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Tuesday, September 1, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 01, 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. Fill the role of 5
2A 6. Informed 4
3A 10. River in which baby Moses was found 4
4A 14. Comedians' event 5
5A 15. Sword with a bowl-shaped guard 4
6A 16. Burden to bear 4
7A 17. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil? 10
8A 19. "Ism" that might result from a schism 4
9A 20. Conditionally released 8
10A 21. Tropical fruit with black seeds 6
11A 23. Some N.F.L. blockers: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Org. for Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova 3
13A 25. Noted magnate on the Titanic 5
14A 26. https://www.hot-dog.org? 11
15A 29. Risky bets 6
16A 32. Convened 3
17A 33. Shakespearean father of three 4
18A 35. Dings on a car 5
19A 36. Out of patience, with "up" 3
20A 37. Green sauce 5
21A 38. Prone to throwing caution to the wind 4
22A 39. Unfavorable review 3
23A 40. Split, as the Red Sea 6
24A 41. https://www.zillow.com? 11
25A 44. Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years 5
26A 45. O'Hare posting, for short 3
27A 46. "My guy!" 3
28A 49. Dabble in 6
29A 51. Psychedelic experience 8
30A 53. Like Javan rhinos 4
31A 54. https://www.congress.gov? 10
32A 56. Ilhan in Congress 4
33A 57. Bad to the bone 4
34A 58. "Not gonna happen!" 5
35A 59. Pickle 4
36A 60. Secluded valley 4
37A 61. Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Fill the role of"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Informed"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that express in words
  • Similar words include: distinguish, tell apart, enjoin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. River in which baby Moses was found"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Comedians' event"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of meat roasted or for roasting and of a size for slicing into more than one portion
  • Similar words include: blackguard, laugh at, jest at
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Sword with a bowl-shaped guard"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Burden to bear"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil?"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. "Ism" that might result from a schism"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a subdivision of a larger religious group
  • Similar words include: faction, religious sect, religious order
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SECT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Conditionally released"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Tropical fruit with black seeds"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tropical american shrub or small tree having huge deeply palmately cleft leaves and large oblong yellow fruit
  • Similar words include: Carica papaya, papaia, pawpaw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAPAYA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Some N.F.L. blockers: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Org. for Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Noted magnate on the Titanic"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. https://www.hot-dog.org?"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Risky bets"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who travels by air
  • Similar words include: flyer, bill, flier
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLIERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Convened"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come together
  • Similar words include: take on, gather, fulfil
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. Shakespearean father of three"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that british artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
  • Similar words include: Edward Lear, King Lear
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Dings on a car"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
  • Similar words include: nick, dent, gouge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Out of patience, with "up""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any federal law-enforcement officer
  • Similar words include: give, eat, run
  • Opposite of: starve
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "37. Green sauce"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sauce typically served with pasta; contains crushed basil leaves and garlic and pine nuts and parmesan cheese in olive oil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PESTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. Prone to throwing caution to the wind"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any red eruption of the skin
  • Similar words include: reckless, foolhardy, roseola
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "39. Unfavorable review"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "40. Split, as the Red Sea"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that go one's own way; move apart
  • Similar words include: set forth, set out, start
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "41. https://www.zillow.com?"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "44. Plants that have been around on Earth for 375+ million years"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
  • Similar words include: fern
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. O'Hare posting, for short"

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: Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. "My guy!""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "49. Dabble in"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Psychedelic experience"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "53. Like Javan rhinos"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
  • Similar words include: rarefied, rarified, uncommon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "54. https://www.congress.gov?"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. Ilhan in Congress"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "57. Bad to the bone"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that morally objectionable behavior
  • Similar words include: malign, vicious, immorality
  • Opposite of: goodness, good
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "58. "Not gonna happen!""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not ever; at no time in the past or future
  • Similar words include: ne'er
  • Opposite of: ever
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "59. Pickle"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of confusion and disorderliness
  • Similar words include: flock, pickle, heap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "60. Secluded valley"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small wooded hollow
  • Similar words include: dingle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "61. Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Shady spot 5
2D 2. Dracula, for one 5
3D 3. Camping covers 5
4D 4. Where Uzbeks and Uyghurs live 4
5D 5. Highest-grossing movie of the 1970s 8
6D 6. Magnetic induction units 6
7D 7. Andy Taylor's boy on old TV 4
8D 8. Cry on a tennis court 3
9D 9. Firmly held 7
10D 10. "Don't ruin the ending for me!" 10
11D 11. Genuinely 9
12D 12. "Peanuts" girl 4
13D 13. This, in Tijuana 4
14D 18. HBO's "The White ___" 5
15D 22. Locale of Coca-Cola's headquarters: Abbr. 3
16D 25. Like fine wine 4
17D 26. Amy Poehler's onetime partner on "Weekend Update" 10
18D 27. Update, perhaps 5
19D 28. Model Moss 4
20D 29. Four-term prez 3
21D 30. Wife of Jacob 4
22D 31. To the degree that 9
23D 34. Fishing pole 3
24D 36. Fidget spinners and Labubu dolls, for two 4
25D 37. Rose Bowl city 8
26D 39. Pulled down a pair? 7
27D 40. Like un homme with a Napoleon complex 5
28D 42. Distinct stretch of years 3
29D 43. Think back on 6
30D 46. Push through 5
31D 47. Orion's left-foot star 5
32D 48. "Norma" or "Tosca" 5
33D 49. Senior event 4
34D 50. Uncool 4
35D 51. Indigo dye 4
36D 52. Rolled out unannounced? 4
37D 55. Preceding night 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Shady spot"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tree (as opposed to shrub)
  • Similar words include: arbour, spindle, mandril
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARBOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Dracula, for one"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the total number counted
  • Similar words include: weigh, counting, matter
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Camping covers"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that waterproofed canvas
  • Similar words include: tarpaulin, tarp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Where Uzbeks and Uyghurs live"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Highest-grossing movie of the 1970s"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Magnetic induction units"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: tesla, Tesla, Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Andy Taylor's boy on old TV"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Cry on a tennis court"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brutal terrorist group active in kashmir; fights against india with the goal of restoring islamic rule of india
  • Similar words include: have, permit, countenance
  • Opposite of: forbid, prevent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Firmly held"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Don't ruin the ending for me!""

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Genuinely"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Peanuts" girl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern ethiopia in 1974
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUCY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. This, in Tijuana"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. HBO's "The White ___""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that native to eastern asia; widely cultivated for its large pink or white flowers
  • Similar words include: white lily, white lotus, Indian lotus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Locale of Coca-Cola's headquarters: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Like fine wine"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who are old collectively
  • Similar words include: senesce, older, get on
  • Opposite of: young, rejuvenate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Amy Poehler's onetime partner on "Weekend Update""

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Update, perhaps"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make amendments to
  • Similar words include: ameliorate, remediate, rectify
  • Opposite of: worsen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Model Moss"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Four-term prez"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 32nd president of the united states; elected four times; instituted new deal to counter the great depression and led country during world war ii (1882-1945)
  • Similar words include: President Franklin Roosevelt, F. D. Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FDR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Wife of Jacob"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. To the degree that"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Fishing pole"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin implement made of metal or wood
  • Similar words include: pole, gat, rod cell
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Fidget spinners and Labubu dolls, for two"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
  • Similar words include: rage, fad, furore
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Rose Bowl city"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in southwestern california to the east of los angeles
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASADENA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Pulled down a pair?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Like un homme with a Napoleon complex"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Distinct stretch of years"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
  • Similar words include: earned run average, geological era, epoch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Think back on"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair)
  • Similar words include: recollect, return, come back
  • Opposite of: forget, issue
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECALL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Push through"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a north american indian warrior
  • Similar words include: courageous, brave out, weather
  • Opposite of: timid, cowardly
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Orion's left-foot star"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the brightest star in orion
  • Similar words include: Beta Orionis
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIGEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. "Norma" or "Tosca""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "49. Senior event"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
  • Similar words include: promenade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "50. Uncool"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who doesn't understand what is going on
  • Similar words include: feeble, gimpy, cripple
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "51. Indigo dye"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically
  • Similar words include: Indigofera anil, Indigofera suffruticosa, indigo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Rolled out unannounced?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "55. Preceding night"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) adam's wife in judeo-christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; god created eve from adam's rib and placed adam and eve in the garden of eden
  • Similar words include: evening, even, eventide
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVE

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

37 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
74 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: September 01, 2026 at 08:47 AM

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 17, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Forerunner of reggae 3
2A 4. Because 5
3A 9. Fluster with embarrassment 5
4A 14. Buddy 3
5A 15. "L'Orfeo" or "Idomeneo" 5
6A 16. Spoiled girl in "Finding Nemo" 5
7A 17. White rodent often used in lab research 9
8A 19. Hunter in the night sky 5
9A 20. "Cool!" 5
10A 21. Hit maker? 4
11A 23. Big name in pet food 4
12A 24. Complete fiasco 5
13A 26. "I suppose that's right" 7
14A 28. Some fancy finger painting 7
15A 30. Flavoring in an earthy whiskey 4
16A 31. Classic skin-care brand 4
17A 32. Film performers' union, for short 3
18A 34. Spanish appetizers 5
19A 38. Prospector's receptacle 3
20A 39. Music genre for the words hidden in this puzzle's circled letters ... or a punny description for them? 7
21A 42. German cry of dismay 3
22A 43. Old Ford Motor offering 5
23A 45. Site for hibernation ... or a Super Bowl party 3
24A 46. No more than 4
25A 47. Sources of quick $$$ 4
26A 50. Break up, as a group 7
27A 52. Someone's public identity 7
28A 55. Workout inspired by martial arts 5
29A 56. "Nobody doesn't like ___ Lee" (classic food slogan) 4
30A 57. Daddy-o 4
31A 59. "___ Jacques" (children's song) 5
32A 61. "The Addams Family" butler 5
33A 63. Spoken evaluations 9
34A 65. Island greeting 5
35A 66. Starts daydreaming, with "out" 5
36A 67. Sound heard at the door 3
37A 68. Amped up 5
38A 69. Call off the relationship 5
39A 70. Furtive 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Forerunner of reggae"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Because"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Fluster with embarrassment"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Buddy"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. "Cool!""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Hit maker?"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Complete fiasco"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Some fancy finger painting"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Spanish appetizers"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Prospector's receptacle"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. German cry of dismay"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Old Ford Motor offering"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. No more than"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
  • Similar words include: ATM, automated teller, cash machine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. Daddy-o"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Spoken evaluations"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Island greeting"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Amped up"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "69. Call off the relationship"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "70. Furtive"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

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

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Residents of Tirana"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Devours"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Fuss and flurry"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Many a Starbucks employee"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Smartphone video effect"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Film composer Zimmer"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. ___ Major"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Fill fully"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "37. Equipped with footwear"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Troop group"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "44. Aural ailment"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Shaggy head of hair"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Least risky"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Blunder"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Barbecue side dish"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "60. Sneak a peek at"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "62. Suckered"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "64. Ring of flowers"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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

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