husband of frigg; identified with the teutonic wotan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. European viper"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who adds numbers
  • Similar words include: common viper, Vipera berus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Greek goddess of the earth"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of cronus and the titans in ancient mythology
  • Similar words include: Ge, Gaia
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B."

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left
  • Similar words include: left, left field
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEFTFIELD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Storage units"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information
  • Similar words include: byte
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Dad on "Black-ish""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks""

3 letters Category: Common Word

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!

31A: "55. Indie rock singer ___ O"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the tibeto-burman language spoken in the thailand and burmese borderlands
  • Similar words include: Karenic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. Couch"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long backless sofa (usually with pillows against a wall)
  • Similar words include: diwan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do?"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Unconcealed"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open and observable; not secret or hidden
  • Similar words include: open
  • Opposite of: covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Toll unit on some roads"

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!

36A: "64. Tour de France entry"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
  • Similar words include: team up, squad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. "Cooties""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that provides inspiration for later work
  • Similar words include: germ, source, seed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GERMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. Hitch up on a farm"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
  • Similar words include: coupling, couplet, link
  • Opposite of: unyoke
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov 3
2D 2. Reach great heights in life 8
3D 3. Like black and white 8
4D 4. Numbered in a tournament bracket 6
5D 5. Always at the pharmacy? 4
6D 6. Regret 3
7D 7. Middle-earth foe 3
8D 8. ___ Territory, 1861-89 6
9D 9. Ho-hum feeling 5
10D 10. British john 3
11D 11. Ripped to pieces 6
12D 12. Like not-work-from-home days 6
13D 13. Had to have 6
14D 18. Visibly embarrassed, say 3
15D 22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts 7
16D 24. What can travel a fare distance? 3
17D 25. Brain-busting 4
18D 26. Just between us 7
19D 27. Blue race in "Avatar" 4
20D 29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet 7
21D 32. Hotel request 3
22D 34. Scanned lines, for short 3
23D 36. "If you ___ stand the heat ..." 4
24D 37. Crossed (out) 4
25D 38. Made nice? 8
26D 39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot" 8
27D 43. Pit stop refill 3
28D 44. Subject of a saying about new tricks 6
29D 45. Infer (from) 6
30D 46. Perhaps not at all 6
31D 48. Spinner of tunes 6
32D 49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video 6
33D 51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two 5
34D 52. "Nuts!" 3
35D 55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps 4
36D 57. Pitcher's asset 3
37D 59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line 3
38D 60. Sort 3
39D 61. Texting format, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Reach great heights in life"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Like black and white"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other
  • Similar words include: antonym, inverse, paired
  • Opposite of: synonym, alternate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPPOSITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Numbered in a tournament bracket"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that go to seed; shed seeds
  • Similar words include: seed, sow, sown
  • Opposite of: unseeded
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Always at the pharmacy?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
  • Similar words include: domiciliation, digs, embroider
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Regret"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: repent, regret, ruefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Middle-earth foe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. ___ Territory, 1861-89"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people of the northern mississippi valley; commonly called the sioux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAKOTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Ho-hum feeling"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the feeling of being bored by something tedious
  • Similar words include: boredom, tedium
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENNUI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. British john"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toilet in britain
  • Similar words include: water closet, W.C., closet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ripped to pieces"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Like not-work-from-home days"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Had to have"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that require as useful, just, or proper
  • Similar words include: want, require, necessitate
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Visibly embarrassed, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
  • Similar words include: bolshy, violent, red-faced
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small or little relative to something else
  • Similar words include: humble, littler, pocket-sized
  • Opposite of: large, big
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMALLER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. What can travel a fare distance?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
  • Similar words include: cabriolet, taxi, taxicab
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Brain-busting"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: laborious, grueling, tough
  • Opposite of: easy, voiced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Just between us"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Blue race in "Avatar""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Hotel request"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: camp bed, fingerstall, crib
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Scanned lines, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. "If you ___ stand the heat ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
  • Similar words include: bevel, slang, vernacular
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Crossed (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Made nice?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put (things or places) in order
  • Similar words include: straighten, square away, neaten
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEATENED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot""

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Pit stop refill"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: gun, bluster, flatulence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Subject of a saying about new tricks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Infer (from)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reason by deduction; establish by deduction
  • Similar words include: gain, come, descend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DERIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Perhaps not at all"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Spinner of tunes"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to wind or move in a spiral course
  • Similar words include: reel, spiral, coil
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GYRATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a specific size and style of type within a type family
  • Similar words include: baptistry, baptismal font, case
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. "Nuts!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
  • Similar words include: human knee, knee joint, articulatio genus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Pitcher's asset"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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: limb, sleeve, fortify
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Sort"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a kind of person
  • Similar words include: like
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Texting format, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

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, atomic number 62, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

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

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

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

Last updated: September 29, 2026 at 09:59 AM

Friday, May 8, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 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: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Criticizes, in modern lingo 7
2A 8. Unruffled 6
3A 14. "Not to worry ..." 8
4A 16. Chichi 6
5A 17. One away from one's duties? 8
6A 18. French exit 6
7A 19. Hollywood is on it: Abbr. 3
8A 20. Secures, in a way 5
9A 22. Flubs 5
10A 23. Create a crispy crust for, say 7
11A 25. Coolers, for short 3
12A 26. "Jeez!" 5
13A 29. Touchy topic 8
14A 31. One of two in Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" 6
15A 33. Cartoonist who popularized the Democratic donkey 4
16A 34. "Bad hair day" hair 3
17A 36. Address no longer than 18 minutes 7
18A 38. Prepares for company, maybe 7
19A 40. Networking assets 3
20A 41. Second City district, with "the" 4
21A 43. Plumbing and welding, e.g. 6
22A 44. Really nasty fall? 8
23A 47. Date unlikely to be on a calendar 5
24A 48. Mammoth's home, for short 3
25A 49. Where to go for a run 7
26A 51. Peabody-winning journalist Steve 5
27A 53. Many a Chilango 5
28A 54. Formula 1 fig. 3
29A 57. "I'm this-a way!" 6
30A 59. Great depression? 8
31A 61. "Would you look at the time?!" 6
32A 62. Scrumdiddlyumptious 8
33A 63. Like some interests and stocks 6
34A 64. Feeds the kitty, say 7

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Criticizes, in modern lingo"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "8. Unruffled"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "14. "Not to worry ...""

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "16. Chichi"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imposingly fashionable and elegant
  • Similar words include: swank
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWANKY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. One away from one's duties?"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. French exit"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position
  • Similar words include: sally
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SORTIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Hollywood is on it: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 8th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 120th meridian west; used in far western states of the united states
  • Similar words include: Pacific Time, Pacific Standard Time
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Secures, in a way"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the muslim people of north africa; of mixed arab and berber descent; converted to islam in the 8th century; conqueror of spain in the 8th century
  • Similar words include: moor, moorland, wharf
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Flubs"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a socially awkward or tactless act
  • Similar words include: slipperiness, skid, chemise
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. Create a crispy crust for, say"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "25. Coolers, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive element of the actinide series; found in uranium ores
  • Similar words include: alternating current, atomic number 89, actinium
  • Opposite of: direct current
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "26. "Jeez!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Touchy topic"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. One of two in Raphael's "Sistine Madonna""

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweet innocent baby
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHERUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Cartoonist who popularized the Democratic donkey"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states political cartoonist (1840-1902)
  • Similar words include: Thomas Nast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. "Bad hair day" hair"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
  • Similar words include: wipe up, mow, swob
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Address no longer than 18 minutes"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. Prepares for company, maybe"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put (things or places) in order
  • Similar words include: tidy up, neaten, groom
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEATENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Networking assets"

3 letters Category: Common Word

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: Indiana, atomic number 49, IN
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Second City district, with "the""

4 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: grummet, loop topology, intertwine
  • Opposite of: open circuit, uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Plumbing and welding, e.g."

6 letters 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, sell, craft
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRADES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Really nasty fall?"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Date unlikely to be on a calendar"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a date; usually with a member of the opposite sex
  • Similar words include: assignation, rendezvous
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRYST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Mammoth's home, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Where to go for a run"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Peabody-winning journalist Steve"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Many a Chilango"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a spanish title or form of address for a man; similar to the english `mr' or `sir'
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Formula 1 fig."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ratio of the distance traveled (in kilometers) to the time spent traveling (in hours)
  • Similar words include: kilometres per hour, kilometers per hour, km/h
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KPH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. "I'm this-a way!""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Great depression?"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof
  • Similar words include: sink, swallow hole
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINKHOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. "Would you look at the time?!""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Scrumdiddlyumptious"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Like some interests and stocks"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that provide with power and authority
  • Similar words include: vest, invest, robe
  • Opposite of: divest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VESTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Feeds the kitty, say"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. It's usually followed by an "s" 4
2D 2. Indicators of awareness 4
3D 3. Ding thing? 4
4D 4. Bygone "before" 3
5D 5. Books that go into intimate detail? 10
6D 6. It might bring you to tears 5
7D 7. "Good riddance" 6
8D 8. Jerk 3
9D 9. All slam dunks 4
10D 10. Accessory turned down on a cap 6
11D 11. Humor without a traditional punch line 10
12D 12. Create ripple effects, in a way 10
13D 13. Scallops can have hundreds of tiny blue ones 4
14D 15. "It's a date!" 6
15D 21. It's a wrap! 5
16D 23. Hairstylist's concern 4
17D 24. Go back to the beginning 5
18D 26. Whence the line "Beware the ides of March" in "Julius Caesar" 4
19D 27. Comment from one who's going along 10
20D 28. Where to see fresh coats of white? 10
21D 30. First gear? 10
22D 32. Rorschach patterns 5
23D 35. "I'm this-a way!" 4
24D 37. Goofballs 5
25D 39. ___ Theatre, Atlanta art house named for a fictional estate 4
26D 42. White-collar figure 6
27D 45. Pointy-topped red-and-green headwear 6
28D 46. Tuber that's the source of tapioca 6
29D 50. ___ Rousey, first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo 5
30D 51. National capital that's home to Mykhailivska Square 4
31D 52. Schlep 4
32D 54. ___ Annan, former U.N. secretary general 4
33D 55. Something that's hatched 4
34D 56. Half of some matching sets 4
35D 58. Work that traces the evolution of lang. over 1,000 years 3
36D 60. "And ___ long gone when ___ next to me" (Taylor Swift lyric) 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. It's usually followed by an "s""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protocol (utilizing tcp) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • Similar words include: hypertext transfer protocol
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HTTP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Indicators of awareness"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Ding thing?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the words of something written
  • Similar words include: text edition, textual matter, textbook
  • Opposite of: trade edition
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEXT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Bygone "before""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Books that go into intimate detail?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. It might bring you to tears"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bulb of an onion plant
  • Similar words include: Allium cepa, onion plant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Good riddance""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Jerk"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: fucking, piece of tail, Eastern Samoa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. All slam dunks"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: deuce, two, 2
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Accessory turned down on a cap"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of two flaps attached to a cap to keep the ears warm
  • Similar words include: earflap
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARLAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Humor without a traditional punch line"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Create ripple effects, in a way"

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Scallops can have hundreds of tiny blue ones"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. "It's a date!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. It's a wrap!"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various thermoplastic resins used to make things
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Hairstylist's concern"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something determined in relation to something that includes it
  • Similar words include: parting, percentage, take off
  • Opposite of: wholly
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Go back to the beginning"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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!

18D: "26. Whence the line "Beware the ides of March" in "Julius Caesar""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Comment from one who's going along"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Where to see fresh coats of white?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. First gear?"

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Rorschach patterns"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blemish made by dirt
  • Similar words include: stain, smirch, slur
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. "I'm this-a way!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Goofballs"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone regarded as eccentric or crazy and standing out from a group
  • Similar words include: queer bird, odd fellow, odd man out
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KOOKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "39. ___ Theatre, Atlanta art house named for a fictional estate"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a village in eastern ireland (northwest of dublin); seat of irish kings until 6th century
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. White-collar figure"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clergyman in christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the holy orders
  • Similar words include: non-Christian priest
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRIEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "45. Pointy-topped red-and-green headwear"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Tuber that's the source of tapioca"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant; the source of tapioca; a staple food in the tropics
  • Similar words include: gari, tapioca plant, bitter cassava
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANIOC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "50. ___ Rousey, first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "51. National capital that's home to Mykhailivska Square"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "52. Schlep"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a capacious bag or basket
  • Similar words include: tote bag, tug, holdall
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "54. ___ Annan, former U.N. secretary general"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. Something that's hatched"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Half of some matching sets"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "58. Work that traces the evolution of lang. over 1,000 years"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unabridged dictionary constructed on historical principles
  • Similar words include: O.E.D., Oxford English Dictionary
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "60. "And ___ long gone when ___ next to me" (Taylor Swift lyric)"

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: helium, he, atomic number 2
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

34 Across Clues
36 Down Clues
70 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: May 08, 2026 at 05:39 AM