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

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 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. Surrenders 6
2A 7. Wise thinker 4
3A 11. Form of poetry Pablo Neruda used to praise socks, onions and salt 3
4A 14. Realm of the Aztecs or Incas 6
5A 15. Do some farmwork 4
6A 16. ___ de plume 3
7A 17. Mentor from the beyond 11
8A 19. Whitney who invented the cotton gin 3
9A 20. Soak up 6
10A 21. "___ have to do" 4
11A 22. Grifters' schemes 4
12A 25. Major charity whose recipients include the Red Cross and Salvation Army 9
13A 28. Lexington or Madison in N.Y.C.: Abbr. 3
14A 29. Mo. with Aries and Taurus signs 3
15A 31. Soon-to-be graduates 7
16A 32. Offering from an entrepreneurial child's stand 8
17A 35. Song and dance 3
18A 36. Wild West way of settling disputes 15
19A 41. Broadway's ___-Manuel Miranda 3
20A 42. In a gloomy way 8
21A 43. Starbucks alternatives from the Golden Arches 7
22A 47. B&B 3
23A 48. Bambi's mother, for one 3
24A 49. 1972 country hit for Tanya Tucker 9
25A 51. Reptiles on papyrus 4
26A 52. Ballet bend 4
27A 53. Puts pen to paper 6
28A 56. "But Daddy I Love ___" (Taylor Swift song) 3
29A 57. Early advantage ... or a hint to the beginnings of 17-, 25-, 36- and 49-Across 11
30A 62. "Blueprint" for life 3
31A 63. Falsehoods 4
32A 64. Chemical "twin" 6
33A 65. "On the Basis of ___" (Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic) 3
34A 66. Circular tent 4
35A 67. Words often accompanying a present 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Surrenders"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that production of a certain amount
  • Similar words include: bear, take, output
  • Opposite of: stand, survive
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YIELDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Wise thinker"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
  • Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Form of poetry Pablo Neruda used to praise socks, onions and salt"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

4A: "14. Realm of the Aztecs or Incas"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised
  • Similar words include: imperium, conglomerate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMPIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Do some farmwork"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a farm tool having one or more heavy blades to break the soil and cut a furrow prior to sowing
  • Similar words include: plough, treat, deal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. ___ de plume"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Mentor from the beyond"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Whitney who invented the cotton gin"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Soak up"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become imbued
  • Similar words include: take over, ingest, draw
  • Opposite of: emit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABSORB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. "___ have to do""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Grifters' schemes"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an argument opposed to a proposal
  • Similar words include: flimflam, swindle, nobble
  • Opposite of: pro
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Major charity whose recipients include the Red Cross and Salvation Army"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Lexington or Madison in N.Y.C.: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Mo. with Aries and Taurus signs"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Soon-to-be graduates"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergraduate student during the year preceding graduation
  • Similar words include: senior, elder
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENIORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Offering from an entrepreneurial child's stand"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sweetened beverage of diluted lemon juice
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEMONADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Song and dance"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid active commotion
  • Similar words include: hustle, bustle, flurry
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Wild West way of settling disputes"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Broadway's ___-Manuel Miranda"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states sculptor and architect whose public works include the memorial to veterans of the vietnam war in washington (born in 1959)
  • Similar words include: Maya Lin
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. In a gloomy way"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a morose manner
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOROSELY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Starbucks alternatives from the Golden Arches"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "47. B&B"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
  • Similar words include: lodge, hostel, hostelry
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Bambi's mother, for one"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the united states; created in 1977
  • Similar words include: Energy, Energy Department, Department of Energy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "49. 1972 country hit for Tanya Tucker"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Reptiles on papyrus"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
  • Similar words include: Egyptian cobra, Vipera aspis, asp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. Ballet bend"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Puts pen to paper"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that produce a literary work
  • Similar words include: compose, pen, save
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. "But Daddy I Love ___" (Taylor Swift song)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Early advantage ... or a hint to the beginnings of 17-, 25-, 36- and 49-Across"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. "Blueprint" for life"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: desoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Falsehoods"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
  • Similar words include: rest, lie, prevarication
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Chemical "twin""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound that exists in forms having different arrangements of atoms but the same molecular weight
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISOMER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. "On the Basis of ___" (Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that activities associated with sexual intercourse
  • Similar words include: sexual practice, sexual urge, turn on
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Circular tent"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting; originally used by nomadic mongol and turkic people of central asia but now used as inexpensive alternative or temporary housing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. Words often accompanying a present"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Answer equivalent to "I do" 3
2D 2. Mischievous devil 3
3D 3. Prefix with center 3
4D 4. Coins spent in Turkey 5
5D 5. Tiny drop 4
6D 6. Tennis match units 4
7D 7. Snub 5
8D 8. They may crumble under cross-examination 6
9D 9. Zeus or Odin 3
10D 10. Female form of the animal that outnumbers humans in Iceland 3
11D 11. Boxing combo 6
12D 12. Big name in rental cars 6
13D 13. ___ List (PAC for Democratic female candidates) 6
14D 18. Haitian currency unit 6
15D 21. Not the brightest bulbs, so to speak 6
16D 22. Bovine baby 4
17D 23. ___ the moon 4
18D 24. Captain in "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" 4
19D 26. Steeping container 6
20D 27. Finishes with 6
21D 29. Left-wing protest group 6
22D 30. Tormented 6
23D 33. Like "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live" 6
24D 34. Hesitation sound across the pond 3
25D 37. Enter the chat, so to speak 6
26D 38. Some military hazards, for short 4
27D 39. Hoofbeat 4
28D 40. Visually sizes up 4
29D 43. Dual degrees for physicians 6
30D 44. ___ Dion, the "Queen of Power Ballads" 6
31D 45. Apex 6
32D 46. Literary friend of Finn 6
33D 50. Body part that's flicked 5
34D 51. Businessman John Jacob ___ 5
35D 54. "Almost time for the weekend!" 4
36D 55. Canadian gas brand 4
37D 57. Cool, in '90s slang 3
38D 58. Common Chinese surname 3
39D 59. Funny Schumer or Poehler 3
40D 60. ___ Speedwagon 3
41D 61. "___ dat" (slangy agreement) 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Answer equivalent to "I do""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Mischievous devil"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
  • Similar words include: brownie, scamp, scallywag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Prefix with center"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a self-report personality inventory based on hans eysenck's factor analysis of personality which assumes three basic factors (the two most important being extraversion to introversion and neuroticism)
  • Similar words include: Eysenck Personality Inventory
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Coins spent in Turkey"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of money on malta; equal to 100 cents
  • Similar words include: Turkish lira, lira, Italian lira
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Tiny drop"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid); ; ; ; --kipling
  • Similar words include: driblet, drop
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Tennis match units"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Snub"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reject with contempt
  • Similar words include: reject, pooh-pooh, freeze off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. They may crumble under cross-examination"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question
  • Similar words include: self-justification, alibi, excuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIBIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Zeus or Odin"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Female form of the animal that outnumbers humans in Iceland"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Boxing combo"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Big name in rental cars"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
  • Similar words include: dollar bill, dollar sign, buck
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOLLAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ___ List (PAC for Democratic female candidates)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Haitian currency unit"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of money in haiti
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOURDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Not the brightest bulbs, so to speak"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person of subnormal intelligence
  • Similar words include: cretin, idiot, retard
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDIOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Bovine baby"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. ___ the moon"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (cricket) the division of play during which six balls are bowled at the batsman by one player from the other team from the same end of the pitch
  • Similar words include: all over, terminated, o'er
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "24. Captain in "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Steeping container"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Finishes with"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Left-wing protest group"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Tormented"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause bodily suffering to and make sick or indisposed
  • Similar words include: ail, pain, trouble
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAINED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Like "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Hesitation sound across the pond"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Enter the chat, so to speak"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Some military hazards, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an explosive device that is improvised
  • Similar words include: I.E.D., IED, improvised explosive device
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "39. Hoofbeat"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound of a horse's hoofs hitting on a hard surface
  • Similar words include: clump, clunk, clopping
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "40. Visually sizes up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Dual degrees for physicians"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. ___ Dion, the "Queen of Power Ballads""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Apex"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding
  • Similar words include: orgasm, flood tide, culmination
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIMAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Literary friend of Finn"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one who is employed to saw wood
  • Similar words include: sawyer beetle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAWYER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Body part that's flicked"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
  • Similar words include: radiocarpal joint, wrist joint, articulatio radiocarpea
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Businessman John Jacob ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that british politician (born in the united states) who was the first woman to sit in the british house of commons (1879-1964)
  • Similar words include: John Jacob Astor, Viscountess Astor, Nancy Witcher Astor
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. "Almost time for the weekend!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Canadian gas brand"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Cool, in '90s slang"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that two-winged insects characterized by active flight
  • Similar words include: fly front, take flight, tent flap
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Common Chinese surname"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Funny Schumer or Poehler"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. ___ Speedwagon"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "61. "___ dat" (slangy agreement)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: April 21, 2026 at 05:39 AM

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 17, 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. Forerunner of reggae 3
2A 4. Because 5
3A 9. Fluster with embarrassment 5
4A 14. Buddy 3
5A 15. "L'Orfeo" or "Idomeneo" 5
6A 16. Spoiled girl in "Finding Nemo" 5
7A 17. White rodent often used in lab research 9
8A 19. Hunter in the night sky 5
9A 20. "Cool!" 5
10A 21. Hit maker? 4
11A 23. Big name in pet food 4
12A 24. Complete fiasco 5
13A 26. "I suppose that's right" 7
14A 28. Some fancy finger painting 7
15A 30. Flavoring in an earthy whiskey 4
16A 31. Classic skin-care brand 4
17A 32. Film performers' union, for short 3
18A 34. Spanish appetizers 5
19A 38. Prospector's receptacle 3
20A 39. Music genre for the words hidden in this puzzle's circled letters ... or a punny description for them? 7
21A 42. German cry of dismay 3
22A 43. Old Ford Motor offering 5
23A 45. Site for hibernation ... or a Super Bowl party 3
24A 46. No more than 4
25A 47. Sources of quick $$$ 4
26A 50. Break up, as a group 7
27A 52. Someone's public identity 7
28A 55. Workout inspired by martial arts 5
29A 56. "Nobody doesn't like ___ Lee" (classic food slogan) 4
30A 57. Daddy-o 4
31A 59. "___ Jacques" (children's song) 5
32A 61. "The Addams Family" butler 5
33A 63. Spoken evaluations 9
34A 65. Island greeting 5
35A 66. Starts daydreaming, with "out" 5
36A 67. Sound heard at the door 3
37A 68. Amped up 5
38A 69. Call off the relationship 5
39A 70. Furtive 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Forerunner of reggae"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Because"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Fluster with embarrassment"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
  • Similar words include: embarrass
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Buddy"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Similar words include: pal up, brother, crony
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. "L'Orfeo" or "Idomeneo""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes
  • Similar words include: opera house
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Spoiled girl in "Finding Nemo""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. White rodent often used in lab research"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Hunter in the night sky"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) a giant boeotian hunter who pursued the pleiades and was eventually slain by artemis; was then placed in the sky as a constellation
  • Similar words include: Hunter
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. "Cool!""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Hit maker?"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
  • Similar words include: clenched fist
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Big name in pet food"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Complete fiasco"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acronym often used by soldiers in world war ii: situation normal all fucked up
  • Similar words include: fucked-up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNAFU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. "I suppose that's right""

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Some fancy finger painting"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Flavoring in an earthy whiskey"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that partially carbonized vegetable matter saturated with water; can be used as a fuel when dried
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Classic skin-care brand"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Film performers' union, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Spanish appetizers"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Prospector's receptacle"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Music genre for the words hidden in this puzzle's circled letters ... or a punny description for them?"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the historic period from about 1600 until 1750 when the baroque style of art, architecture, and music flourished in europe
  • Similar words include: churrigueresco, churrigueresque, Baroque era
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAROQUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. German cry of dismay"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Old Ford Motor offering"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Site for hibernation ... or a Super Bowl party"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
  • Similar words include: hideout, hideaway, lair
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. No more than"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. Sources of quick $$$"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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: ATM, automated teller, cash machine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "50. Break up, as a group"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to break up or cease to function
  • Similar words include: dissolve
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISBAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Someone's public identity"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an actor's portrayal of someone in a play
  • Similar words include: part, image, character
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERSONA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Workout inspired by martial arts"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. "Nobody doesn't like ___ Lee" (classic food slogan)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. Daddy-o"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
  • Similar words include: dada, pop music, toss off
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. "___ Jacques" (children's song)"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. "The Addams Family" butler"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unsteady uneven gait
  • Similar words include: careen, pitching, shift
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LURCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Spoken evaluations"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Island greeting"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Starts daydreaming, with "out""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a locally circumscribed place characterized by some distinctive features
  • Similar words include: district, zone, geographical zone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ZONES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Sound heard at the door"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
  • Similar words include: tap, strike, rap music
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Amped up"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that provide with electrical circuits
  • Similar words include: pumped up, cable, electrify
  • Opposite of: wireless, unwire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "69. Call off the relationship"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "70. Furtive"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Distance from end to end 4
2D 2. Leafy side dish rich in vitamin K 9
3D 3. Residents of Tirana 9
4D 4. "Oh, that stupid little punk ..." 6
5D 5. Wall Street debut, for short 3
6D 6. Toy brand with foam ammo 4
7D 7. Daniel of the "Knives Out" movies 5
8D 8. Devours 6
9D 9. Fuss and flurry 3
10D 10. Many a Starbucks employee 7
11D 11. Highlights of a 15-Across 5
12D 12. Smartphone video effect 5
13D 13. Film composer Zimmer 4
14D 18. Boot out of Europe? 5
15D 22. Item stored in a small hole in a golf cart 3
16D 25. ___ Major 4
17D 27. Fill fully 4
18D 28. "Uh-uh" 4
19D 29. Material for a roof repair 3
20D 33. Mars, but not Earth 3
21D 35. Tough-but-loving fathers, informally 9
22D 36. "Don't be so weird!" 9
23D 37. Equipped with footwear 4
24D 39. Sandwiches often on toasted bread 4
25D 40. Proof-ending inits. 3
26D 41. Troop group 4
27D 44. Aural ailment 7
28D 46. Standard option on a rideshare app 5
29D 48. Shaggy head of hair 3
30D 49. Get some Z's 6
31D 51. Least risky 6
32D 52. Physicist Wolfgang who proposed the "exclusion principle" 5
33D 53. Blunder 5
34D 54. Front part of a stage 5
35D 56. Barbecue side dish 4
36D 58. Material in a classical timepiece 4
37D 60. Sneak a peek at 4
38D 62. Suckered 3
39D 64. Ring of flowers 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Distance from end to end"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the complete duration of something
  • Similar words include: distich, duet, yoke
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Leafy side dish rich in vitamin K"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Residents of Tirana"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of albania
  • Similar words include: Albanian
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBANIANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "Oh, that stupid little punk ...""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Wall Street debut, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a corporation's first offer to sell stock to the public
  • Similar words include: initial public offering, initial offering
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IPO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Toy brand with foam ammo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Daniel of the "Knives Out" movies"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Devours"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Fuss and flurry"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid active commotion
  • Similar words include: stir, flurry, fuss
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Many a Starbucks employee"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Highlights of a 15-Across"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an elaborate song for solo voice
  • Similar words include: aria
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARIAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Smartphone video effect"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Film composer Zimmer"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imperial dynasty that ruled china (most of the time from 206 bc to ad 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of chinese civilization
  • Similar words include: Han dynasty, Han
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Boot out of Europe?"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in southern europe on the italian peninsula; was the core of the roman republic and the roman empire between the 4th century bc and the 5th century ad
  • Similar words include: Italia, Italian Republic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITALY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Item stored in a small hole in a golf cart"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the starting place for each hole on a golf course
  • Similar words include: teeing ground, golf tee, tee up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. ___ Major"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Fill fully"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill to satisfaction
  • Similar words include: replete, satiate, fill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. "Uh-uh""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Material for a roof repair"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "33. Mars, but not Earth"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "35. Tough-but-loving fathers, informally"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "36. "Don't be so weird!""

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "37. Equipped with footwear"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that furnish with shoes
  • Similar words include: shodden, calced, shoe
  • Opposite of: discalced, unshod
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "39. Sandwiches often on toasted bread"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sandwich filled with slices of bacon and tomato with lettuce
  • Similar words include: bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich, BLT
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "40. Proof-ending inits."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relativistic quantum theory of the electromagnetic interactions of photons and electrons and muons
  • Similar words include: quantum electrodynamics
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Troop group"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "44. Aural ailment"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ache localized in the middle or inner ear
  • Similar words include: otalgia
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARACHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Standard option on a rideshare app"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Shaggy head of hair"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Get some Z's"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sleeping for a short period of time (usually not in bed)
  • Similar words include: forty winks, doze, short sleep
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOOZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Least risky"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free from danger or the risk of harm
  • Similar words include: good, dependable, safe
  • Opposite of: dangerous, out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAFEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Physicist Wolfgang who proposed the "exclusion principle""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states physicist (born in austria) who proposed the exclusion principle (thus providing a theoretical basis for the periodic table) (1900-1958)
  • Similar words include: Wolfgang Pauli
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAULI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Blunder"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
  • Similar words include: mistake, wrongdoing, erroneous belief
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERROR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Front part of a stage"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
  • Similar words include: proscenium, forestage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Barbecue side dish"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that basically shredded cabbage
  • Similar words include: coleslaw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. Material in a classical timepiece"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
  • Similar words include: moxie, sandpaper, grit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "60. Sneak a peek at"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that catch sight of
  • Similar words include: descry, spy, spot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESPY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "62. Suckered"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "64. Ring of flowers"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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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

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 17, 2026 at 05:08 AM