Thursday, May 14, 2026 – LA Times Crossword Answers & Hints

LA Times Crossword – May 14, 2026 (Thursday)

Today’s crossword puzzle is fun and a little tricky.

If you are stuck, don’t worry!

Here you can find the answers and help.

Crossword puzzles help us:

• Learn new words
• Improve spelling
• Think smart

Theme Answer: WOODCUT

Clue: Artistic printing method, and a feature of rows 2, 5, 11, and 14 in this puzzle

Answer: WOODCUT

Explanation:

A woodcut is a way of printing pictures. The artist carves a design into wood, puts ink on it, and prints it on paper. Today’s puzzle hides types of wood in four rows.

Across Clues

6A. Thurman of “Pretty Lethal”

Answer: UMA

Explanation: Uma Thurman is a famous actress.

13A. Moral principle

Answer: ETHIC

Explanation: An ethic is a rule about what is right or wrong.

14A. “MAS*H” setting, for short

Answer: KOR

Explanation: MASH takes place in Korea (KOR = short form).

15A. “Butterfly Dance” artist

Answer: YANNI

Explanation: Yanni is a music composer.

19A. College where Robert Frost taught English

Answer: AMHERST

Explanation: Robert Frost was a famous poet who taught at Amherst College.

22A. NYC home of Matisse’s “Landscape at Collioure”

Answer: MOMA

Explanation: MoMA is the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

25A. Taylor-Joy of “The Northman”

Answer: ANYA

Explanation: Anya Taylor-Joy is a movie actress.

34A. “Downton Abbey” cook

Answer: DAISY

Explanation: Daisy is a character in the TV show Downton Abbey.

38A. Here, in Honduras

Answer: ACA

Explanation: In Spanish, “aca” means “here.”

41A. Mod About You polish maker

Answer: OPI

Explanation: OPI is a brand that makes nail polish.

42A. Mexican sandwich

Answer: TORTA

Explanation: A torta is a Mexican sandwich.

50A. Electrically adaptable

Answer: AC/DC

Explanation: AC/DC means it can work with both types of electric current.

55A. Sazerac options

Answer: RYES

Explanation: Rye is a type of grain used in drinks.

58A. Abu Dhabi, e.g.

Answer: EMIRATE

Explanation: Abu Dhabi is one of the Emirates in the UAE.

61A. Expanse crossed by Odysseus

Answer: IONIAN SEA

Explanation: In Greek stories, Odysseus crossed the Ionian Sea.

65A. Like van Gogh and Vermeer

Answer: DUTCH

Explanation: Both artists were from the Netherlands (Dutch).

70A. Blades for some Olympians

Answer: EPEES

Explanation: An épée is a type of fencing sword used in the Olympics.

Down Clues

1D. Super Mario Bros. console

Answer: NES

Explanation: NES is a Nintendo gaming system.

2D. Jazzy James

Answer: ETTA

Explanation: Etta James was a famous singer.

3D. Guitar accessory that may create vibrato

Answer: WHAMMY BAR

Explanation: A whammy bar is used on guitars to change sound.

4D. Knights’ neighbors

Answer: BISHOPS

Explanation: In chess, bishops sit next to knights.

5D. Blueprint

Answer: SCHEMA

Explanation: A schema is a plan or design.

9D. Prehistoric supercontinent

Answer: PANGAEA

Explanation: Pangaea was one giant land before continents split.

11D. Moriarty, to Holmes

Answer: ENEMY

Explanation: Moriarty is the enemy of Sherlock Holmes.

18D. Latvian capital

Answer: RIGA

Explanation: Riga is the capital city of Latvia.

36D. Hormel product

Answer: SPAM

Explanation: Spam is a canned meat product.

43D. Elements of a strategy

Answer: TACTICS

Explanation: Tactics are small actions used in a plan.

51D. Easy part of a sky in a jigsaw puzzle

Answer: CLOUD

Explanation: Puzzle sky areas are often blue with clouds.

54D. Oscar winner Witherspoon

Answer: REESE

Explanation: Reese Witherspoon is an actress.

60D. Brontë orphan

Answer: EYRE

Explanation: Jane Eyre is a famous novel character.

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 28, 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
• Across Clues Table (33 clues)
• Across Clues - Detailed Hints
• Down Clues Table (41 clues)
• Down Clues - Detailed Hints
• Expert Solving Strategies
• Today's Puzzle Statistics

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Tricky

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No.	Clue	Letters
1A	1. Sore	4
2A	5. Nail polish brand	3
3A	8. Some cantina fare	5
4A	13. "Hip hip hooray!," e.g.	5
5A	15. Sink-or-swim competition?	9
6A	17. Handles a few unresolved issues	15
7A	19. Like tears	6
8A	20. Site to build on	3
9A	21. Gossip, slangily	3
10A	22. Build on	5
11A	24. Welcome at the door, say	5
12A	27. Linguist's concern	7
13A	30. Serious in manner	5
14A	31. Bagel topping	3
15A	32. Not perfect, but acceptable	11
16A	36. Bickering	4
17A	38. Blade that's pulled	3
18A	39. Casual farewell often used outside its language of origin	4
19A	40. Station set up in a kitchen	11
20A	45. Bit of intel	3
21A	46. Coins of Cuba	5
22A	47. Ingredients in some tropical smoothies	7
23A	49. Foreign Service assignments	5
24A	50. Madrid mister	5
25A	51. Church seat	3
26A	52. Promise to pay	3
27A	54. Journalist, informally	6
28A	58. Like children, ideally, in an old adage ... or a hint to a four-letter word hidden in 17-, 32- and 40-Across	15
29A	62. Rigorous	9
30A	63. Astronomer Carl	5
31A	64. Irritable	5
32A	65. [As written]	3
33A	66. Civil rights activist Parks	4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sore"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that causing a dull and steady pain
• Similar words include: aching
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ACHY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Nail polish brand"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OPI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Some cantina fare"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of mexican descent
• Similar words include: greaser, wetback, taco
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TACOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. "Hip hip hooray!," e.g."

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a cry or shout of approval
• Similar words include: sunshine, barrack, jolly up
• Opposite of: complain, dishearten

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CHEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Sink-or-swim competition?"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: WATERPOLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Handles a few unresolved issues"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TIESUPLOOSEENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Like tears"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an isotonic solution of sodium chloride and distilled water
• Similar words include: saline solution
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SALINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Site to build on"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
• Similar words include: quite a little, sight, band
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Gossip, slangily"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
• Similar words include: Camellia sinensis, tea leaf, teatime
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Build on"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ADDTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Welcome at the door, say"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASKIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Linguist's concern"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GRAMMAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "30. Serious in manner"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the rear part of a ship
• Similar words include: posterior, unforgiving, exacting
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STERN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Bagel topping"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a bluish translucent magnetic liquid obtained by compressing gaseous oxygen and then cooling it below its boiling point; used as an oxidizer in rocket propellants
• Similar words include: liquid oxygen
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LOX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Not perfect, but acceptable"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CLOSEENOUGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "36. Bickering"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ATIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Blade that's pulled"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an implement used to propel or steer a boat
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Casual farewell often used outside its language of origin"

4 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: aloha
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CIAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Station set up in a kitchen"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MISEENPLACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "45. Bit of intel"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
• Similar words include: steer, bakshish, summit
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "46. Coins of Cuba"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the basic unit of money in uruguay; equal to 100 centesimos
• Similar words include: Uruguayan peso, Dominican peso, Mexican peso
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PESOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "47. Ingredients in some tropical smoothies"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that tropical american shrub or small tree having huge deeply palmately cleft leaves and large oblong yellow fruit
• Similar words include: papaya, Carica papaya, papaya tree
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PAPAYAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "49. Foreign Service assignments"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand
• Similar words include: station, military post, billet
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: POSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Madrid mister"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a spanish title or form of address for a man; similar to the english `mr' or `sir'
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SENOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Church seat"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that long bench with backs; used in church by the congregation
• Similar words include: church bench
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. Promise to pay"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an informal debt instrument; representing `i owe you'
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IOU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Journalist, informally"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that french playwright (1791-1861)
• Similar words include: penman, scrivener, scriber
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SCRIBE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Like children, ideally, in an old adage ... or a hint to a four-letter word hidden in 17-, 32- and 40-Across"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SEENANDNOTHEARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "62. Rigorous"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
• Similar words include: tight, rigorous
• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STRINGENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "63. Astronomer Carl"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SAGAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "64. Irritable"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that easily irritated or annoyed
• Similar words include: cranky, nettlesome, irritable
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TESTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. [As written]"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that urge to attack someone
• Similar words include: set
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Civil rights activist Parks"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
• Similar words include: genus Rosa
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ROSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Play parts	4
2D	2. Kind of seed or pet	4
3D	3. Sometimes-raised part of a shoe	4
4D	4. Emphatic confirmation	6
5D	5. Nocturnal hooter	3
6D	6. Painter Veronese	5
7D	7. Langston Hughes poem	4
8D	8. Due + 1	3
9D	9. Mimic	3
10D	10. Script supervisor's concern	10
11D	11. ___ days	5
12D	12. Slugger Sammy	4
13D	14. "Raising Hell" rap trio	6
14D	16. Council ___ (British equivalent of a housing project)	6
15D	18. Part of a piano or loom	5
16D	23. Boots on the ground	6
17D	25. Rep.'s counterpart	3
18D	26. Ray of McDonald's	4
19D	27. Genre for Ziggy Stardust, informally	4
20D	28. Naan alternative	4
21D	29. Coalition that opposed the Allies in W.W. II	10
22D	30. Mexican wrap	6
23D	33. Kid-lit girl with a blueberry pail	3
24D	34. Greek goddess of the earth	4
25D	35. Brewing need	4
26D	37. They help you drive farther	4
27D	41. Ballpark fig.	3
28D	42. Snooping (around)	6
29D	43. "___ thou not minister to a mind diseased ...?": Macbeth	5
30D	44. Significant periods	6
31D	48. Overdue debt	6
32D	49. Golfer Calvin or QB Rodney	5
33D	50. Islam's largest branch	5
34D	51. Alternative to a tap on the shoulder	4
35D	53. Works of praise	4
36D	55. "Othello" villain	4
37D	56. Some supports	4
38D	57. ___ Lewis, the "Grande Dame of Southern Cooking"	4
39D	59. Minor complaint	3
40D	60. Unspecified amount	3
41D	61. Not Rx	3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Play parts"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
• Similar words include: play, pretend, deed
• Opposite of: refrain

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Kind of seed or pet"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CHIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Sometimes-raised part of a shoe"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
• Similar words include: bounder, reheel, hound
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HEEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Emphatic confirmation"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: YESIAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Nocturnal hooter"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
• Similar words include: bird of night, bird of Minerva, hooter
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Painter Veronese"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PAOLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Langston Hughes poem"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ITOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Due + 1"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Mimic"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
• Similar words include: copycat, imitator, caricature
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: APE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Script supervisor's concern"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that uninterrupted connection or union
• Similar words include: persistence
• Opposite of: discontinuity

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CONTINUITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. ___ days"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OLDEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Slugger Sammy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SOSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. "Raising Hell" rap trio"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RUNDMC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "16. Council ___ (British equivalent of a housing project)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities
• Similar words include: land, the three estates, demesne
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ESTATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "18. Part of a piano or loom"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a sustained bass note
• Similar words include: foot lever, cycle, wheel
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PEDAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Boots on the ground"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that soldiers collectively
• Similar words include: scout troop, scout group, military personnel
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TROOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Rep.'s counterpart"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a fractional monetary unit of japan and indonesia and cambodia; equal to one hundredth of a yen or rupiah or riel
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Ray of McDonald's"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: KROC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Genre for Ziggy Stardust, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GLAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Naan alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ROTI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Coalition that opposed the Allies in W.W. II"

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AXISPOWERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Mexican wrap"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a long brightly colored shawl; worn mainly by mexican men
• Similar words include: sarape
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SERAPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Kid-lit girl with a blueberry pail"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Greek goddess of the earth"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of cronus and the titans in ancient mythology
• Similar words include: Gaea, Ge
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GAIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Brewing need"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that twining perennials having cordate leaves and flowers arranged in conelike spikes; the dried flowers of this plant are used in brewing to add the characteristic bitter taste to beer
• Similar words include: skip, hop-skip, hop
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. They help you drive farther"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the starting place for each hole on a golf course
• Similar words include: golf tee, football tee, tee up
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Ballpark fig."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that standard time in the 5th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern united states
• Similar words include: Eastern Time, Eastern Standard Time
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Snooping (around)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that search or inquire in a meddlesome way
• Similar words include: horn in, intrude, nuzzle
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NOSING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. "___ thou not minister to a mind diseased ...?": Macbeth"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CANST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Significant periods"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
• Similar words include: date of reference, era, epoch
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EPOCHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Overdue debt"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ARREAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Golfer Calvin or QB Rodney"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PEETE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Islam's largest branch"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a member of the branch of islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors to muhammad
• Similar words include: Sunnite, Sunni Muslim, Sunni Islam
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SUNNI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Alternative to a tap on the shoulder"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PSST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Works of praise"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
• Similar words include: ode
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. "Othello" villain"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the villain in william shakespeare's tragedy who tricked othello into murdering his wife
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IAGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Some supports"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
• Similar words include: bandeau, brassiere, bra
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. ___ Lewis, the "Grande Dame of Southern Cooking""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EDNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Minor complaint"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a luminance unit equal to 1 candle per square meter measured perpendicular to the rays from the source
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. Unspecified amount"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that one or some or every or all without specification
• Similar words include: whatsoever, whatever
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ANY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "61. Not Rx"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (of securities) not traded on a stock exchange
• Similar words include: over-the-counter
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OTC

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

41 Down Clues

74 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.

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Last updated: April 28, 2026 at 06:18 AM

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 11, 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
• Across Clues Table (35 clues)
• Across Clues - Detailed Hints
• Down Clues Table (44 clues)
• Down Clues - Detailed Hints
• Expert Solving Strategies
• Today's Puzzle Statistics

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. Lewis Carroll's "The ___ and the Carpenter"	6
2A	7. Something you might leave at the front door when entering a house	4
3A	11. "Yeah, right!"	4
4A	15. Quantity	6
5A	16. Words from someone who failed to understand	9
6A	18. "Oh, for heaven's sake!"	16
7A	20. Show contempt for, in a way	7
8A	21. Rain delay coverings	5
9A	22. Poet's dusk	3
10A	23. Mystical stuff	6
11A	26. "We don't discriminate in this workplace," in job ads	3
12A	29. Newfoundland or Labrador retriever	8
13A	31. Transcript fig.	3
14A	34. Openly resists	6
15A	36. "Then, window, let day in, and let ___ out": Juliet	4
16A	37. Smile broadly	4
17A	38. Arduous routine	5
18A	39. Get smart?	4
19A	40. "Priscilla" director Coppola	5
20A	41. How a German count might get started	4
21A	42. Swampy land	4
22A	43. Does the dishes?	6
23A	44. Complete collection	3
24A	45. Hoped-for prognosis for an election incumbent	8
25A	47. Twisty curve	3
26A	48. Spews out	6
27A	50. Big name in nail polish	3
28A	51. One-named singer with the 2017 platinum album "Melodrama"	5
29A	53. Trap	7
30A	57. 1957 rock 'n' roll classic suggested by this puzzle's circled letters	16
31A	62. Crème de la crème	9
32A	63. Prom, e.g.	6
33A	64. Iconic bit of NPR merch	4
34A	65. Confront	4
35A	66. Puts icing on	6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Lewis Carroll's "The ___ and the Carpenter""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that either of two large northern marine mammals having ivory tusks and tough hide over thick blubber
• Similar words include: seahorse, sea horse
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: WALRUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Something you might leave at the front door when entering a house"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
• Similar words include: skid, horseshoe, brake shoe
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SHOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. "Yeah, right!""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASIF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Quantity"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a quantity of money
• Similar words include: add up, amount of money, number
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AMOUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Words from someone who failed to understand"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: YOULOSTME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. "Oh, for heaven's sake!""

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GOODNESSGRACIOUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Show contempt for, in a way"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SNEERAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Rain delay coverings"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that waterproofed canvas
• Similar words include: tarp, tarpaulin
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Poet's dusk"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. Mystical stuff"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that information known only to a special group
• Similar words include: arcanum, secret
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ARCANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. "We don't discriminate in this workplace," in job ads"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EEO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "29. Newfoundland or Labrador retriever"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DOGBREED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "31. Transcript fig."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted
• Similar words include: grade point average
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "34. Openly resists"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that resist or confront with resistance
• Similar words include: dare, refuse, defy
• Opposite of: lend oneself

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DEFIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "36. "Then, window, let day in, and let ___ out": Juliet"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a characteristic state or mode of living
• Similar words include: spirit, animation, life story
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LIFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "37. Smile broadly"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
• Similar words include: broadcast, transmit, irradiation
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Arduous routine"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious
• Similar words include: crunch, moil, dig
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GRIND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Get smart?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
• Similar words include: back talk, lip, backtalk
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. "Priscilla" director Coppola"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that capital and largest city of bulgaria located in western bulgaria
• Similar words include: Serdica, Bulgarian capital
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SOFIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. How a German count might get started"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Swampy land"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
• Similar words include: bog down, grind to a halt, quagmire
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Does the dishes?"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
• Similar words include: ply, supply, cater
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CATERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Complete collection"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
• Similar words include: Seth, lay out, typeset
• Opposite of: rise

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Hoped-for prognosis for an election incumbent"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SAFESEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. Twisty curve"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons
• Similar words include: Es, atomic number 99, einsteinium
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Spews out"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that put out or expel from a place
• Similar words include: turf out, expel, eject
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EJECTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Big name in nail polish"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OPI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. One-named singer with the 2017 platinum album "Melodrama""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LORDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Trap"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that take or catch as if in a snare or trap
• Similar words include: trammel, entrap, frame
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ENSNARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. 1957 rock 'n' roll classic suggested by this puzzle's circled letters"

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GREATBALLSOFFIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Crème de la crème"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BESTOFALL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Prom, e.g."

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a lavish dance requiring formal attire
• Similar words include: courtly, schematic, dinner gown
• Opposite of: informal

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FORMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Iconic bit of NPR merch"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a capacious bag or basket
• Similar words include: lug, tote bag, tug
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TOTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Confront"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
• Similar words include: grimace, human face, confront
• Opposite of: avoid, back

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Puts icing on"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
• Similar words include: icing, ice, freeze
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FROSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Tail or finger motion	3
2D	2. Andy's partner in an old radio sitcom	4
3D	3. State bird of Minnesota	4
4D	4. Ill-mannered	4
5D	5. Superfluous	8
6D	6. Purchases for some audiophiles	7
7D	7. Part of GPS: Abbr.	4
8D	8. Not share, as the covers	3
9D	9. Taylor Swift's "___ Song"	3
10D	10. She, in São Paulo	3
11D	11. ___ pear (applelike fruit)	5
12D	12. Cost required to stow furniture, say	10
13D	13. "My turn to play!"	4
14D	14. Come clean, with "up"	4
15D	17. Eightsome	5
16D	19. Belted out	4
17D	23. Comes into play	6
18D	24. Play callers?	4
19D	25. It's for "cookie," to Cookie Monster	3
20D	26. Sides	5
21D	27. Inducing goose bumps	5
22D	28. Worth exploring	10
23D	30. Plays at full blast	6
24D	32. What pants come in that shirts don't	5
25D	33. Accumulate	5
26D	35. Useful contacts	3
27D	37. Online automaton	3
28D	39. Search (through)	4
29D	40. Replaced as a substitute	8
30D	42. ___ and cheese	3
31D	43. Finishes with flair	7
32D	45. Take care of, as a task	5
33D	46. Seeming eternities	4
34D	49. Matchmaking site with a "synagogue attendance" filter	5
35D	51. Pride Month letters	4
36D	52. Black-and-white mouthful	4
37D	53. Actress Fanning	4
38D	54. Lead-in to Cuban or Caribbean	4
39D	55. Glasses sans glass	4
40D	56. Q.E.D. part	4
41D	58. Fave pal	3
42D	59. Small battery	3
43D	60. Cousin of Inc.	3
44D	61. Enrollment center?	3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tail or finger motion"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a witty amusing person who makes jokes
• Similar words include: waggle, wit, shake
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: WAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Andy's partner in an old radio sitcom"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
• Similar words include: Book of Amos
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AMOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. State bird of Minnesota"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a worthless lazy fellow
• Similar words include: addlehead, birdbrain, addle-head
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Ill-mannered"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that socially incorrect in behavior
• Similar words include: raw, natural, unmannered
• Opposite of: civil

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Superfluous"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that not necessary
• Similar words include: unnecessary
• Opposite of: necessary

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: UNNEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Purchases for some audiophiles"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that reproducer in which two microphones feed two or more loudspeakers to give a three-dimensional effect to the sound
• Similar words include: stereoscopic photograph, stereophony, stereoscopic picture
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STEREOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Part of GPS: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SYST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Not share, as the covers"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a person regarded as greedy and pig-like
• Similar words include: hogget, Sus scrofa, hogg
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Taylor Swift's "___ Song""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OUR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. She, in São Paulo"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an extreme leftist terrorist group formed in greece in 1971 to oppose the military junta that ruled greece from 1967 to 1974; a revolutionary group opposed to capitalism and imperialism and the united states
• Similar words include: Revolutionary People's Struggle
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ELA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. ___ pear (applelike fruit)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a native or inhabitant of asia
• Similar words include: Asiatic
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Cost required to stow furniture, say"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STORAGEFEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "My turn to play!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IMUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Come clean, with "up""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield
• Similar words include: Fes, Fez, fesse
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "17. Eightsome"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one
• Similar words include: ogdoad, eighter, VIII
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OCTAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Belted out"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that north american woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the chinese ginseng
• Similar words include: blab, Panax quinquefolius, peach
• Opposite of: keep quiet

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Comes into play"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
• Similar words include: turn out, go up, bob up
• Opposite of: turn in, go to bed

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ARISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "24. Play callers?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (sports) the chief official (as in boxing or american football) who is expected to ensure fair play
• Similar words include: referee, ref
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: REFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "25. It's for "cookie," to Cookie Monster"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "26. Sides"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the boundary of a surface
• Similar words include: inch, butt on, sharpness
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "27. Inducing goose bumps"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
• Similar words include: eery
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EERIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "28. Worth exploring"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OFINTEREST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "30. Plays at full blast"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a loud harsh or strident noise
• Similar words include: blare, din, clamor
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BLARES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. What pants come in that shirts don't"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a set of two similar things considered as a unit
• Similar words include: couplet, brace, pair off
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PAIRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "33. Accumulate"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that collect or gather
• Similar words include: pile up, compile, collect
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AMASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. Useful contacts"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an agency in the department of justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the united states
• Similar words include: inch, indium, IN
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Online automaton"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Search (through)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that move as if through a sieve
• Similar words include: sieve, strain
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SIFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Replaced as a substitute"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SATINFOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "42. ___ and cheese"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
• Similar words include: mack, mackintosh, macintosh
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MAC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Finishes with flair"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CAPSOFF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "45. Take care of, as a task"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SEETO

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33D: "46. Seeming eternities"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the longest division of geological time
• Similar words include: aeon, eon
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EONS

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34D: "49. Matchmaking site with a "synagogue attendance" filter"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: JDATE

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35D: "51. Pride Month letters"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LGBT

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36D: "52. Black-and-white mouthful"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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

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37D: "53. Actress Fanning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ELLE

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38D: "54. Lead-in to Cuban or Caribbean"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a rounded thickly curled hairdo
• Similar words include: Afro hairdo
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AFRO

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39D: "55. Glasses sans glass"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object
• Similar words include: brim, rim, flange
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RIMS

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40D: "56. Q.E.D. part"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ERAT

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41D: "58. Fave pal"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BFF

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42D: "59. Small battery"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta associated with old age and hypertension
• Similar words include: abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AAA

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43D: "60. Cousin of Inc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LLC

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44D: "61. Enrollment center?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
• Similar words include: altitude, EL, elevated railway
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ELS

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues

44 Down Clues

79 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 11, 2026 at 05:15 AM