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

Thursday, July 30, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 30, 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. Change entirely 5
2A 6. Like former secrets 6
3A 12. Make like a frog 3
4A 15. One who doesn't speak while in a cast 5
5A 16. Balkan state that's been independent since 2008 6
6A 17. Like the name of former soccer star Mark De Man 3
7A 18. Cluster 12
8A 20. Density symbol 3
9A 21. Go for gold? 3
10A 22. It may be padded or slapped 4
11A 23. Do you read me? 5
12A 25. Veteran 6
13A 27. Agent 9
14A 31. Change logos, maybe 7
15A 33. "Bravo!" 3
16A 34. Dour 4
17A 35. Unnatural, in a way 4
18A 36. H.S. course covering integrals 6
19A 39. ___ trading 3
20A 40. Steam 10
21A 43. Sow, e.g. 3
22A 46. Black-and-orange bird 6
23A 47. Bob who painted "happy little trees" 4
24A 50. Jackie who co-starred in "Rush Hour" 4
25A 52. Top halves of centaurs 3
26A 53. They may be lifted ... or downed 7
27A 56. Gambit 9
28A 59. City with red buses 6
29A 60. Big or bad follower 5
30A 61. So-called "Land of a Million Elephants" 4
31A 63. Fripp & ___ (musical duo) 3
32A 64. ___ culpa 3
33A 65. Communication aid that helps make sense of the italicized clues 12
34A 70. Subj. for immigrants, maybe 3
35A 71. Training aids for a lab, say 6
36A 72. Plain 5
37A 73. ___ pad 3
38A 74. What headphones often play in 6
39A 75. Shark's mark 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Change entirely"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that device for resetting instruments or controls
  • Similar words include: readjust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Like former secrets"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have in common
  • Similar words include: apportion, divided up, share
  • Opposite of: unshared
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHARED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "12. Make like a frog"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of hopping; jumping upward or forward (especially on one foot)
  • Similar words include: record hop, skip, hop-skip
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. One who doesn't speak while in a cast"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a minor actor in crowd scenes
  • Similar words include: spear carrier, additional, supernumerary
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXTRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Balkan state that's been independent since 2008"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a serbian province in southern serbia and montenegro populated predominantly by albanians
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KOSOVO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Like the name of former soccer star Mark De Man"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually followed by `to') naturally disposed toward
  • Similar words include: minded, tending, given
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. Cluster"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHARLIESHEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Density symbol"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 17th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Go for gold?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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, topaz
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. It may be padded or slapped"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

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, human knee, stifle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Do you read me?"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
  • Similar words include: new, refreshing, fresh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOVEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Veteran"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Agent"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Change logos, maybe"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. "Bravo!""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Dour"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
  • Similar words include: dreary, downcast, dismal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRIM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Unnatural, in a way"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that color with dye
  • Similar words include: colored, bleached, dye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. H.S. course covering integrals"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. ___ trading"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time for earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
  • Similar words include: daytime, 24-hour interval, mean solar day
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Steam"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Sow, e.g."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that domestic swine
  • Similar words include: grunter, Sus scrofa, bull
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Black-and-orange bird"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mostly tropical songbird; the male is usually bright orange and black
  • Similar words include: Old World oriole, American oriole, New World oriole
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORIOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Bob who painted "happy little trees""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that scottish explorer who led arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the northwest passage (1777-1856)
  • Similar words include: Betsy Ross, Sir John Ross, Nellie Ross
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Jackie who co-starred in "Rush Hour""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Top halves of centaurs"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the force of workers available
  • Similar words include: work force, manpower, man
  • Opposite of: woman, civilian
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. They may be lifted ... or downed"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
  • Similar words include: flavour, smell, liveliness
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIRITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. Gambit"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "59. City with red buses"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of england; located on the thames in southeastern england; financial and industrial and cultural center
  • Similar words include: British capital, John Griffith Chaney, capital of the United Kingdom
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LONDON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. Big or bad follower"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
  • Similar words include: orchard apple tree, Malus pumila
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. So-called "Land of a Million Elephants""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern asia; achieved independence from france in 1949
  • Similar words include: Lao, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Laotian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Fripp & ___ (musical duo)"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. ___ culpa"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Communication aid that helps make sense of the italicized clues"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NATOALPHABET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "70. Subj. for immigrants, maybe"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "71. Training aids for a lab, say"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something considered choice to eat
  • Similar words include: delicacy, goody, kickshaw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "72. Plain"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open and observable; not secret or hidden
  • Similar words include: open
  • Opposite of: covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "73. ___ pad"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an internationally recognized distress signal in radio code
  • Similar words include: soh, so, sol
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "74. What headphones often play in"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reproducer in which two microphones feed two or more loudspeakers to give a three-dimensional effect to the sound
  • Similar words include: stereophonic system, stereoscopic picture, stereoscopic photograph
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEREO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "75. Shark's mark"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
  • Similar words include: mark, gull, soft touch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Church leader 6
2D 2. Took one's breath away? 7
3D 3. Remain loyal to 7
4D 4. Pronounce "aisle" as it's spelled, e.g. 3
5D 5. It often leans left or right 9
6D 6. ___-Ball 4
7D 7. Joel follows it 5
8D 8. Flame's remains 3
9D 9. Lumpsucker eggs 3
10D 10. Biblical second coming? 3
11D 11. Prima ___ 5
12D 12. University of Cambridge 7
13D 13. "Hamlet" noblewoman 7
14D 14. Developer of a geocentric model of the universe 7
15D 19. Words after cash or zero 4
16D 24. [Horrors!] 3
17D 26. Org. leader 4
18D 28. One who knows all the shortcuts, maybe 5
19D 29. Puts down 6
20D 30. Where Dante's path to paradise begins 4
21D 32. Panama's ___ National Park 6
22D 37. That's the whole point! 5
23D 38. Seller of knickknacks 9
24D 41. Gospel singer Franklin 4
25D 42. Like a zoomer after 1997 4
26D 43. Minecraft and World of Warcraft 7
27D 44. "If we're lucky!" 7
28D 45. Rhyming name for a certain group of friends 7
29D 48. It's not the main part of the action 7
30D 49. High achievers? 7
31D 51. Notable org. with 32 members 3
32D 54. Sit (down) heavily 4
33D 55. Arrogant 6
34D 57. Lets 5
35D 58. Really please 5
36D 62. Plus 4
37D 66. It might be left hanging 3
38D 67. Most common letter in this clue 3
39D 68. Boat propeller 3
40D 69. Director DuVernay 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Church leader"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person authorized to conduct religious worship
  • Similar words include: curate, parson, minister
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECTOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Took one's breath away?"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give out (breath or an odor)
  • Similar words include: emanate, expire, give forth
  • Opposite of: inhale
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXHALED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Remain loyal to"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that can be relied on when needed
  • Similar words include: understudy
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STANDBY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pronounce "aisle" as it's spelled, e.g."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. It often leans left or right"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. ___-Ball"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Joel follows it"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a minor hebrew prophet (8th century bc)
  • Similar words include: Book of Hosea
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOSEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Flame's remains"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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!

9D: "9. Lumpsucker eggs"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fish eggs or egg-filled ovary; having a grainy texture
  • Similar words include: hard roe
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Biblical second coming?"

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!

11D: "11. Prima ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an italian woman of rank
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DONNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. University of Cambridge"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a university in massachusetts
  • Similar words include: John Harvard, Harvard University
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARVARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "Hamlet" noblewoman"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Developer of a geocentric model of the universe"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that alexandrian astronomer (of the 2nd century) who proposed a geocentric system of astronomy that was undisputed until the late renaissance
  • Similar words include: Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolemaic dynasty
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PTOLEMY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Words after cash or zero"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. [Horrors!]"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Org. leader"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. One who knows all the shortcuts, maybe"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops
  • Similar words include: topical anaesthetic, topical anesthetic, local anaesthetic
  • Opposite of: general, national
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Puts down"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a point located with respect to surface features of some region
  • Similar words include: billet, rate, office
  • Opposite of: divest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLACES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Where Dante's path to paradise begins"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of pain and turmoil
  • Similar words include: netherworld, sin, underworld
  • Opposite of: Heaven
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Panama's ___ National Park"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "37. That's the whole point!"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a pointed projection
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "38. Seller of knickknacks"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "41. Gospel singer Franklin"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "42. Like a zoomer after 1997"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that british nuclear physicist (born in germany) honored for his contributions to quantum mechanics (1882-1970)
  • Similar words include: endure, innate, have a bun in the oven
  • Opposite of: unborn
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BORN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "43. Minecraft and World of Warcraft"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "44. "If we're lucky!""

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Rhyming name for a certain group of friends"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. It's not the main part of the action"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. High achievers?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an attacker who pelts the victim with stones (especially with intent to kill)
  • Similar words include: lapidator, stoner
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STONERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Notable org. with 32 members"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "54. Sit (down) heavily"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. Arrogant"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used colloquially) overly conceited or arrogant; -laurent le sage
  • Similar words include: persnickety, bigheaded, uppish
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOTTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "57. Lets"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a payment or series of payments made by the lessee to an owner for use of some property, facility, equipment, or service
  • Similar words include: rip, engage, take
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "58. Really please"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill with high spirits; fill with optimism
  • Similar words include: lift up, uplift, pick up
  • Opposite of: depress
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "62. Plus"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in addition
  • Similar words include: too, likewise, as well
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "66. It might be left hanging"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the products of human creativity; works of art collectively
  • Similar words include: artistry, artwork, graphics
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "67. Most common letter in this clue"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "68. Boat propeller"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement used to propel or steer a boat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "69. Director DuVernay"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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
40 Down Clues
79 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: July 30, 2026 at 06:03 AM

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

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

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

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

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Swiss currency"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Command to Rover"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Reserve in advance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Neural signal conductor"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Judgmental sounds"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Outrage"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Alias"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Casual greeting"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Hide ___ hair"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Emotional state"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Rash"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Tidy updo, say"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Wipe out"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Like some roofs"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Eye irritation"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "47. Some small batteries"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. Babe in a stable"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. Nondairy spread"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Big rig"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. Montréal traffic sign"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. Peak in Greek myth"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "64. Huff and puff"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

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

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

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

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Make over"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Tel ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Transparent quality"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Taper off"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. College campus offering"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. In a frenzy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Yearnings"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Yearbook div."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "25. For each"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Big whoop"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Bad calls?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
  • Similar words include: represent, pretend, bit
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Messed up"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Comet discovered in 1995"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Globe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "49. Vetoes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Jazzy Fitzgerald"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "54. Literary Jane"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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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

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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