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Friday, October 16, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers October 16, 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. Word with strip or skirt 5
2A 6. Conniption 3
3A 9. Cuban poet/philosopher JosΓ© 5
4A 14. 2000 hit song with the lyric "But to lose all my senses / That is just so typically me" 15
5A 17. Mail-centric fiction? 15
6A 18. Virginia is in it, in brief 3
7A 19. "Hah!" 7
8A 20. "___ had it!" 3
9A 21. Former home of Mr. and Mrs. Met 4
10A 23. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" spinoff 5
11A 24. Riot 4
12A 25. Spiller of tea 5
13A 27. Smelling things? 5
14A 28. Date night viewing, often 13
15A 34. High concept? 9
16A 35. They explain what's in the cards 13
17A 39. Comic strip sound of impact 5
18A 40. Infant discomfort 5
19A 42. Battery-powered string instrument player 4
20A 43. Predicated 5
21A 48. It has its highs and lows 4
22A 49. Rocky openings? 3
23A 50. Burrowing animal whose name is made up of two other animals 7
24A 52. It may begin with a +1: Abbr. 3
25A 53. Idolizes 15
26A 56. Indiana Jones or Rocky Balboa, e.g. 15
27A 57. Losing causes? 5
28A 58. Yoga ___ 3
29A 59. The 22nd Amendment limits them 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Word with strip or skirt"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Conniption"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a display of bad temper
  • Similar words include: meet, gibe, jibe
  • Opposite of: unfit, disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Cuban poet/philosopher JosΓ©"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cuban poet and revolutionary who fought for cuban independence from spain (1853-1895)
  • Similar words include: Jose Julian Marti
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARTI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. 2000 hit song with the lyric "But to lose all my senses / That is just so typically me""

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Mail-centric fiction?"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Virginia is in it, in brief"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a command that is the primary provider of air combat weapon systems to the united states air force; operates fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, battle-management, and rescue aircraft
  • Similar words include: Air Combat Command
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. "Hah!""

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. "___ had it!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Former home of Mr. and Mrs. Met"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" spinoff"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Riot"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
  • Similar words include: boo, darn, razz
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Spiller of tea"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (yiddish) a vulgar shrew; a shallow coarse termagant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YENTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Smelling things?"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

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: common salt, salt, table salt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Date night viewing, often"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "34. High concept?"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. They explain what's in the cards"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "39. Comic strip sound of impact"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. Infant discomfort"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that acute abdominal pain (especially in infants)
  • Similar words include: intestinal colic, gripes, griping
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COLIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. Battery-powered string instrument player"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Predicated"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that use as a basis for; found on
  • Similar words include: free-base, found, establish
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "48. It has its highs and lows"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
  • Similar words include: lunar time period, surge
  • Opposite of: ebb
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "49. Rocky openings?"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "50. Burrowing animal whose name is made up of two other animals"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "52. It may begin with a +1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Idolizes"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "56. Indiana Jones or Rocky Balboa, e.g."

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. Losing causes?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prescribed selection of foods
  • Similar words include: dieting, diet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Yoga ___"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
  • Similar words include: snarl, lustrelessness, matting
  • Opposite of: unsnarl, disentangle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. The 22nd Amendment limits them"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that status with respect to the relations between people or groups
  • Similar words include: full term, price, damage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TERMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. "Piece of cake!" 6
2D 2. Reality show whose contestants report to the Judge's Table 7
3D 3. Not gendered 7
4D 4. Dope 3
5D 5. Some emergency resources 4
6D 6. Serious dirt 5
7D 7. State whose official fruit is the huckleberry 5
8D 8. Done to death 5
9D 9. Flow down the neck 4
10D 10. Past word 3
11D 11. Hot pockets? 7
12D 12. 20-20, e.g. 7
13D 13. Small sounds 6
14D 15. One of 412 in the White House 4
15D 16. Supermodel Banks 4
16D 22. Took back one's words 7
17D 24. One struggling to make ends meet 7
18D 26. Grant 5
19D 27. Foe of Dr. Eggman, in video games 5
20D 29. Procured 3
21D 30. "___ Share of Night" (acclaimed 2019 Mariana EnrΓ­quez book) 3
22D 31. Complimentary lines 3
23D 32. Tool for tracing family trees 3
24D 33. Prefix with the name of any month 3
25D 35. Mideast salad, in one spelling 7
26D 36. Simon the Zealot, e.g. 7
27D 37. Sparkly bits in a school art project 7
28D 38. Like some deliveries 7
29D 39. Holder of all the digits, from 1 to 0 6
30D 41. Stage-left orchestra section 6
31D 43. Coccyx or phalange, e.g. 4
32D 44. Unwelcome sound during a dream 5
33D 45. Brown tint 5
34D 46. Construct 5
35D 47. Art movement proclaimed in a 1916 manifesto 4
36D 50. May honorees 4
37D 51. Outdoor item with flaps 4
38D 54. Took a load off 3
39D 55. 2011 platinum single by Tyler, the Creator 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. "Piece of cake!""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Reality show whose contestants report to the Judge's Table"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Not gendered"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made
  • Similar words include: bisexual, sissy, epicene person
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPICENE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Dope"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: can, screw, behind
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Some emergency resources"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a case for containing a set of articles
  • Similar words include: outfit, kit up, kit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Serious dirt"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any substance considered disgustingly foul or unpleasant
  • Similar words include: soil, dirt, dirty word
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FILTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. State whose official fruit is the huckleberry"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in the rocky mountains
  • Similar words include: ID, Gem State
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDAHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Done to death"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
  • Similar words include: well-worn, exhaust, outwear
  • Opposite of: interest, refresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Flow down the neck"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long coarse hair growing from the crest of the animal's neck
  • Similar words include: head of hair
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Past word"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gone by; or in the past
  • Similar words include: agone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Hot pockets?"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small circular or square cases of dough with savory fillings
  • Similar words include: cappelletti
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAVIOLI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. 20-20, e.g."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Small sounds"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)
  • Similar words include: intake, recess, inlet
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INLETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. One of 412 in the White House"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
  • Similar words include: doorway, room access, threshold
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "16. Supermodel Banks"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Took back one's words"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. One struggling to make ends meet"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Grant"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
  • Similar words include: earmark, let, set aside
  • Opposite of: forbid, prevent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Foe of Dr. Eggman, in video games"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of speed) having or caused by speed approximately equal to that of sound in air at sea level
  • Similar words include: transonic
  • Opposite of: subsonic
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Procured"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
  • Similar words include: flummox, drive, aim
  • Opposite of: leave, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. "___ Share of Night" (acclaimed 2019 Mariana EnrΓ­quez book)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Complimentary lines"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Tool for tracing family trees"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Prefix with the name of any month"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that used in combination to denote the middle
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Mideast salad, in one spelling"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Simon the Zealot, e.g."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ardent early supporter of a cause or reform
  • Similar words include: Apostelic Father
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APOSTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Sparkly bits in a school art project"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
  • Similar words include: coruscation, scintillation, glisten
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLITTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. Like some deliveries"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of pitches) made with the arm moving parallel to the ground
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIDEARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. Holder of all the digits, from 1 to 0"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a keyboard that is a data input device for computers; arrangement of keys is modelled after the typewriter keyboard
  • Similar words include: computer keyboard
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEYPAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "41. Stage-left orchestra section"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large stringed instrument; seated player holds it upright while playing
  • Similar words include: violoncello, cello
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CELLOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Coccyx or phalange, e.g."

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
  • Similar words include: swot, swot up, ivory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. Unwelcome sound during a dream"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fear resulting from the awareness of danger
  • Similar words include: warning device, appal, appall
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "45. Brown tint"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shade of brown with a tinge of red
  • Similar words include: mahogany, genus Sepia, Venetian red
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEPIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "46. Construct"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that construct, build, or erect
  • Similar words include: set up, raise, vertical
  • Opposite of: unerect, level
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERECT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "47. Art movement proclaimed in a 1916 manifesto"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "50. May honorees"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for a mother
  • Similar words include: mommy, mammy, mummy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "51. Outdoor item with flaps"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

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: collapsible shelter, bivouac, encamp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Took a load off"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. 2011 platinum single by Tyler, the Creator"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

29 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
68 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: October 16, 2026 at 08:20 AM

Thursday, October 15, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers October 15, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Moderate

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Creator of Beats Electronics, familiarly 3
2A 4. Key of Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" 5
3A 9. ___ ball 5
4A 14. Classic cartoon dog with the catchphrase "You eediot!" 3
5A 15. Prefix with Roman 5
6A 16. Ancient calculation tools 5
7A 17. Bygone org. for the Houston Oilers 3
8A 18. Lacks 5
9A 19. Her Majesty, for one 5
10A 20. Sure ___ 10
11A 23. Rogue 3
12A 24. Frighteningly monstrous sorts 5
13A 25. More than a chart-topper 7
14A 28. What "!" is used for, in coding 8
15A 32. Political rival of Mark Antony 6
16A 33. Genesis 4
17A 34. Southern California city with a Spanish name 4
18A 36. Some undergrad conferrals, in brief 3
19A 37. Put under ___ 9
20A 40. One who's left, for short? 3
21A 41. Overzealous fan, in modern slang 4
22A 42. Paradise 4
23A 46. Big fuss 6
24A 49. Make the most of 8
25A 51. Useful tips for writers? 7
26A 53. What's close to the bone? 5
27A 54. Possible translation of "y" 3
28A 55. One way to start a race ... or a hint to understanding seven clues in this puzzle 10
29A 59. Clear molding material 5
30A 62. Aquarium fish with "neon" and "emperor" varieties 5
31A 63. Ramadan's end 3
32A 64. Cease ___ 5
33A 65. Have leftovers, say 5
34A 66. Actor Stephen of "V for Vendetta" 3
35A 67. Promotes 5
36A 68. Tempo 5
37A 69. Foxy 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Creator of Beats Electronics, familiarly"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Key of Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. ___ ball"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Classic cartoon dog with the catchphrase "You eediot!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Prefix with Roman"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spanish painter (born in greece) remembered for his religious works characterized by elongated human forms and dramatic use of color (1541-1614)
  • Similar words include: Domenikos Theotocopoulos, El Greco
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRECO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Ancient calculation tools"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave
  • Similar words include: abacus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABACI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Bygone org. for the Houston Oilers"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a federation of north american labor unions that merged with the congress of industrial organizations in 1955
  • Similar words include: American Federation of Labor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Lacks"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Her Majesty, for one"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
  • Similar words include: championship, statute title, form of address
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TITLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Sure ___"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give surety or assume responsibility
  • Similar words include: assure, vouch, insure
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUARANTEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Rogue"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is morally reprehensible
  • Similar words include: bounder, computer-aided design, heel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Frighteningly monstrous sorts"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cruel wicked and inhuman person
  • Similar words include: ogre, monster, devil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGRES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. More than a chart-topper"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unusually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales (especially a movie or play or recording or novel)
  • Similar words include: blockbuster, smash hit
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEGAHIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. What "!" is used for, in coding"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a negative statement; a statement that is a refusal or denial of some other statement
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEGATION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Political rival of Mark Antony"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a linear unit of the size of type slightly larger than an em
  • Similar words include: Tully, Marcus Tullius Cicero
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CICERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Genesis"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hard fruit
  • Similar words include: semen, come, cum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Southern California city with a Spanish name"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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18A: "36. Some undergrad conferrals, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group; found in barite
  • Similar words include: Artium Baccalaurens, barium, Bachelor of Arts
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Put under ___"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that beat with a cane
  • Similar words include: scold, bawl out, lecture
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMBASTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. One who's left, for short?"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Overzealous fan, in modern slang"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Paradise"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
  • Similar words include: paradise, heaven, Shangri-la
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Big fuss"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that blatant or sensational promotion
  • Similar words include: plug, ballyhoo, hype
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOOPLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "49. Make the most of"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make optimal; get the most out of; use best
  • Similar words include: optimise
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPTIMIZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Useful tips for writers?"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement used to erase something
  • Similar words include: eraser
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. What's close to the bone?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment
  • Similar words include: heftiness, muscularity, brawniness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Possible translation of "y""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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28A: "55. One way to start a race ... or a hint to understanding seven clues in this puzzle"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Clear molding material"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of a class of solid or semisolid viscous substances obtained either as exudations from certain plants or prepared by polymerization of simple molecules
  • Similar words include: rosin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Aquarium fish with "neon" and "emperor" varieties"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that brightly colored tropical freshwater fishes
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TETRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Ramadan's end"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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32A: "64. Cease ___"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms
  • Similar words include: cease-fire, armistice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Have leftovers, say"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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34A: "66. Actor Stephen of "V for Vendetta""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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35A: "67. Promotes"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that blatant or sensational promotion
  • Similar words include: plug, hoopla, ballyhoo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYPES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "68. Tempo"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that distance travelled per unit time
  • Similar words include: cannonball along, fastness, belt along
  • Opposite of: decelerate, linger
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. Foxy"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. ___ breathers 7
2D 2. Asylum seeker 7
3D 3. Swell 7
4D 4. Shocked 6
5D 5. "Metropolitan Life" author Lebowitz 4
6D 6. In case 4
7D 7. Possible puberty problem 4
8D 8. Emblem with an Ojibwe name 5
9D 9. Hipster of times past 3
10D 10. Belt with a kimono 3
11D 11. ___ starters 7
12D 12. Pastry whose name is French for "lightning" 6
13D 13. Associated with 6
14D 21. Eavesdrop from afar, maybe 8
15D 22. When N.Y.C. tourism is typically high 3
16D 26. Taunt 4
17D 27. Professor's world 8
18D 29. Tech co. that was integral to early computer science 3
19D 30. Bubbles, e.g. 4
20D 31. "Groovy!" 5
21D 35. "Hurry!" 4
22D 38. Proficient 4
23D 39. Boom sticks? 3
24D 40. Fills, as a buffet plate 7
25D 43. Things that might be provided with grace? 7
26D 44. Book after Lamentations 7
27D 45. Tabloid that's one of the 10 highest-circulation papers in the U.S. 7
28D 46. ___ place 6
29D 47. Cantankerous 6
30D 48. Rover's sound 3
31D 50. Card that's the source for "blue mana" in Magic: The Gathering 6
32D 52. Plots 5
33D 56. Gather from the field 4
34D 57. Suffix with kitchen 4
35D 58. Wheel that comes apart easily? 4
36D 60. Treatment for a bruise 3
37D 61. Platform for Duck Hunt, in brief 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. ___ breathers"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a creature of teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
  • Similar words include: Draco, Dragon, firedrake
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRAGONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Asylum seeker"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an exile who flees for safety
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REFUGEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Swell"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make larger
  • Similar words include: expatiate, flesh out, expand
  • Opposite of: reduce, contract
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENLARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Shocked"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that struck with fear, dread, or consternation
  • Similar words include: shocked, dismayed, appalled
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGHAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "Metropolitan Life" author Lebowitz"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. In case"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being ten more than forty
  • Similar words include: l, 50, fifty
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Possible puberty problem"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Emblem with an Ojibwe name"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clan or tribe identified by their kinship to a common totemic object
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Hipster of times past"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Belt with a kimono"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (west indies) followers of a religious system involving witchcraft and sorcery
  • Similar words include: obeah
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. ___ starters"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction
  • Similar words include: catch, twin, equalise
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATCHES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Pastry whose name is French for "lightning""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that oblong cream puff
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECLAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Associated with"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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14D: "21. Eavesdrop from afar, maybe"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. When N.Y.C. tourism is typically high"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the last (12th) month of the year
  • Similar words include: declination, celestial latitude, December
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Taunt"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
  • Similar words include: dig, barrack, flout
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIBE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Professor's world"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the academic world
  • Similar words include: academe
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACADEMIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Tech co. that was integral to early computer science"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Bubbles, e.g."

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. "Groovy!""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "35. "Hurry!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that as soon as possible
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "38. Proficient"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually followed by `to') having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
  • Similar words include: able-bodied, capable
  • Opposite of: unable
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "39. Boom sticks?"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "40. Fills, as a buffet plate"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "43. Things that might be provided with grace?"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
  • Similar words include: dinner party, dinner
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINNERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "44. Book after Lamentations"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hebrew prophet of the 6th century bc who was exiled to babylon in 587 bc
  • Similar words include: Book of Ezekiel, Ezechiel
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EZEKIEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "45. Tabloid that's one of the 10 highest-circulation papers in the U.S."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. ___ place"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
  • Similar words include: open fireplace, fireside, fireplace
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEARTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Cantankerous"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a difficult and contrary disposition; - dorothy sayers
  • Similar words include: cantankerous, crotchety
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORNERY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Rover's sound"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Card that's the source for "blue mana" in Magic: The Gathering"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Plots"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
  • Similar words include: pose, seat, website
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "56. Gather from the field"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gather, as of natural products
  • Similar words include: harvest, draw, glean
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "57. Suffix with kitchen"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "58. Wheel that comes apart easily?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft creamy white cheese; milder than camembert
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "60. Treatment for a bruise"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: internal-combustion engine, frosting, sparkler
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "61. Platform for Duck Hunt, in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

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: Cornhusker State, neon, nor'-east
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
74 Total Clues

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Last updated: October 15, 2026 at 08:27 AM