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

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 12, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Mentions by username, on social media 4
2A 5. High range 6
3A 11. Hits up on Insta, say 3
4A 14. ___ vez (again, in Spanish) 4
5A 15. Torment 6
6A 16. On the sea, it's akin to "Sí" 3
7A 17. Where Docs and Sheets are stored 11
8A 19. Jordan joined it in 1984, for short 3
9A 20. Pal 5
10A 21. Only number that appears twice in the Fibonacci sequence 3
11A 22. Rip-off 4
12A 23. Measurements of Wi-Fi performance 13
13A 27. Didn't have a match in Go Fish, say 4
14A 28. Feeling little to no amorous attraction, in L.G.B.T.Q.+ lingo 3
15A 29. Identity prefix 3
16A 32. Baldwin with a record 17 appearances as "Saturday Night Live" host 4
17A 35. Unwanted divisions 5
18A 38. Web volume measured in hits ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 49- and 61-Across 15
19A 42. 2024 film that won Best Picture 5
20A 43. Boba tea flavor 4
21A 44. Word with run or resort 3
22A 45. Throw, for instance 3
23A 46. Buddhist leader 4
24A 49. Major consequence of a virus, perhaps 13
25A 55. Extreme craving 4
26A 56. "OK," in Osaka 3
27A 57. "Like ___!" ("Whatever!") 5
28A 60. "Sorry, it's ___ from me" 3
29A 61. Cause of some slow data transfers 11
30A 64. Highly monitored area, for short 3
31A 65. Flowery 6
32A 66. Affinity for something, so to speak 4
33A 67. Home of Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with "the" 3
34A 68. Snipes of "White Men Can't Jump" 6
35A 69. Baking amts. 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Mentions by username, on social media"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a label written or printed on paper, cardboard, or plastic that is attached to something to indicate its owner, nature, price, etc.
  • Similar words include: tail, go after, ticket
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. High range"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the pitch range of the highest female voice
  • Similar words include: threefold, three-fold, double
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Hits up on Insta, say"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria
  • Similar words include: DM, dm, decimeter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. ___ vez (again, in Spanish)"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Torment"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cultivator that pulverizes or smooths the soil
  • Similar words include: disk
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. On the sea, it's akin to "Sí""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Where Docs and Sheets are stored"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Jordan joined it in 1984, for short"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Pal"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friend or comrade
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMIGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Only number that appears twice in the Fibonacci sequence"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: 1, peerless, nonpareil
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Rip-off"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fraudulent business scheme
  • Similar words include: defraud, gyp, con
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Measurements of Wi-Fi performance"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Didn't have a match in Go Fish, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states actor (born in ireland); father of georgiana emma barrymore (1827-1862)
  • Similar words include: thread, trace, pass
  • Opposite of: repel, deposit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Feeling little to no amorous attraction, in L.G.B.T.Q.+ lingo"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Identity prefix"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alliance made up of states that had been soviet socialist republics in the soviet union prior to its dissolution in dec 1991
  • Similar words include: Commonwealth of Independent States, Ci, curie
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Baldwin with a record 17 appearances as "Saturday Night Live" host"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Unwanted divisions"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gap between cloud masses
  • Similar words include: breach, rift, falling out
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIFTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. Web volume measured in hits ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 49- and 61-Across"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. 2024 film that won Best Picture"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Boba tea flavor"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants
  • Similar words include: dasheen, taro root, edda
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Word with run or resort"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that narrow wood or metal or plastic runners used in pairs for gliding over snow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Throw, for instance"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
  • Similar words include: carpet, carpeting
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Buddhist leader"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tibetan or mongolian priest of lamaism
  • Similar words include: genus Lama
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "49. Major consequence of a virus, perhaps"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "55. Extreme craving"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong sexual desire
  • Similar words include: hunger, lecherousness, crave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "56. "OK," in Osaka"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. "Like ___!" ("Whatever!")"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. "Sorry, it's ___ from me""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a palestinian international terrorist organization that split from the plo in 1974; has conducted terrorist attacks in 20 countries
  • Similar words include: Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims, Abu Nidal Organization, Black September
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Cause of some slow data transfers"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Highly monitored area, for short"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care
  • Similar words include: intensive care unit
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Flowery"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with decorative details; ; -john milton
  • Similar words include: flowery
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORNATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Affinity for something, so to speak"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: wind, poke, olfactory organ
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Home of Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with "the""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come together
  • Similar words include: fill, receive, run across
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Snipes of "White Men Can't Jump""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english clergyman and brother of john wesley who wrote many hymns (1707-1788)
  • Similar words include: John Wesley, Charles Wesley
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WESLEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Baking amts."

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Party wrap 4
2D 2. Bit of chemistry 4
3D 3. Bad thing to pull while running 5
4D 4. Failed under pressure, in a way 6
5D 5. Hot French beverage 3
6D 6. "Sick, dude!" 3
7D 7. What a bug may cause 5
8D 8. Cusp 5
9D 9. Is gaga for 5
10D 10. Farm female 3
11D 11. "Battles" of those busting moves 9
12D 12. "I messed up" 5
13D 13. Lines in mines 5
14D 18. Tolkien fantasy series inits. 4
15D 22. Little flourish on a letter 5
16D 24. Break off gradually 4
17D 25. Barn nestling 5
18D 26. Lawyer's aide, informally 4
19D 29. Org. in the Jack Ryan movies 3
20D 30. Tabard ___, locale in "The Canterbury Tales" 3
21D 31. Leaves in a huff 9
22D 33. Greek letter representing elasticity in economics 3
23D 34. PC "copy" shortcut 5
24D 36. ___Tok 3
25D 37. STEM part: Abbr. 3
26D 39. Go ballistic 5
27D 40. Big name in pasta sauce 4
28D 41. Pride sound 4
29D 47. ___ Marian (English folklore heroine) 4
30D 48. It's on the up and up 6
31D 49. Fraud victim's filing 5
32D 50. Perfumery unit 5
33D 51. "And ... voilà!" 5
34D 52. Comes to deserve 5
35D 53. Measure up to, as in competition 5
36D 54. Nickname for M.L.B.'s Angels 5
37D 58. Feature of one's voice following a loud concert, say 4
38D 59. Potato discards 4
39D 61. Farm female 3
40D 62. It ends in septembre 3
41D 63. Singer Lana Del ___ 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Party wrap"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a one-piece cloak worn by men in ancient rome
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOGA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Bit of chemistry"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
  • Similar words include: speck, molecule, corpuscle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Bad thing to pull while running"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals
  • Similar words include: breakwater, seawall, bulwark
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Failed under pressure, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
  • Similar words include: droop, flag, sag down
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Hot French beverage"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Sick, dude!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material
  • Similar words include: radian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. What a bug may cause"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Cusp"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a region marking a boundary
  • Similar words include: verge, threshold
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Is gaga for"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
  • Similar words include: roll in the hay, hump, fuck
  • Opposite of: hate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Farm female"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Battles" of those busting moves"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "I messed up""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Lines in mines"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
  • Similar words include: wrinkle, bed, seam
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Tolkien fantasy series inits."

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Little flourish on a letter"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short line at the end of the main strokes of a character
  • Similar words include: seriph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERIF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Break off gradually"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother's milk
  • Similar words include: ablactate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Barn nestling"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Lawyer's aide, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (obstetrics) the number of liveborn children a woman has delivered
  • Similar words include: Feliz Lusitania, paratrooper, Belem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Org. in the Jack Ryan movies"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent agency of the united states government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest; headed by the director of central intelligence under the supervision of the president and national security council
  • Similar words include: Central Intelligence Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Tabard ___, locale in "The Canterbury Tales""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Leaves in a huff"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Greek letter representing elasticity in economics"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Homeland and Freedom, Basque Fatherland and Liberty
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. PC "copy" shortcut"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. ___Tok"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. STEM part: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Go ballistic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that start abruptly
  • Similar words include: flare up, break, break through
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERUPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Big name in pasta sauce"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Pride sound"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep prolonged loud noise
  • Similar words include: holler, bellow, hollo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. ___ Marian (English folklore heroine)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female domestic
  • Similar words include: maiden, maidservant, housemaid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. It's on the up and up"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
  • Similar words include: upgrade, climb, rising
  • Opposite of: fall, descent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASCENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Fraud victim's filing"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
  • Similar words include: take, call, arrogate
  • Opposite of: forfeit, disclaim
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLAIM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Perfumery unit"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a pound
  • Similar words include: oz., snow leopard, troy ounce
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUNCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. "And ... voilà!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a location other than here; that place
  • Similar words include: at that place, in that respect, in that location
  • Opposite of: here
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Comes to deserve"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
  • Similar words include: realise, bring in, garner
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Measure up to, as in competition"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the contestant you hope to defeat
  • Similar words include: equal, competition, challenger
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Nickname for M.L.B.'s Angels"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint
  • Similar words include: aura, glory, aureole
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Feature of one's voice following a loud concert, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uttering in an irritated tone
  • Similar words include: rasping, wood file
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Potato discards"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Farm female"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult female hog
  • Similar words include: seed, inseminate, sow in
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. It ends in septembre"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "63. Singer Lana Del ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

Last updated: August 12, 2026 at 05:10 AM

Friday, June 12, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers June 12, 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. Get-up 4
2A 5. Exhibiting a green face, stereotypically 7
3A 12. Children's book title character in a green suit 5
4A 13. Ambassador's aide 7
5A 14. Inheritance source, for good or ill 14
6A 16. "Red, the color of ___ / Black, the color of despair" ("Les Misérables" lyric) 6
7A 17. Prefix with present 4
8A 18. Farm grazer 3
9A 19. "Empire of the ___" (1977 sci-fi film with an approval rating of 5% on Rotten Tomatoes) 4
10A 20. Velociraptor, e.g., informally 4
11A 22. ___ asada 5
12A 24. Followers of the guru Nanak 5
13A 26. Elate 4
14A 28. Some fragrant gifts 4
15A 29. Half ass reply? 3
16A 30. Microscopic 4
17A 32. Weight 6
18A 34. Style with spotty coverage? 11
19A 37. Good market news 6
20A 39. Slip material 4
21A 40. Tally: Abbr. 3
22A 43. Ex- 4
23A 44. Big name in cups 4
24A 46. Contents of a modern flood 5
25A 48. Lock 5
26A 50. Some camera moves 4
27A 52. Commedia dell'___ 4
28A 53. Needing no script 3
29A 54. Deuce follower 4
30A 56. "That's good to hear" 6
31A 58. Home of the world's largest independently owned bookstore (spanning an entire city block) 14
32A 61. Windflower 7
33A 62. Play again 5
34A 63. Cone holders 7
35A 64. Cost of a hand 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Get-up"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for clothing
  • Similar words include: flop, turkey, dud
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Exhibiting a green face, stereotypically"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that experiencing motion sickness
  • Similar words include: carsick, airsick, air sick
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEASICK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "12. Children's book title character in a green suit"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an imaginary elephant that appears in a series of french books for children
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BABAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Ambassador's aide"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a specialist assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission
  • Similar words include: attache case
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTACHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Inheritance source, for good or ill"

14 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GENETICLOTTERY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. "Red, the color of ___ / Black, the color of despair" ("Les Misérables" lyric)"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
  • Similar words include: trust, hope, want
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DESIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Prefix with present"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Farm grazer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that female of domestic cattle:
  • Similar words include: overawe, moo-cow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. "Empire of the ___" (1977 sci-fi film with an approval rating of 5% on Rotten Tomatoes)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
  • Similar words include: emmet, pismire, ant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Velociraptor, e.g., informally"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. ___ asada"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Followers of the guru Nanak"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adherent of sikhism
  • Similar words include: Sikh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIKHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Elate"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: broadcast, ship, post
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Some fragrant gifts"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Half ass reply?"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Microscopic"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: lilliputian, petite, flyspeck
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TINY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Weight"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the striking of one body against another
  • Similar words include: affect, touch, bear on
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMPACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Style with spotty coverage?"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a school of painters who used a technique of painting with tiny dots of pure colors that would blend in the viewer's eye; developed by georges seurat and his followers late in 19th century france
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POINTILLISM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Good market news"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upward movement or trend as in business activity
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPTURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Slip material"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Tally: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy precious metallic element; grey-white and resistant to corroding; occurs in some nickel and copper ores and is also found native in some deposits
  • Similar words include: atomic number 78, Pt, platinum
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Ex-"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time that has elapsed
  • Similar words include: yesteryear, by, retiring
  • Opposite of: present, future
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Big name in cups"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any activity that is performed alone without assistance
  • Similar words include: alone, unaccompanied
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Contents of a modern flood"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (computer science) a system of world-wide electronic communication in which a computer user can compose a message at one terminal that can be regenerated at the recipient's terminal when the recipient logs in
  • Similar words include: netmail, electronic mail, e-mail
  • Opposite of: snail mail
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Lock"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
  • Similar words include: plait, twist, braid
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "50. Some camera moves"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel
  • Similar words include: pan, genus Pan, tear apart
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Commedia dell'___"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Needing no script"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

29A: "54. Deuce follower"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. "That's good to hear""

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "58. Home of the world's largest independently owned bookstore (spanning an entire city block)"

14 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORTLANDOREGON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. Windflower"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any woodland plant of the genus anemone grown for its beautiful flowers and whorls of dissected leaves
  • Similar words include: windflower, sea anemone
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANEMONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "62. Play again"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. Cone holders"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the innermost light-sensitive membrane covering the back wall of the eyeball; it is continuous with the optic nerve
  • Similar words include: retina
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETINAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. Cost of a hand"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Pastry with Austrian origins, despite its name 6
2D 2. Cab alternative 4
3D 3. Passé 5
4D 4. Sanskrit honorific 3
5D 5. Certain ladder climber 6
6D 6. ___ collar 4
7D 7. Ghost story? 5
8D 8. Didn't play 3
9D 9. Place where customers get their licks in? 14
10D 10. Persistent 7
11D 11. Home of the Ernest Hemingway House 7
12D 12. Hidden gem 14
13D 14. One who might say "You wish!" 5
14D 15. Site of America's first roller coaster 11
15D 16. T, in Morse code 4
16D 21. "___ it?" 4
17D 23. Locale for 11 Winter Olympics 4
18D 25. Mix up 4
19D 27. Tzatziki ingredient 4
20D 31. Quality establishments? 4
21D 33. M.C.'s need 4
22D 35. Baseball trio 4
23D 36. Symbol of courage 4
24D 37. Satisfactory 7
25D 38. Epic beginning 7
26D 41. Saturn satellite 5
27D 42. Runners carry it 4
28D 45. Puts in one's two cents 6
29D 47. Smith who has won the Triple Crown of Acting 6
30D 49. Do business? 5
31D 51. Obstacle for Odysseus 5
32D 55. ___ Point, Calif. 4
33D 57. Central point 4
34D 59. "OMG, stop!" 3
35D 60. Pray, in Latin 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Pastry with Austrian origins, despite its name"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a scandinavian language that is the official language of denmark
  • Similar words include: danish pastry
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Cab alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Passé"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that go on a date with
  • Similar words include: go out, date stamp, date
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DATED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Sanskrit honorific"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Certain ladder climber"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various large food and game fishes of northern waters; usually migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn
  • Similar words include: Salmon River, pink-orange, pinkish-orange
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALMON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. ___ collar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Ghost story?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
  • Similar words include: dome, Classical Greek, garret
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Didn't play"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
  • Similar words include: posture, Saturday, model
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Place where customers get their licks in?"

14 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICECREAMPARLOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Persistent"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
  • Similar words include: continuing, inveterate
  • Opposite of: acute
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHRONIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Home of the Ernest Hemingway House"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Hidden gem"

14 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BESTKEPTSECRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. One who might say "You wish!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (islam) an invisible spirit mentioned in the koran and believed by muslims to inhabit the earth and influence mankind by appearing in the form of humans or animals
  • Similar words include: jinni, djinny, djinn
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GENIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. Site of America's first roller coaster"

11 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "16. T, in Morse code"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that distinctive and stylish elegance
  • Similar words include: smash, frighten off, flash
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "21. "___ it?""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Locale for 11 Winter Olympics"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large mountain system in south-central europe; scenic beauty and winter sports make them a popular tourist attraction
  • Similar words include: alp, the Alps
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Mix up"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event
  • Similar words include: stimulate, arouse, evoke
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Tzatziki ingredient"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that aromatic old world herb having aromatic threadlike foliage and seeds used as seasoning
  • Similar words include: Anethum graveolens, dill weed
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Quality establishments?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
  • Similar words include: hostel, auberge, inn
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. M.C.'s need"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
  • Similar words include: microphone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Baseball trio"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball
  • Similar words include: come out, come out of the closet, out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Symbol of courage"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large gregarious predatory feline of africa and india having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
  • Similar words include: Panthera leo, Leo, king of beasts
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Satisfactory"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Epic beginning"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Saturn satellite"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person of exceptional importance and reputation
  • Similar words include: colossus, giant, heavyweight
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TITAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Runners carry it"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle mounted on runners and pulled by horses or dogs; for transportation over snow
  • Similar words include: sleigh, sledge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Puts in one's two cents"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that express one's opinion openly and without fear or hesitation
  • Similar words include: animadvert, speak out, suppose
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPINES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Smith who has won the Triple Crown of Acting"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Do business?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gallery where works of art can be displayed
  • Similar words include: beauty parlor, beauty salon, beauty parlour
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Obstacle for Odysseus"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived
  • Similar words include: temptress, femme fatale, enchantress
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "55. ___ Point, Calif."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that celtic goddess who was the mother of the tuatha de danann; identified with the welsh don
  • Similar words include: Danu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "57. Central point"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
  • Similar words include: essence, nub, heart and soul
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "59. "OMG, stop!""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "60. Pray, in Latin"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: OS, Os, os
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
70 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: June 12, 2026 at 08:08 AM