Search Clues

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

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 04, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "Handy" kitchen item 4
2A 5. Smears with goo 6
3A 11. Music genre with offbeat rhythms 3
4A 14. So-called "servebot" in tennis, essentially 4
5A 15. Action on the front lines 6
6A 16. Hunk of cash 3
7A 17. Words uttered while sorting potential gowns for an Indian wedding? 11
8A 19. Word aptly hidden in "moldy" 3
9A 20. Some marksmen 7
10A 21. Stringed instruments of old 5
11A 23. Inc. alternative 3
12A 24. Kind of whale 6
13A 27. Wedding feast delivery from India's capital? 13
14A 31. Unwelcome responsibility 4
15A 33. Rawboned 5
16A 34. "Deadline" for a rush order 3
17A 35. Bit of tailoring 3
18A 36. Writer Rand 3
19A 38. Great Leap Forward leader 3
20A 39. Longoria with three Screen Actors Guild awards 3
21A 40. Celestial sphere 3
22A 41. Hold power, as a ruler 5
23A 43. "You said it!" 4
24A 44. Tying the knot during a colorful Hindu festival? 13
25A 48. One who makes a lasting impression while just scratching the surface 6
26A 49. Part of NATO: Abbr. 3
27A 50. When repeated, "You get the gist" 5
28A 52. Enter furtively 7
29A 56. Mysterious sight at night 3
30A 57. "Esteemed reception guests, we regret to report that we've run out of flatbread," e.g.? 11
31A 61. Scratch the surface of, say 3
32A 62. Like the physicist Niels Bohr and the astronomer Tycho Brahe 6
33A 63. Stock market unveilings, for short 4
34A 64. "___ you done?" 3
35A 65. Luxury transports 6
36A 66. Common workout target 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Handy" kitchen item"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
  • Similar words include: baseball glove, hand, paw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Smears with goo"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any thick, viscous matter
  • Similar words include: slime, reduce, goo
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLIMES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Music genre with offbeat rhythms"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. So-called "servebot" in tennis, essentially"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that type genus of the aceraceae; trees or shrubs having winged fruit
  • Similar words include: genus Acer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Action on the front lines"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an engagement fought between two military forces
  • Similar words include: fight, fighting, armed combat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMBAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Hunk of cash"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small mass of soft material
  • Similar words include: mass, slew, pot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Words uttered while sorting potential gowns for an Indian wedding?"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Word aptly hidden in "moldy""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Some marksmen"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place
  • Similar words include: sniper
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIPERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Stringed instruments of old"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Similar words include: lyre
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Inc. alternative"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Kind of whale"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a horny material from the upper jaws of certain whales; used as the ribs of fans or as stays in corsets
  • Similar words include: whalebone
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BALEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Wedding feast delivery from India's capital?"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Unwelcome responsibility"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an onerous or difficult concern
  • Similar words include: incumbrance, load, burden
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Rawboned"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
  • Similar words include: cadaverous, haggard, emaciated
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. "Deadline" for a rush order"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the momentary present
  • Similar words include: at once, straight off, forthwith
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Bit of tailoring"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
  • Similar words include: ahem
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Writer Rand"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Great Leap Forward leader"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of many body compounds (e.g., epinephrine and norepinephrine and serotonin)
  • Similar words include: Mao Tsetung, monoamine oxidase, Mao Zedong
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Longoria with three Screen Actors Guild awards"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Celestial sphere"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye
  • Similar words include: orbit, globe, eyeball
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Hold power, as a ruler"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful
  • Similar words include: prevail, predominate, sovereignty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REIGN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. "You said it!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Tying the knot during a colorful Hindu festival?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. One who makes a lasting impression while just scratching the surface"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who etches
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Part of NATO: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. When repeated, "You get the gist""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Enter furtively"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. Mysterious sight at night"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown; especially those considered to have extraterrestrial origins
  • Similar words include: flying saucer, unidentified flying object
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UFO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. "Esteemed reception guests, we regret to report that we've run out of flatbread," e.g.?"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Scratch the surface of, say"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
  • Similar words include: spoil, vitiate, defect
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Like the physicist Niels Bohr and the astronomer Tycho Brahe"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

33A: "63. Stock market unveilings, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. "___ you done?""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
  • Similar words include: equal, cost, constitute
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. Luxury transports"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
  • Similar words include: racing yacht, yacht
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YACHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Common workout target"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small group of indispensable persons or things
  • Similar words include: nitty-gritty, pith, substance
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. The "m" in many a physics equation 4
2D 2. Self-assured words 4
3D 3. Actress Polo 4
4D 4. Toughest hits to get when hitting for the cycle in baseball 7
5D 5. Sear 6
6D 6. "___ of luck!" 4
7D 7. Quick communications, in brief 3
8D 8. Postgraduate deg. with management courses 3
9D 9. Musician's asset 3
10D 10. Stylish shoe feature 8
11D 11. Someone you will never stop despising 10
12D 12. Green smoothie staple 4
13D 13. Tosses in 4
14D 18. "Little" Dickens girl 4
15D 22. Up to this point 3
16D 24. ___-free (plastics label) 3
17D 25. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vis-à-vis "Saturday Night Live" 6
18D 26. Singer ___ Del Rey 4
19D 27. Longtime Hogwarts headmaster 10
20D 28. Set aflame 6
21D 29. Wander 4
22D 30. Graceful bird 4
23D 31. "Pick me! Pick me!" 4
24D 32. Infamous Roman ruler 4
25D 36. Attractive plus-one 8
26D 37. "You said it!" 4
27D 42. Canine warning 3
28D 43. Like a cherub 7
29D 45. "___ be a real honor" 3
30D 46. Transforms 6
31D 47. Cookie with an "enrobed" variety in the U.K. 4
32D 50. Arizona city or county 4
33D 51. At a distance 4
34D 52. Film information on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes 4
35D 53. Cops, in slang 4
36D 54. Iconic lab assistant of film 4
37D 55. Where Anheuser-Busch is "BUD" 4
38D 58. Battery for a mouse 3
39D 59. Anti-apartheid org. 3
40D 60. U.S. medical research agcy. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. The "m" in many a physics equation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
  • Similar words include: slew, pot, lot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Self-assured words"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Actress Polo"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Toughest hits to get when hitting for the cycle in baseball"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a base hit at which the batter stops safely at third base
  • Similar words include: trio, three-bagger, treble
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIPLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Sear"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a surface burn
  • Similar words include: char, blacken, sear
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCORCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "___ of luck!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large number or amount
  • Similar words include: mass, slew, circle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Quick communications, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Postgraduate deg. with management courses"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a master's degree in business
  • Similar words include: Master in Business Administration, Master in Business
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Musician's asset"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: capitulum, auricle, spike
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Stylish shoe feature"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small dagger with a tapered blade
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STILETTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Someone you will never stop despising"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Green smoothie staple"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for money
  • Similar words include: dinero, boodle, Brassica oleracea acephala
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Tosses in"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: hyperkinetic syndrome, MBD, add up
  • Opposite of: take away, subtract
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "Little" Dickens girl"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Up to this point"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that up to the present time
  • Similar words include: as yet, even, heretofore
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. ___-free (plastics label)"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vis-à-vis "Saturday Night Live""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who has received a degree from a school (high school or college or university)
  • Similar words include: alum, grad, alumnus
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALUMNI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Singer ___ Del Rey"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Longtime Hogwarts headmaster"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Set aflame"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat
  • Similar words include: take fire, inflame, combust
  • Opposite of: extinguish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGNITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Wander"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
  • Similar words include: roam, ramble, swan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Graceful bird"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
  • Similar words include: roam, ramble, avow
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "31. "Pick me! Pick me!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. Infamous Roman ruler"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of rome in 64) but the roman empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68)
  • Similar words include: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. Attractive plus-one"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. "You said it!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not only so, but
  • Similar words include: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Canine warning"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Like a cherub"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
  • Similar words include: saintlike, saintly, cherubic
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGELIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. "___ be a real honor""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Transforms"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to change shape in a computer animation
  • Similar words include: morph
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORPHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Cookie with an "enrobed" variety in the U.K."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Arizona city or county"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the north american indian people of arizona and adjacent mexico and california
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YUMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. At a distance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Film information on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the actors in a play
  • Similar words include: cat, ramble, throw up
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Cops, in slang"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Iconic lab assistant of film"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "55. Where Anheuser-Busch is "BUD""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a stock exchange in new york
  • Similar words include: big board, N. Y. Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NYSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Battery for a mouse"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Anti-apartheid org."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. U.S. medical research agcy."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of health and human services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government
  • Similar words include: National Institutes of Health
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIH

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

36 Across Clues
40 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: August 04, 2026 at 06:07 AM

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers June 23, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Swiss currency 5
2A 6. Kind of clef used for the viola 4
3A 10. Command to Rover 4
4A 14. Word after lucky or little 5
5A 15. Reserve in advance 4
6A 16. Only PG-rated in terms of sexual content, say 4
7A 17. Menzel with a Tony for "Wicked" 5
8A 18. ___ fresca (Latin American refreshment) 4
9A 19. Neural signal conductor 4
10A 20. One might involve a false account 10
11A 22. Judgmental sounds 4
12A 23. Outrage 3
13A 24. Grp. that adjusts oil production 4
14A 26. $100 bills, slangily 6
15A 30. Alias 8
16A 34. Casual greeting 5
17A 35. The Rev. Leonard Clement, in an Agatha Christie novel 5
18A 36. Hide ___ hair 3
19A 37. Emotional state 4
20A 38. Rash 5
21A 39. Target of Glade or Febreze 4
22A 40. Tidy updo, say 3
23A 41. Deices, as a road 5
24A 42. Wipe out 5
25A 43. Notable features of the Charleston, S.C., skyline 8
26A 45. Like some roofs 6
27A 46. Eye irritation 4
28A 47. Some small batteries 3
29A 48. Member of an ancient Peruvian empire 4
30A 50. Doesn't lie, exactly ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters 13
31A 57. Babe in a stable 4
32A 58. Nondairy spread 4
33A 59. "Blue" locale in a 1977 Linda Ronstadt classic 5
34A 60. Big rig 4
35A 61. Sit (down) heavily 4
36A 62. Montréal traffic sign 5
37A 63. Peak in Greek myth 4
38A 64. Huff and puff 4
39A 65. "Geez-o-Pete!" 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Swiss currency"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRANC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Kind of clef used for the viola"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
  • Similar words include: countertenor, contralto
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Command to Rover"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that continuing or remaining in a place or state
  • Similar words include: stay put, delay, remain
  • Opposite of: depart, change
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Word after lucky or little"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (judeo-christian and islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of god; tempter of mankind; master of hell
  • Similar words include: ogre, annoy, Lucifer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEVIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Reserve in advance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
  • Similar words include: script, rule book, leger
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Only PG-rated in terms of sexual content, say"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that correct by punishment or discipline
  • Similar words include: naturalize, domesticise, domesticize
  • Opposite of: wild
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Menzel with a Tony for "Wicked""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. ___ fresca (Latin American refreshment)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that largest known toad species; native to central america; valuable destroyer of insect pests
  • Similar words include: agua toad, Bufo marinus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGUA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Neural signal conductor"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron
  • Similar words include: axone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. One might involve a false account"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Judgmental sounds"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Outrage"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Grp. that adjusts oil production"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum
  • Similar words include: Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. $100 bills, slangily"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Alias"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Casual greeting"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. The Rev. Leonard Clement, in an Agatha Christie novel"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a roman catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VICAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Hide ___ hair"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Emotional state"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
  • Similar words include: temper, modality, climate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Rash"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that excessively quick
  • Similar words include: precipitous, precipitant, overhasty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HASTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. Target of Glade or Febreze"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: odour, aroma, scent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Tidy updo, say"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small rounded bread either plain or sweet
  • Similar words include: roll
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Deices, as a road"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
  • Similar words include: saltiness, salt, table salt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Wipe out"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from memory or existence
  • Similar words include: score out, wipe out, wipe off
  • Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. Notable features of the Charleston, S.C., skyline"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top
  • Similar words include: steeple, spire
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEEPLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Like some roofs"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of a roof) constructed with a single slope on each side of the ridge supported at the end by a gable or vertical triangular portion of an end wall
  • Opposite of: hipped
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GABLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Eye irritation"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid
  • Similar words include: hordeolum, eye infection, sty
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "47. Some small batteries"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an associate degree in applied science
  • Similar words include: Associate in Applied Science, AA, aa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "48. Member of an ancient Peruvian empire"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
  • Similar words include: Inka, Incan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "50. Doesn't lie, exactly ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. Babe in a stable"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a young horse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. Nondairy spread"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a spread made chiefly from vegetable oils and used as a substitute for butter
  • Similar words include: margarine, marge, oleomargarine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLEO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. "Blue" locale in a 1977 Linda Ronstadt classic"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a swampy arm or slow-moving outlet of a lake (term used mainly in mississippi and louisiana)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAYOU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Big rig"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the two competitions in the next to the last round of an elimination tournament
  • Similar words include: trucking rig, articulated lorry, trailer truck
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEMI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. Sit (down) heavily"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the noise of a rounded object dropping into a liquid without a splash
  • Similar words include: plump down, plunk down, plump
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. Montréal traffic sign"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. Peak in Greek myth"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: operating system, osmium, atomic number 76
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "64. Huff and puff"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the noise made by a short puff of steam (as from an engine)
  • Similar words include: heave, trouser, puff
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "65. "Geez-o-Pete!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Bank-protecting agcy. 4
2D 2. Make over 4
3D 3. Tel ___ 4
4D 4. Number of digits in a Social Security number 4
5D 5. Transparent quality 7
6D 6. Taper off 5
7D 7. Apple's apple, for one 4
8D 8. College campus offering 4
9D 9. "All right! Enough already!" 8
10D 10. New York's ___ Island 6
11D 11. One might involve false accounts 10
12D 12. In a frenzy 4
13D 13. Yearnings 4
14D 21. Yearbook div. 3
15D 25. For each 3
16D 26. Detangles, in a way 5
17D 27. Big whoop 5
18D 28. Bad calls? 10
19D 29. It took more than 70 yrs. to complete its first edition 3
20D 30. They may be raised in defiance 5
21D 31. Follower of the Gospels? 4
22D 32. Most dangerous animal in Maine, it's said 5
23D 33. Messed up 5
24D 35. Word of farewell in old Rome 4
25D 38. Comet discovered in 1995 8
26D 39. Globe 3
27D 41. Secretly watch, with "on" 3
28D 42. Region of Oakland and Alameda 7
29D 44. Plus other things, in Latin 6
30D 45. Rip-roaring good time 3
31D 47. Take in a stray, say 5
32D 48. "In that event ..." 4
33D 49. Vetoes 4
34D 51. Jazzy Fitzgerald 4
35D 52. Like the color of a safety vest, typically 4
36D 53. "Hyde and ___" (1955 Bugs Bunny short) 4
37D 54. Literary Jane 4
38D 55. Things stepped on by bad ballroom dancers 4
39D 56. The "R" of R.B.G. 4

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Bank-protecting agcy."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions
  • Similar words include: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FDIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Make over"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that do over, as of (part of) a house
  • Similar words include: reconstruct, refashion, remake
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Tel ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Number of digits in a Social Security number"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
  • Similar words include: ennead, ball club, club
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Transparent quality"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression
  • Similar words include: limpidity, lucidness, clearness
  • Opposite of: unclearness, opacity
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLARITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Taper off"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less active or intense
  • Similar words include: slack, slake, die away
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Apple's apple, for one"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a company emblem or device
  • Similar words include: logotype
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. College campus offering"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area
  • Similar words include: duty tour, go, term of enlistment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOUR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "All right! Enough already!""

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. New York's ___ Island"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. One might involve false accounts"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. In a frenzy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that frenzied as if possessed by a demon
  • Similar words include: possessed, demoniac, berserk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Yearnings"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a yearning for something or to do something
  • Similar words include: yen, yearn, ache
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Yearbook div."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element of the alkali metal group; turns yellow in air; occurs in celestite and strontianite
  • Similar words include: Sr, atomic number 38, sr
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "25. For each"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Detangles, in a way"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
  • Similar words include: cockscomb, coxcomb, disentangle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Big whoop"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: call out, holler, squall
  • Opposite of: whisper
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Bad calls?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. It took more than 70 yrs. to complete its first edition"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. They may be raised in defiance"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Follower of the Gospels?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: represent, pretend, bit
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Most dangerous animal in Maine, it's said"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Messed up"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Similar words include: err, stray, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Word of farewell in old Rome"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
  • Similar words include: valley
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Comet discovered in 1995"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Globe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye
  • Similar words include: ball, globe, revolve
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Secretly watch, with "on""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors
  • Similar words include: sleuth, espy, snoop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Region of Oakland and Alameda"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Plus other things, in Latin"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Rip-roaring good time"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
  • Similar words include: shoot a line, gasconade, gasolene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Take in a stray, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
  • Similar words include: embrace, take in, dramatize
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADOPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. "In that event ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "49. Vetoes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding curium with carbon ions; 7 isotopes are known
  • Similar words include: no, atomic number 102, No
  • Opposite of: yes
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Jazzy Fitzgerald"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "52. Like the color of a safety vest, typically"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: Ne, atomic number 10
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "53. "Hyde and ___" (1955 Bugs Bunny short)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
  • Similar words include: rabbit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "54. Literary Jane"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shallow salt lake in south central australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent
  • Similar words include: Lake Eyre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "55. Things stepped on by bad ballroom dancers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the digits of the foot
  • Similar words include: toe, toenail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. The "R" of R.B.G."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
  • Similar words include: pathos, Sultan of Swat, commiseration
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: June 23, 2026 at 07:03 AM