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Tuesday, September 29, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 29, 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: Tricky

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. Big ones can be difficult to manage 4
2A 5. Urge 4
3A 9. British John 5
4A 14. Nincompoop 4
5A 15. Surrounding glow 4
6A 16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It" 5
7A 17. Where some monster home runs land 9
8A 19. Language of the Vikings 5
9A 20. Rich deposits of ore 5
10A 21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short 3
11A 23. Muslim holiday, informally 3
12A 24. Scoped out with intent to rob 5
13A 25. Pretty long time, in an idiom 9
14A 28. Battery fill 4
15A 29. Capital of Yemen 5
16A 30. Copied 4
17A 31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!") 3
18A 32. Terse 4
19A 33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message) 3
20A 35. Another plateful from the buffet, say 13
21A 40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief 3
22A 41. Board appointee, for short 4
23A 42. Work unit 3
24A 44. Chief god of Valhalla 4
25A 47. European viper 5
26A 49. Greek goddess of the earth 4
27A 50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B. 9
28A 52. Storage units 5
29A 53. Dad on "Black-ish" 3
30A 54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks" 3
31A 55. Indie rock singer ___ O 5
32A 56. Couch 5
33A 58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do? 9
34A 62. Unconcealed 5
35A 63. Toll unit on some roads 4
36A 64. Tour de France entry 4
37A 65. "Cooties" 5
38A 66. Hitch up on a farm 4
39A 67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Big ones can be difficult to manage"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: self-importance, egotism, self
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Urge"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
  • Similar words include: egg on, goading, poke at
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. British John"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Nincompoop"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: cola, pot, sens
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Surrounding glow"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: glory, halo, gloriole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Where some monster home runs land"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Language of the Vikings"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inhabitant of scandinavia
  • Similar words include: Scandinavian language, Norseman, Northman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NORSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Rich deposits of ore"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
  • Similar words include: lode, load
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LODES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Home of the Buckeyes, for short"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Muslim holiday, informally"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Scoped out with intent to rob"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look over, usually with the intention to rob
  • Similar words include: encase, incase, incased
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Pretty long time, in an idiom"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Battery fill"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt
  • Similar words include: Zen, acidulent, bitter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Capital of Yemen"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of yemen; on the central plateau
  • Similar words include: Sana, Sana'a
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANAA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Copied"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imitate uncritically and in every aspect
  • Similar words include: ape, caricature
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. "You ___!" ("Absolutely!")"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the money risked on a gamble
  • Similar words include: stake, wager, count
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "32. Terse"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by rude or peremptory shortness
  • Similar words include: terse, crisp, brusque
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "33. "I ___ U" (candy heart message)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Another plateful from the buffet, say"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Board appointee, for short"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chief executive department of the united states government
  • Similar words include: White House
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Work unit"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cgs unit of work or energy; the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Chief god of Valhalla"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) ruler of the aesir; supreme god of war and poetry and knowledge and wisdom (for which he gave an eye) and husband of frigg; identified with the teutonic wotan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. European viper"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who adds numbers
  • Similar words include: common viper, Vipera berus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Greek goddess of the earth"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of cronus and the titans in ancient mythology
  • Similar words include: Ge, Gaia
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B."

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left
  • Similar words include: left, left field
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEFTFIELD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Storage units"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information
  • Similar words include: byte
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Dad on "Black-ish""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks""

3 letters Category: Common Word

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!

31A: "55. Indie rock singer ___ O"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the tibeto-burman language spoken in the thailand and burmese borderlands
  • Similar words include: Karenic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAREN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. Couch"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long backless sofa (usually with pillows against a wall)
  • Similar words include: diwan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do?"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Unconcealed"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

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!

35A: "63. Toll unit on some roads"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shaft on which a wheel rotates
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Tour de France entry"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
  • Similar words include: team up, squad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. "Cooties""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that provides inspiration for later work
  • Similar words include: germ, source, seed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GERMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. Hitch up on a farm"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
  • Similar words include: coupling, couplet, link
  • Opposite of: unyoke
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov 3
2D 2. Reach great heights in life 8
3D 3. Like black and white 8
4D 4. Numbered in a tournament bracket 6
5D 5. Always at the pharmacy? 4
6D 6. Regret 3
7D 7. Middle-earth foe 3
8D 8. ___ Territory, 1861-89 6
9D 9. Ho-hum feeling 5
10D 10. British john 3
11D 11. Ripped to pieces 6
12D 12. Like not-work-from-home days 6
13D 13. Had to have 6
14D 18. Visibly embarrassed, say 3
15D 22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts 7
16D 24. What can travel a fare distance? 3
17D 25. Brain-busting 4
18D 26. Just between us 7
19D 27. Blue race in "Avatar" 4
20D 29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet 7
21D 32. Hotel request 3
22D 34. Scanned lines, for short 3
23D 36. "If you ___ stand the heat ..." 4
24D 37. Crossed (out) 4
25D 38. Made nice? 8
26D 39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot" 8
27D 43. Pit stop refill 3
28D 44. Subject of a saying about new tricks 6
29D 45. Infer (from) 6
30D 46. Perhaps not at all 6
31D 48. Spinner of tunes 6
32D 49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video 6
33D 51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two 5
34D 52. "Nuts!" 3
35D 55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps 4
36D 57. Pitcher's asset 3
37D 59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line 3
38D 60. Sort 3
39D 61. Texting format, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Reach great heights in life"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Like black and white"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other
  • Similar words include: antonym, inverse, paired
  • Opposite of: synonym, alternate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPPOSITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Numbered in a tournament bracket"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that go to seed; shed seeds
  • Similar words include: seed, sow, sown
  • Opposite of: unseeded
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Always at the pharmacy?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
  • Similar words include: domiciliation, digs, embroider
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Regret"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: repent, regret, ruefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Middle-earth foe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. ___ Territory, 1861-89"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people of the northern mississippi valley; commonly called the sioux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAKOTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Ho-hum feeling"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. British john"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toilet in britain
  • Similar words include: water closet, W.C., closet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ripped to pieces"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Like not-work-from-home days"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Had to have"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that require as useful, just, or proper
  • Similar words include: want, require, necessitate
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Visibly embarrassed, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
  • Similar words include: bolshy, violent, red-faced
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small or little relative to something else
  • Similar words include: humble, littler, pocket-sized
  • Opposite of: large, big
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMALLER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. What can travel a fare distance?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
  • Similar words include: cabriolet, taxi, taxicab
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Brain-busting"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: laborious, grueling, tough
  • Opposite of: easy, voiced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Just between us"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Blue race in "Avatar""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Hotel request"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: camp bed, fingerstall, crib
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Scanned lines, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. "If you ___ stand the heat ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
  • Similar words include: bevel, slang, vernacular
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Crossed (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Made nice?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put (things or places) in order
  • Similar words include: straighten, square away, neaten
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEATENED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot""

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Pit stop refill"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: gun, bluster, flatulence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Subject of a saying about new tricks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Infer (from)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reason by deduction; establish by deduction
  • Similar words include: gain, come, descend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DERIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Perhaps not at all"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Spinner of tunes"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to wind or move in a spiral course
  • Similar words include: reel, spiral, coil
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GYRATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Courier and Century Gothic, for two"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a specific size and style of type within a type family
  • Similar words include: baptistry, baptismal font, case
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. "Nuts!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps"

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Pitcher's asset"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: limb, sleeve, fortify
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Sort"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a kind of person
  • Similar words include: like
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Texting format, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: SM, atomic number 62, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: September 29, 2026 at 09:59 AM

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 21, 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: Tricky

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. "Chocolate" pets 4
2A 5. Genome component 3
3A 8. Breaks in winter weather 5
4A 13. ___ vera 4
5A 14. Gave a hand 5
6A 16. Greet someone informally 5
7A 17. "Easy-peasy!" 16
8A 20. Attire for an infant 6
9A 21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon 6
10A 22. Severity 5
11A 23. Urban environmental hazard 4
12A 24. Pen tips 4
13A 28. Clean with a rough spray 9
14A 31. Blood ___ 5
15A 32. Acorn producer 3
16A 33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g. 6
17A 34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across? 14
18A 40. 2000-09, with "the" 6
19A 41. ___ and haw 3
20A 42. Jumbo 5
21A 43. Colorful taffy candy brand 9
22A 49. Laptop brand 4
23A 50. Tons 4
24A 51. Not having quite enough money 5
25A 53. "Really?" 6
26A 55. Backside 6
27A 56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record 16
28A 60. Toyota hybrid 5
29A 61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink 5
30A 62. Things assayers assay 4
31A 63. Reactions akin to "OMG!" 5
32A 64. Pigs' digs 3
33A 65. Fill up 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Chocolate" pets"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
  • Similar words include: research laboratory, laboratory, science laboratory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Genome component"

3 letters Category: Common Word

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: desoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Breaks in winter weather"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
  • Similar words include: warming, melt, dissolve
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. ___ vera"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Gave a hand"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
  • Similar words include: portion out, share, deal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Greet someone informally"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "Easy-peasy!""

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADABINGBADABOOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Attire for an infant"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the first light of day
  • Similar words include: morning, dawning, cockcrow
  • Opposite of: sunset
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Severity"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something hard to endure
  • Similar words include: hardness, asperity, rigorousness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIGOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Urban environmental hazard"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Pen tips"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the writing point of a pen
  • Similar words include: neb, pen nib, bill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Clean with a rough spray"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blast of wind laden with sand
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANDBLAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Blood ___"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
  • Similar words include: blood serum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Acorn producer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
  • Similar words include: oak tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g."

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who serves (or waits to be called to serve) on a jury
  • Similar words include: juryman, jurywoman, juror
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JURORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across?"

14 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOOUTWITHABANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. 2000-09, with "the""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cipher, goose egg, nix
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUGHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. ___ and haw"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Jumbo"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for a large person
  • Similar words include: with child, vauntingly, declamatory
  • Opposite of: little, small
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Colorful taffy candy brand"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "49. Laptop brand"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "50. Tons"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Not having quite enough money"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed
  • Similar words include: forgetful, abruptly, poor
  • Opposite of: tall, long
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. "Really?""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Backside"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record"

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDWINESUPERNOVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. Toyota hybrid"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Things assayers assay"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Similar words include: ore
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Reactions akin to "OMG!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
  • Similar words include: puff, gasp, pant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Pigs' digs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid
  • Similar words include: pigpen, stye, pigsty
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Fill up"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Hard work 5
2D 2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic" 6
3D 3. Corner store 6
4D 4. Fall, e.g. 6
5D 5. Reading room 3
6D 6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple 8
7D 7. Subjects of some Billboard charts 6
8D 8. Old Russian ruler 4
9D 9. Cuban dance style 8
10D 10. Actress Edebiri 3
11D 11. "Which person are you referring to?" 3
12D 12. ___ card 3
13D 14. A standard one has 21 pips 3
14D 15. Fortune-telling deck 5
15D 18. Aviary inhabitant 4
16D 19. Hound 3
17D 25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders 4
18D 26. Town 4
19D 27. Texting format, in brief 3
20D 29. Many internet spammers 4
21D 30. Rule 3
22D 31. Teacher for a day 3
23D 33. Part of a doorframe 4
24D 34. Tortilla chip dip, informally 4
25D 35. Shrek, e.g. 4
26D 36. "Wow, real mature" 8
27D 37. Sport-___ 3
28D 38. "Ow! Watch it!" 8
29D 39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke) 3
30D 40. In the manner of 3
31D 43. Power-saving computer mode 5
32D 44. They're often made at weddings 6
33D 45. One may accept the terms and conditions 4
34D 46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly 6
35D 47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua 6
36D 48. Hot pot holder 6
37D 50. Novelist Rand 3
38D 52. Backcomb 5
39D 54. Cat's warning 4
40D 55. Old-school term for "cool" 3
41D 56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief 3
42D 57. Long period 3
43D 58. Put down 3
44D 59. Salary 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Hard work"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: fag, toil, DoL
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Corner store"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hispanic shop selling wine and groceries
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BODEGA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fall, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
  • Similar words include: flavor, harden, flavour
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEASON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Reading room"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in southern japan on kyushu; a leading port and shipbuilding center; on august 9, 1945 nagasaki became the second populated area to receive an atomic bomb
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAGASAKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Subjects of some Billboard charts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one or more recordings issued together; originally released on 12-inch phonograph records (usually with attractive record covers) and later on cassette audiotape and compact disc
  • Similar words include: album, record album
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBUMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Old Russian ruler"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male monarch or emperor (especially of russia prior to 1917)
  • Similar words include: tzar, czar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Cuban dance style"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that music composed in duple time for dancing the habanera
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HABANERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Actress Edebiri"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Which person are you referring to?""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
  • Similar words include: World Health Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ card"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. A standard one has 21 pips"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
  • Similar words include: give-up the ghost, drop dead, buy the farm
  • Opposite of: be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. Fortune-telling deck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
  • Similar words include: tarot card
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "18. Aviary inhabitant"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
  • Similar words include: birdwatch, hiss, snort
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIRD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Hound"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the genus canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
  • Similar words include: go after, cad, chase after
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
  • Similar words include: atomic number 26, iron out, Fe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Town"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that colloquial american term for a town
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BURG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Texting format, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: Sm, MS, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Many internet spammers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Similar words include: bot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Rule"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the collection of rules imposed by authority
  • Similar words include: legal philosophy, police, natural law
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Teacher for a day"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the united states
  • Similar words include: substitute, Cuban sandwich, submarine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of a doorframe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that upright consisting of a vertical side member of a door or window frame
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Tortilla chip dip, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Shrek, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cruel wicked and inhuman person
  • Similar words include: monster, fiend, demon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. "Wow, real mature""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Sport-___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the shoshonean people of utah and colorado and new mexico
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. "Ow! Watch it!""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "40. In the manner of"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Power-saving computer mode"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
  • Similar words include: eternal sleep, nap, kip
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. They're often made at weddings"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slices of bread that have been toasted
  • Similar words include: toast, drink, salute
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOASTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "45. One may accept the terms and conditions"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
  • Similar words include: substance abuser, drug user, exploiter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that massive powerful herbivorous odd-toed ungulate of southeast asia and africa having very thick skin and one or two horns on the snout
  • Similar words include: rhino, rhinoceros
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHINOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ground snakes
  • Similar words include: genus Sonora
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "48. Hot pot holder"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIVET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "50. Novelist Rand"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "52. Backcomb"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
  • Similar words include: minx, twit, ribbing
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "54. Cat's warning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
  • Similar words include: snort, whoosh, bird
  • Opposite of: applaud
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HISS

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40D: "55. Old-school term for "cool""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informed about the latest trends
  • Similar words include: hip, hip to
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEP

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41D: "56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "57. Long period"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "58. Put down"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that god of the underworld; counterpart of greek pluto
  • Similar words include: Orcus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIS

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44D: "59. Salary"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that remunerates
  • Similar words include: make up, earnings, yield
  • Opposite of: default
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAY

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

33 Across Clues
44 Down Clues
77 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 21, 2026 at 06:09 AM