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

Thursday, May 21, 2026

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

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Gossiped-about duo 4
2A 5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi 4
3A 9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting 5
4A 14. Curbside call 4
5A 15. Egg's outline 4
6A 16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" 5
7A 17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" 4
8A 18. St. Benedict, for one 4
9A 19. Central meeting points 5
10A 20. timiL 12
11A 23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph 3
13A 25. Capital of Portugal, to natives 6
14A 29. Crown of jewels 6
15A 31. Penultimate Greek letter 3
16A 33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" 3
17A 34. Goat's cry 3
18A 35. Golfer's suppor- 9
19A 38. Move like a fox 5
20A 40. Get a lode of this! 3
21A 41. John from Britain 5
22A 42. Evade 9
23A 44. "Bad" beginning 3
24A 45. Like news that everyone already knows 3
25A 46. Legal boundaries? 3
26A 47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat 6
27A 50. More melted, as a marshmallow 6
28A 53. Tree alongside a ski run 3
29A 54. Bro, e.g. 3
30A 55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s 12
31A 59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot 5
32A 62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden 4
33A 63. Ordered 4
34A 64. Increase, as interest 5
35A 65. German Ms. 4
36A 66. Pupil's surroundings 4
37A 67. Environmentalist Adams 5
38A 68. Site for many stars? 4
39A 69. Sounds of disapproval 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Gossiped-about duo"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Curbside call"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Egg's outline"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Central meeting points"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. timiL"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Crown of jewels"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Penultimate Greek letter"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Goat's cry"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Move like a fox"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. John from Britain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Evade"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. "Bad" beginning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Legal boundaries?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Ordered"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Increase, as interest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. German Ms."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. Environmentalist Adams"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "69. Sounds of disapproval"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

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

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Short negative review"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Bingo!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Stole material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Southern denial"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Goes around and around"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Inflicts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Muse of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

11 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Milkshake flavor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Gospel shout"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Contented sounds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Curl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Hip-knee connectors"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Source of linseed oil"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Drug bust unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Model Miranda"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Make neat"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Fixate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Give out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Dodgy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. 100%"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. End piece?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Prevail"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Some test figs."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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: May 21, 2026 at 07:05 AM

Saturday, April 25, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 25, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Moderate

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. Showy insect with dark eyespots on its wings 6
2A 7. Land bordering the Sea of Azov 6
3A 13. Tired expression 6
4A 14. Start of an old request for advice 7
5A 15. Optional button while paying via app 6
6A 16. Image editor, informally? 8
7A 17. "The Rise of Skywalker" role 3
8A 18. What power tools should be designed for 7
9A 20. Curved shape 3
10A 21. "___ Mía" (2014 Latin pop hit) 4
11A 23. Suffix akin to -ess 4
12A 24. "There you have it!" 4
13A 25. Mobster's weapon 3
14A 26. Source of many an explosive news story 4
15A 27. Get one over on 5
16A 28. "So that's how it's gonna be, I guess" 12
17A 31. Air traveler's connection 12
18A 32. Helpful pointer, say? 12
19A 33. Indigenous land, informally 3
20A 34. Drink from a small cup 4
21A 35. War of 1812 treaty locale 5
22A 39. Dwindle 4
23A 40. Feminist writer ___ Mae Brown 4
24A 42. Apple or orange, e.g. 4
25A 43. Gambling site, in brief 3
26A 44. Heart of downtown 7
27A 47. Oregon senator Wyden 3
28A 48. One of the B vitamins 6
29A 50. Sore spots for gardeners, perhaps 8
30A 52. Spider-Man foe with metal "tentacles," familiarly 6
31A 53. Driving necessity 7
32A 54. Down-low joints 6
33A 55. Gently suggests, as an idea 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Showy insect with dark eyespots on its wings"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Land bordering the Sea of Azov"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ukrainian peninsula between the black sea and the sea of azov
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRIMEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "13. Tired expression"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trite or obvious remark
  • Similar words include: commonplace, banality, bromide
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLICHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Start of an old request for advice"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Optional button while paying via app"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Image editor, informally?"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "The Rise of Skywalker" role"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. What power tools should be designed for"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Curved shape"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
  • Similar words include: defer, bend, prow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. "___ Mía" (2014 Latin pop hit)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Suffix akin to -ess"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. "There you have it!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Mobster's weapon"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gangster's pistol
  • Similar words include: rod
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. Source of many an explosive news story"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape
  • Similar words include: passing water, leakage, making water
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "27. Get one over on"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil spirit
  • Similar words include: bogie, bogy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOGEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "28. "So that's how it's gonna be, I guess""

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. Air traveler's connection"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Helpful pointer, say?"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "33. Indigenous land, informally"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "34. Drink from a small cup"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "35. War of 1812 treaty locale"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that port city in northwestern belgium and industrial center; famous for cloth industry
  • Similar words include: Gand, Gent
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GHENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "39. Dwindle"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a golf shot that curves to the right for a right-handed golfer
  • Similar words include: pass off, blow over, slicing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "40. Feminist writer ___ Mae Brown"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Apple or orange, e.g."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. Gambling site, in brief"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "44. Heart of downtown"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Oregon senator Wyden"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: Bokkos, Daffo
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "48. One of the B vitamins"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a b vitamin essential for the normal function of the nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract
  • Similar words include: nicotinic acid
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIACIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "50. Sore spots for gardeners, perhaps"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small flat triangular bone in front of the knee that protects the knee joint
  • Similar words include: kneecap, patella, kneepan
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEECAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "52. Spider-Man foe with metal "tentacles," familiarly"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "53. Driving necessity"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "54. Down-low joints"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus
  • Similar words include: mortise joint, ankle, ankle joint
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANKLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "55. Gently suggests, as an idea"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
  • Similar words include: air bladder, swim, blow
  • Opposite of: sink
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLOATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. "You've got a friend in me" 5
2D 2. "Kids these days ..." speakers 15
3D 3. Focus of an employee's first semiannual check-in, perhaps 15
4D 4. When a "sports equinox" (in which all four major U.S. leagues have games) typically occurs: Abbr. 3
5D 5. The thing here 4
6D 6. Big acronym in purifying filters 4
7D 7. Quit 5
8D 8. "As men in ___ strike those that wish them best": Iago 4
9D 9. Choler 3
10D 10. Guy's carryall 6
11D 11. Make secret, in a way 6
12D 12. "Moving on ..." 6
13D 14. Often-regretted behavior on social media, once 13
14D 16. Conclusion of three men's World Cup finals 11
15D 19. Be validated for vocalizing one's opinion 9
16D 22. Give designs to 7
17D 24. "West Side Story" song that precedes the rumble 7
18D 26. Big name in hosiery 5
19D 27. Cloud up 5
20D 28. Word on either side of "à" 3
21D 29. Big accomplishment, so to speak 3
22D 30. Kept under wraps 3
23D 36. Book boo-boos 6
24D 37. Creature of the internet 6
25D 38. Columns on a language learner's conjugation chart 6
26D 39. Actress honored with a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025 5
27D 41. Consumed, quaintly 5
28D 44. Computer store purchases 4
29D 45. Signs 4
30D 46. Give a hoot? 4
31D 49. Cathcart's rank in "Catch-22": Abbr. 3
32D 51. Big cheese with bread, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. "You've got a friend in me""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Kids these days ..." speakers"

15 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Focus of an employee's first semiannual check-in, perhaps"

15 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. When a "sports equinox" (in which all four major U.S. leagues have games) typically occurs: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following september and preceding november
  • Similar words include: October
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OCT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. The thing here"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big acronym in purifying filters"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Quit"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (`cease' is a noun only in the phrase `without cease') end
  • Similar words include: stop, terminate, discontinue
  • Opposite of: begin, continue
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. "As men in ___ strike those that wish them best": Iago"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: fad, craze, furor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Choler"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
  • Similar words include: choler, anger, ira
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Guy's carryall"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Make secret, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that convert information into code
  • Opposite of: decode
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENCODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Moving on ...""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
  • Similar words include: anyhow, in any event, at any rate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANYWAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Often-regretted behavior on social media, once"

13 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "16. Conclusion of three men's World Cup finals"

11 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Be validated for vocalizing one's opinion"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Give designs to"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that represent according to a conventional style
  • Similar words include: stylise, conventionalize
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STYLIZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. "West Side Story" song that precedes the rumble"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the present or immediately coming night
  • Similar words include: this night, this evening
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TONIGHT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Big name in hosiery"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Cloud up"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less visible or unclear
  • Similar words include: fog, cloud, mist
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEFOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Word on either side of "à""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
  • Similar words include: VI, half a dozen, sixer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Big accomplishment, so to speak"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Kept under wraps"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Book boo-boos"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
  • Similar words include: typographical error, erratum, literal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRATA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Creature of the internet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Columns on a language learner's conjugation chart"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
  • Similar words include: strain, tense, tense up
  • Opposite of: unstrain, relax
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Actress honored with a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states film actress and daughter of henry fonda (born in 1937)
  • Similar words include: Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Consumed, quaintly"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Computer store purchases"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
  • Similar words include: computer mouse, mouse, black eye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Signs"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
  • Similar words include: ink
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Give a hoot?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: vociferation, holler, cry
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Cathcart's rank in "Catch-22": Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a pass between mountain peaks
  • Similar words include: gap
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Big cheese with bread, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the corporate executive having financial authority to make appropriations and authorize expenditures for a firm
  • Similar words include: chief financial officer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CFO

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

33 Across Clues
32 Down Clues
65 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: April 25, 2026 at 05:26 AM