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

Monday, August 31, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 31, 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. Part of a dance 4
2A 5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper 4
3A 9. Slightly intoxicated 5
4A 14. Fancy 4
5A 15. Worms and such on hooks 4
6A 16. Be of the same mind 5
7A 17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys 4
8A 18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli 4
9A 19. Ransacks 5
10A 20. One who regularly drops things 13
11A 23. The : English :: ___ : French 3
12A 24. Letter after sigma 3
13A 25. One dining on Friskies 3
14A 28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building" 5
15A 31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature 9
16A 34. Director DuVernay 3
17A 35. Pathetic 3
18A 36. Examine at length 6
19A 37. Took shots first, then paid for them later 7
20A 40. Clothing sizes for shorter women 7
21A 41. Ski in zigzags 6
22A 42. "Far out!" 3
23A 43. Tetra- minus one 3
24A 44. Newlyweds' getaway 9
25A 46. Owl sounds 5
26A 48. Actress de Armas 3
27A 49. 401(k) relative 3
28A 50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g. 3
29A 51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across? 13
30A 58. Inuit for "house" 5
31A 60. Italian hello 4
32A 61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.) 4
33A 62. Tennis locale 5
34A 63. Pre-Easter observance 4
35A 64. R-rated, maybe 4
36A 65. A cube has 12 of them 5
37A 66. Petrol brand 4
38A 67. Easter egg decorating supplies 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Part of a dance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
  • Similar words include: mistreat, stride, ill-treat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Slightly intoxicated"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slightly intoxicated
  • Similar words include: tiddly, potty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIPSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Fancy"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegant and sumptuous
  • Similar words include: de luxe, deluxe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Worms and such on hooks"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that serves as an enticement
  • Similar words include: rag, tantalize, twit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Be of the same mind"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be in accord; be in agreement
  • Similar words include: match, consort, tally
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
  • Similar words include: genus Otis, Elisha Graves Otis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Ransacks"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goods or money obtained illegally
  • Similar words include: cabbage, moolah, strip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. One who regularly drops things"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who drops things (especially one who cannot catch a ball)
  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUTTERFINGERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. The : English :: ___ : French"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
  • Similar words include: LE, lupus erythematosus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Letter after sigma"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 19th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. One dining on Friskies"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: kat, sick, khat
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles
  • Similar words include: Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JELLYFISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Director DuVernay"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Pathetic"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; ; - christina rossetti
  • Similar words include: deplorable, pitiful, lamentable
  • Opposite of: glad
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Examine at length"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that examine or consider with attention and in detail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Took shots first, then paid for them later"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Clothing sizes for shorter women"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for short or slender women
  • Similar words include: petite
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Ski in zigzags"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a downhill race over a winding course defined by upright poles
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLALOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. "Far out!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Tetra- minus one"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Newlyweds' getaway"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a holiday taken by a newly married couple
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONEYMOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Owl sounds"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
  • Similar words include: tinker's dam, Bronx cheer, raspberry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Actress de Armas"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. 401(k) relative"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
  • Similar words include: wrath, individual retirement account, Irish Republican Army
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a humorous play on words
  • Similar words include: wordplay, punning, paronomasia
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "58. Inuit for "house""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
  • Similar words include: iglu
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGLOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Italian hello"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "62. Tennis locale"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
  • Similar words include: tribunal, courtroom, motor lodge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. Pre-Easter observance"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 40 weekdays from ash wednesday to holy saturday
  • Similar words include: lend, bestow, add
  • Opposite of: borrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. R-rated, maybe"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of zest or vigor
  • Similar words include: robust, naughty, gamey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "65. A cube has 12 of them"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the boundary of a surface
  • Similar words include: inch, butt, edge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "66. Petrol brand"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "67. Easter egg decorating supplies"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
  • Similar words include: dyestuff, dye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Mess maker 4
2D 2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy 4
3D 3. Off-ramp 4
4D 4. Pulverizing tool 6
5D 5. Alternatives to Lyfts 5
6D 6. Baby whale 4
7D 7. In finite supply 7
8D 8. Lacking a musical key 6
9D 9. A ___ as old as time 4
10D 10. Composer Stravinsky 4
11D 11. Ham on an antipasto platter 10
12D 12. Solidify 3
13D 13. "You called?" 3
14D 21. Sinuous swimmer 3
15D 22. Swallowed hard 6
16D 26. Aver 6
17D 27. Graduate student's project 6
18D 28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist) 6
19D 29. Island of Arthurian legend 6
20D 30. Fruit-resembling mollusk 10
21D 31. The "one" of a one-two 3
22D 32. So far 3
23D 33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr. 3
24D 35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang 6
25D 38. Ginger ___ 3
26D 39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo 3
27D 40. Deep-dish vessel 3
28D 42. Support staff for a rock band 7
29D 45. Soothsayer 6
30D 46. Tint 3
31D 47. "To victory!" 6
32D 50. Part of an Instagram post 5
33D 52. Skin opening 4
34D 53. Goes bad 4
35D 54. Gets bronzed at the beach 4
36D 55. Brand with "anti-aging" products 4
37D 56. Bibimbap base 4
38D 57. Pages on a desk calendar 4
39D 58. "Rocks" at a bar 3
40D 59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Mess maker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a coarse obnoxious person
  • Similar words include: pig, slovenly person, sloven
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that south african prelate and leader of the antiapartheid struggle (born in 1931)
  • Similar words include: ballet skirt, Desmond Tutu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUTU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Off-ramp"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening that permits escape or release
  • Similar words include: snuff it, croak, cash in one's chips
  • Opposite of: be born, enter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pulverizing tool"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores
  • Similar words include: pounder, muller, stamp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PESTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Alternatives to Lyfts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Baby whale"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of domestic cattle
  • Similar words include: sura, calfskin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. In finite supply"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops
  • Similar words include: confine, restrain, express
  • Opposite of: unlimited, local
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIMITED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Lacking a musical key"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that characterized by avoidance of traditional western tonality
  • Similar words include: unkeyed
  • Opposite of: tonal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATONAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. A ___ as old as time"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
  • Similar words include: narrative, narration, tarradiddle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Composer Stravinsky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ham on an antipasto platter"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian salt-cured ham usually sliced paper thin
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROSCIUTTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Solidify"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
  • Similar words include: curing, adjust, gear up
  • Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "You called?""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an affirmative
  • Opposite of: no
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Sinuous swimmer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Swallowed hard"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
  • Similar words include: swig, quaff, gulp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GULPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Aver"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that state categorically
  • Similar words include: verify, asseverate, maintain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Graduate student's project"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument
  • Similar words include: dissertation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THESIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Island of Arthurian legend"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Fruit-resembling mollusk"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. The "one" of a one-two"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: stab, thrust, thrusting
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. So far"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
  • Similar words include: Friday
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Ginger ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an artifact designed to be played with
  • Similar words include: miniature, fiddle, play
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Deep-dish vessel"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Support staff for a rock band"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Soothsayer"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an authoritative person who divines the future
  • Similar words include: prophet, vaticinator, seer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORACLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Tint"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
  • Similar words include: imbue, chromaticity
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. "To victory!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that forward in time or order or degree
  • Similar words include: forth, forrader, ahead
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONWARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Part of an Instagram post"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material
  • Similar words include: pic, picture, photograph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHOTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Skin opening"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)
  • Similar words include: stomate, rivet, centre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Goes bad"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
  • Similar words include: molder, bunk, rotting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Gets bronzed at the beach"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: tangent, suntan, tan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Brand with "anti-aging" products"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Bibimbap base"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
  • Similar words include: Elmer Leopold Rice, Sir Tim Rice, Elmer Reizenstein
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Pages on a desk calendar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time during which someone's life continues
  • Similar words include: twenty-four hour period, mean solar day, daylight
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. "Rocks" at a bar"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: crank, methamphetamine hydrochloride, chicken feed
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: divinity, idol, Supreme Being
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOD

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

38 Across Clues
40 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: August 31, 2026 at 09:56 AM

Monday, January 5, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 05, 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. Value 5
2A 6. Volcanic coating that buried Pompeii 3
3A 9. Overhead light? 4
4A 13. Listlessness 5
5A 14. Situation that precedes overtime 3
6A 15. Fruit-peeling gadget 5
7A 16. Meeting spot for a company's overseers 9
8A 18. Ventilated 5
9A 19. Actor Reeves who plays John Wick 5
10A 20. Clothing 6
11A 21. Wrestler-turned-actor with a trademark do 3
12A 24. 1976 film with Robert De Niro as an alienated cabbie 10
13A 26. Lawyer, or a lawyer's advice 7
14A 29. Gloppy gunk 3
15A 30. Op-___ (newspaper pieces) 3
16A 31. Advantageous quality 5
17A 32. Aristocrat 5
18A 34. Enjoy a vacation day, say 15
19A 40. Reside 5
20A 41. Burr who dueled with Hamilton 5
21A 42. Wane 3
22A 45. One ___ time 3
23A 46. Mark Twain, for Samuel Langhorne Clemens 7
24A 48. Bug killer that goes "smack!" 10
25A 51. Losing general at Appomattox 3
26A 52. Relating to a son or daughter 6
27A 53. Fanny ___, central figure in Broadway's "Funny Girl" 5
28A 56. Poet Dickinson 5
29A 57. Gridiron success ... or, when read as two words, the conclusion to the sequence formed by the starts of 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across 9
30A 61. Backpackers' shelters 5
31A 62. Write-___ (unlikely election winners) 3
32A 63. Home with a dome 5
33A 64. Lumps of coal, for a snowman 4
34A 65. Understand 3
35A 66. Relinquished 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Value"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
  • Similar words include: deserving, Charles Frederick Worth
  • Opposite of: worthlessness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WORTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Volcanic coating that buried Pompeii"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the residue that remains when something is burned
  • Similar words include: ash tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Overhead light?"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Listlessness"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the feeling of being bored by something tedious
  • Similar words include: tedium, boredom
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENNUI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Situation that precedes overtime"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
  • Similar words include: splice, linkup, railroad tie
  • Opposite of: untie, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Fruit-peeling gadget"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a manicurist who trims the fingernails
  • Similar words include: paring knife
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Meeting spot for a company's overseers"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a room where a committee meets (such as the board of directors of a company)
  • Similar words include: council chamber
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOARDROOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Ventilated"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expose to fresh air
  • Similar words include: beam, broadcast, air
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Actor Reeves who plays John Wick"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Clothing"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
  • Similar words include: tog out, overdress, fig out
  • Opposite of: underdress, dress down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Wrestler-turned-actor with a trademark do"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. 1976 film with Robert De Niro as an alienated cabbie"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who drives a taxi for a living
  • Similar words include: cabman, cabby, cabdriver
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXIDRIVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Lawyer, or a lawyer's advice"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lawyer who pleads cases in court
  • Similar words include: counseling, counselor, pleader
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COUNSEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Gloppy gunk"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any thick, viscous matter
  • Similar words include: slime, gunk, ooze
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Op-___ (newspaper pieces)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid automatic system to detect plastic explosives in passengers' luggage using x-ray technology and computers; designed for use in airports
  • Similar words include: erectile dysfunction, male erecticle dysfunction, explosive detection system
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Advantageous quality"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a useful or valuable quality
  • Similar words include: plus
  • Opposite of: liability
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Aristocrat"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a titled peer of the realm
  • Similar words include: stately, nobleman, baronial
  • Opposite of: noblewoman, Lady
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Enjoy a vacation day, say"

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Reside"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that think moodily or anxiously about something
  • Similar words include: brood, lie, lie in
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DWELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Burr who dueled with Hamilton"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states professional baseball player who hit more home runs than babe ruth (born in 1934)
  • Similar words include: Henry Louis Aaron, Hank Aaron
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AARON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Wane"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number)
  • Similar words include: ebbing, ebb down, wane
  • Opposite of: tide
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EBB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. One ___ time"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Mark Twain, for Samuel Langhorne Clemens"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Bug killer that goes "smack!""

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement with a flat part (of mesh or plastic) and a long handle; used to kill insects
  • Similar words include: flyswat, swatter
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLYSWATTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Losing general at Appomattox"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
  • Similar words include: Shelton Jackson Lee, downwind, Richard Henry Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. Relating to a son or daughter"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that designating the generation or the sequence of generations following the parental generation
  • Opposite of: parental
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FILIAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Fanny ___, central figure in Broadway's "Funny Girl""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "56. Poet Dickinson"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Gridiron success ... or, when read as two words, the conclusion to the sequence formed by the starts of 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a score in american football; being in possession of the ball across the opponents' goal line
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOUCHDOWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Backpackers' shelters"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
  • Similar words include: camp, camp out, tent
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Write-___ (unlikely election winners)"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency in the department of justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the united states
  • Similar words include: Indiana, In, IN
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Home with a dome"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
  • Similar words include: iglu
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGLOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Lumps of coal, for a snowman"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Understand"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
  • Similar words include: get a line, interpret, get wind
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Relinquished"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another
  • Similar words include: surrender, grant, give up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Spider's creation 3
2D 2. Peace promoter Yoko 3
3D 3. Cell's messenger material 3
4D 4. Istanbul native 4
5D 5. Conceal 4
6D 6. Lacking a key, in music 6
7D 7. Crazy Horse's people 5
8D 8. Adjustable skirt feature 3
9D 9. Port-au-Prince's country 5
10D 10. Get there 6
11D 11. Looked lasciviously 6
12D 12. Commands 6
13D 15. Police officer who monitors an assigned area 9
14D 17. Label as G or R, say 4
15D 20. Spicy marinade with chili peppers 5
16D 21. Exam for a doctor-to-be 4
17D 22. Parks honored in the Capitol's Statuary Hall 4
18D 23. Walrus's long tooth 4
19D 25. Composer Stravinsky 4
20D 27. Have to have 4
21D 28. Passengers getting an illicit free ride 9
22D 32. Org. for Patriot games 3
23D 33. Actor McGregor with a Golden Globe for "Fargo" 4
24D 35. Pertaining to development in the womb 5
25D 36. Off-key, in a way 4
26D 37. Like some history or hygiene 4
27D 38. City surrounding Vatican City 4
28D 39. On bended ___ 4
29D 42. Overly refined 6
30D 43. "Yikes!," to a Brit 6
31D 44. Reporter's attribution atop an article 6
32D 46. Read 6
33D 47. Rock's Carmen or Clapton 4
34D 49. Earthy deposits by a river 5
35D 50. Steak similar to a porterhouse 5
36D 54. Stylish 4
37D 55. Margin 4
38D 57. "___ better to have loved and lost ..." 3
39D 58. Passé 3
40D 59. Misfortune 3
41D 60. Agree silently 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Spider's creation"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
  • Similar words include: vane, net, network
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Peace promoter Yoko"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states musician (born in japan) who married john lennon and collaborated with him on recordings (born in 1933)
  • Similar words include: Yoko Ono
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Cell's messenger material"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from dna to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell
  • Similar words include: ribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Istanbul native"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of turkey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TURK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Conceal"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
  • Similar words include: pelt, cover, fell
  • Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lacking a key, in music"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that characterized by avoidance of traditional western tonality
  • Similar words include: unkeyed
  • Opposite of: tonal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATONAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Crazy Horse's people"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a group of north american indian peoples who spoke a siouan language and who ranged from lake michigan to the rocky mountains
  • Similar words include: Siouan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIOUX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Adjustable skirt feature"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

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!

9D: "9. Port-au-Prince's country"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in the west indies on the western part of the island of hispaniola; achieved independence from france in 1804; the poorest and most illiterate nation in the western hemisphere
  • Similar words include: Republic of Haiti, Hayti, Hispaniola
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAITI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Get there"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
  • Similar words include: get, make it, go far
  • Opposite of: leave
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARRIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Looked lasciviously"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look suggestively or obliquely; look or gaze with a sly, immodest, or malign expression
  • Similar words include: leer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEERED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Commands"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
  • Similar words include: parliamentary procedure, say, fiat
  • Opposite of: disorder, disorderliness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORDERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "15. Police officer who monitors an assigned area"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a policeman who patrols a given region
  • Similar words include: flatfoot
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATROLMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "17. Label as G or R, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
  • Similar words include: place, rank, grade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "20. Spicy marinade with chili peppers"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dish of marinated vegetables and meat or fish; served with rice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADOBO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "21. Exam for a doctor-to-be"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "22. Parks honored in the Capitol's Statuary Hall"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
  • Similar words include: genus Rosa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "23. Walrus's long tooth"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  • Similar words include: horn, detusk, ivory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUSK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "25. Composer Stravinsky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Have to have"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition requiring relief
  • Similar words include: ask, demand, require
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Passengers getting an illicit free ride"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who hides aboard a ship or plane in the hope of getting free passage
  • Similar words include: stowaway
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOWAWAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Org. for Patriot games"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Actor McGregor with a Golden Globe for "Fargo""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Pertaining to development in the womb"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or relating to a fetus
  • Similar words include: foetal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FETAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. Off-key, in a way"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a level tract of land
  • Similar words include: savorless, matte, directly
  • Opposite of: indirectly, natural
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. Like some history or hygiene"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an examination conducted by spoken communication
  • Similar words include: unwritten, viva voce, oral exam
  • Opposite of: aboral, anal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. City surrounding Vatican City"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city of italy; on the tiber; seat of the roman catholic church; formerly the capital of the roman republic and the roman empire
  • Similar words include: Italian capital, Eternal City, Roma
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. On bended ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
  • Similar words include: articulatio genus, knee joint, stifle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. Overly refined"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay
  • Similar words include: decadent
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EFFETE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. "Yikes!," to a Brit"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Reporter's attribution atop an article"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Read"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that examine or consider with attention and in detail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. Rock's Carmen or Clapton"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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34D: "49. Earthy deposits by a river"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  • Similar words include: silt up, silt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILTS

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35D: "50. Steak similar to a porterhouse"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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36D: "54. Stylish"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegance by virtue of being fashionable
  • Similar words include: smartness, swank, voguish
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHIC

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37D: "55. Margin"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the boundary of a surface
  • Similar words include: bound, boundary, butt on
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGE

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38D: "57. "___ better to have loved and lost ...""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
  • Similar words include: titanium, atomic number 22, Cordyline terminalis
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIS

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39D: "58. Passé"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "59. Misfortune"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
  • Similar words include: woefulness, suffering
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE

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41D: "60. Agree silently"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sign of assent or salutation or command
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOD

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: January 05, 2026 at 04:41 AM