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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.

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Last updated: October 16, 2026 at 08:20 AM

Sunday, September 27, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 27, 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. Bad association 6
2A 7. Shoot for dinner? 5
3A 12. Jeweler's wares 7
4A 19. ... in global commerce)(Conflict ... 12
5A 20. Emerge 5
6A 21. DeVore who co-founded one of the first U.S. agencies for nonwhite models in 1946 7
7A 22. Potential benefit 6
8A 23. Was almost out of supplies 6
9A 25. That's saying something! 7
10A 26. Turned into an internet gag 5
11A 27. Japanese graphic novels 5
12A 28. ... outdoor festivals)(Bathrooms at ... 12
13A 30. Dukes, countesses, etc. 7
14A 32. Put down in writing 13
15A 37. Actress Sink of "Stranger Things" 5
16A 39. Baby who's up all night? 5
17A 40. Where many papyrus plants grow 4
18A 41. Frenzied locale at a rock concert 7
19A 44. Press a case? 3
20A 45. "Spring forward" hrs. 3
21A 47. Test room 3
22A 48. Cut back on 4
23A 49. Kind of effect that can manifest as a counterclockwise motion in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise motion in the Southern Hemisphere [with a hint to this puzzle's shaded squares] 8
24A 53. Carnivore whose vocalization sounds like giggling 5
25A 55. Google's domain 6
26A 58. Hindu festival of colors 4
27A 59. Auto brand whose logo is meant to evoke the precision of a caliper 5
28A 62. Instant 3
29A 63. Challenge to a potential investor 8
30A 66. ... transport)(Bigwig's ... 12
31A 68. Straightaway driving contests 9
32A 70. Philadelphia-area university that's a powerhouse in men's hoops 9
33A 73. ... park an auto)(Narrow space in which to ... 12
34A 74. Marvelous 8
35A 77. One in 100: Abbr. 3
36A 78. "It ___ Me" (2000 Shaggy hit) 5
37A 79. Word with dish or drag 4
38A 80. Locale for many a commercial logo 6
39A 82. German brewery since 1873 5
40A 85. Return to an earlier topic of conversation ... or what six answers in this puzzle literally do 8
41A 89. Cause of some red cheeks 4
42A 90. Entertainment source for general audiences, in brief? 3
43A 91. Bub 3
44A 94. ___ Lanka 3
45A 95. Custom-tailored 7
46A 98. One of Cuba's Castros 4
47A 100. Lose it 5
48A 102. Best-case 5
49A 103. Crafts used in NASA's Galileo and Juno missions 13
50A 107. Good position to be in? 7
51A 112. ... clarify or explain)(Seeking to ... 12
52A 113. Hide-outs 5
53A 115. Itsy-bitsy 5
54A 116. Disk-flipping strategy game 7
55A 119. Like wheat beers 6
56A 121. Certain factory machine 6
57A 122. Chaperones 7
58A 123. Many a John Williams composition 5
59A 124. ... of hindsight)(With the benefit ... 12
60A 125. Clear coat 7
61A 126. Oafs 5
62A 127. Deal made on the spot? 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Bad association"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil
  • Similar words include: mark, brand, stain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STIGMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Shoot for dinner?"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year
  • Similar words include: branchlet, twig
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPRIG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "12. Jeweler's wares"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "19. ... in global commerce)(Conflict ..."

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "20. Emerge"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: uprise, rise, develop
  • Opposite of: go to bed, fall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARISE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "21. DeVore who co-founded one of the first U.S. agencies for nonwhite models in 1946"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "22. Potential benefit"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the highest or uppermost side of anything
  • Similar words include: upper side, top, top side
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPSIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "23. Was almost out of supplies"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "25. That's saying something!"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous)
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "26. Turned into an internet gag"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "27. Japanese graphic novels"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "28. ... outdoor festivals)(Bathrooms at ..."

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "30. Dukes, countesses, etc."

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the peers of a kingdom considered as a group
  • Similar words include: baronage
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEERAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "32. Put down in writing"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "37. Actress Sink of "Stranger Things""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "39. Baby who's up all night?"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "40. Where many papyrus plants grow"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "41. Frenzied locale at a rock concert"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "44. Press a case?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french writer whose novels described the sordid side of city life (1804-1857)
  • Similar words include: Eugene Sue, action, process
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "45. "Spring forward" hrs."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "47. Test room"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "48. Cut back on"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that decrease gradually or bit by bit
  • Similar words include: whittle, trim, skin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "49. Kind of effect that can manifest as a counterclockwise motion in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise motion in the Southern Hemisphere [with a hint to this puzzle's shaded squares]"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "53. Carnivore whose vocalization sounds like giggling"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that doglike nocturnal mammal of africa and southern asia that feeds chiefly on carrion
  • Similar words include: hyaena
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYENA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "55. Google's domain"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "58. Hindu festival of colors"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "59. Auto brand whose logo is meant to evoke the precision of a caliper"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "62. Instant"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: unsweet, s, second
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "63. Challenge to a potential investor"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "66. ... transport)(Bigwig's ..."

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "68. Straightaway driving contests"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "70. Philadelphia-area university that's a powerhouse in men's hoops"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "73. ... park an auto)(Narrow space in which to ..."

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "74. Marvelous"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having great beauty and splendor
  • Similar words include: fantabulous, excellent, splendiferous
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPLENDID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "77. One in 100: Abbr."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fractional monetary unit of japan and indonesia and cambodia; equal to one hundredth of a yen or rupiah or riel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "78. "It ___ Me" (2000 Shaggy hit)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "79. Word with dish or drag"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any very large body of (salt) water
  • Similar words include: primary, chief, independent
  • Opposite of: dependent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "80. Locale for many a commercial logo"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "82. German brewery since 1873"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a beckoning gesture
  • Similar words include: beck
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BECKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "85. Return to an earlier topic of conversation ... or what six answers in this puzzle literally do"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "89. Cause of some red cheeks"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

42A: "90. Entertainment source for general audiences, in brief?"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "91. Bub"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
  • Similar words include: mack, mackintosh, macintosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "94. ___ Lanka"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "95. Custom-tailored"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be a signal for or a symptom of
  • Similar words include: signal, request, tailored
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BESPOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "98. One of Cuba's Castros"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "100. Lose it"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "102. Best-case"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain
  • Similar words include: idealistic, nonsuch, saint
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "103. Crafts used in NASA's Galileo and Juno missions"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "107. Good position to be in?"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "112. ... clarify or explain)(Seeking to ..."

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that that provides interpretation
  • Similar words include: interpretative
  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTERPRETIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "113. Hide-outs"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
  • Similar words include: den, lair
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAIRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "115. Itsy-bitsy"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used informally) very small
  • Similar words include: teeny-weeny, teensy-weensy, teentsy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEENY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "116. Disk-flipping strategy game"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "119. Like wheat beers"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or resembling or containing yeast
  • Similar words include: zestful, yeastlike, zesty
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEASTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "121. Certain factory machine"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clerk who sorts things (as letters at the post office)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SORTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "122. Chaperones"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who escorts and protects a prominent person
  • Similar words include: see, bodyguard, date
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESCORTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "123. Many a John Williams composition"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  • Similar words include: root, idea, topic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THEME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "124. ... of hindsight)(With the benefit ..."

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "125. Clear coat"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a coating that provides a hard, lustrous, transparent finish to a surface
  • Similar words include: seal
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VARNISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "126. Oafs"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: behind, fundament, bum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62A: "127. Deal made on the spot?"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Bewilder 5
2D 2. Conical accommodations 5
3D 3. Unhelpful way to respond to "Hello?" 5
4D 4. "Jackie Brown" star Pam 5
5D 5. Unruly rush 7
6D 6. Commercial suffix with Power 3
7D 7. Singer Bareilles 4
8D 8. Have a spring in one's step 6
9D 9. One of the Beatles 5
10D 10. Faith with five pillars 5
11D 11. Prefix with cache 3
12D 12. Assumed ownership over 7
13D 13. Pulls out, as weeds 7
14D 14. Choreographer Twyla 5
15D 15. Achieve a sunbather's goal 6
16D 16. ___ rating (chess stat) 3
17D 17. Old space station 3
18D 18. Perhaps 3
19D 24. Chinese artist Ai ___ 6
20D 27. Triage provider 5
21D 29. The Cardinals, on scoreboards 3
22D 31. Clothing brand named for perceived generational differences in the '60s 3
23D 33. "___ Rouge" 6
24D 34. It's driven into the ground 4
25D 35. Flair 4
26D 36. Redheaded "Queen of Country" 4
27D 38. Diminutive Spanish suffix 3
28D 41. Bill of HBO's "Real Time" 5
29D 42. Mine craft? 6
30D 43. Do some garment-making 3
31D 44. Performances for one 4
32D 46. Competitor of Bluesky and X 7
33D 48. Affliction for some vets, in brief 4
34D 50. Greek PPP 4
35D 51. Promise of payback 3
36D 52. Chef Nosrat who wrote the best seller "Salt Fat Acid Heat" 5
37D 54. Tall tale 4
38D 56. Sonic euphoria, colloquially 7
39D 57. Scottish hillsides 5
40D 60. Far from the target, in a guessing game 4
41D 61. Illuminated from below 5
42D 64. Univ. course that's in demand? 4
43D 65. Streisand musical 5
44D 67. "That's freaking epic!" 6
45D 69. Rubberneck 4
46D 70. ___ cava (major blood vessel) 4
47D 71. Sci-fi pioneer Jules 5
48D 72. It gets you a hand 4
49D 74. Portmanteau sandwich cookie with a layer of marshmallow 6
50D 75. Big ___, nickname for M.L.B.'s David Ortiz 4
51D 76. Lefty, to a righty 3
52D 81. "Ni ___" (Chinese "hello") 3
53D 82. ___ Khalifa, tower scaled by Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" 4
54D 83. Heir with much hair in the Bible 4
55D 84. Great success 4
56D 86. Fish hawk 6
57D 87. Purportedly calming compound in some gummies, in brief 3
58D 88. Play for ___ 5
59D 92. Shaders of gray? 7
60D 93. Cultural group of SW Britain 7
61D 96. ___ soda 3
62D 97. Astronomically demoted, as per a 2006 Word of the Year 7
63D 99. Persist 6
64D 101. Fitting 3
65D 102. "Am I crazy ...?" 6
66D 104. Twin sister of Sherri on "The Simpsons" 5
67D 105. Malaise, with "the" 5
68D 106. Lets up 5
69D 108. Violently eliminates, in gamer-speak 5
70D 109. Volkswagen sedan 5
71D 110. Buck enshrined in Cooperstown 5
72D 111. David who fronted Talking Heads 5
73D 114. Some loaves or liquors 4
74D 116. Something gas cars do noisily that electric vehicles don't 3
75D 117. That, in Spanish 3
76D 118. Forerunner of the DVD player 3
77D 120. "when r u coming?" 3
78D 121. Relaxing getaway 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Bewilder"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled
  • Similar words include: soapbox, mix up, stomp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Conical accommodations"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native american tent; usually of conical shape
  • Similar words include: tipi, teepee
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Unhelpful way to respond to "Hello?""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "Jackie Brown" star Pam"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Unruly rush"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Commercial suffix with Power"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice
  • Similar words include: fruit drink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Singer Bareilles"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Have a spring in one's step"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a proud stiff pompous gait
  • Similar words include: strut, sashay, tittup
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRANCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. One of the Beatles"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Faith with five pillars"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the civilization of muslims collectively which is governed by the muslim religion
  • Similar words include: Muslimism, Mohammedanism, Islamism
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Prefix with cache"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Assumed ownership over"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Pulls out, as weeds"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move (people) forcibly from their homeland into a new and foreign environment
  • Similar words include: exterminate, deracinate, eradicate
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPROOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Choreographer Twyla"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that innovative united states dancer and choreographer (born in 1941)
  • Similar words include: Twyla Tharp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THARP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Achieve a sunbather's goal"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "16. ___ rating (chess stat)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "17. Old space station"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "18. Perhaps"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chance to speak
  • Similar words include: allege, enjoin, state
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "24. Chinese artist Ai ___"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Triage provider"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several old world herbs of the genus medicago having small flowers and trifoliate compound leaves
  • Similar words include: trefoil, medick, medical officer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEDIC

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21D: "29. The Cardinals, on scoreboards"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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22D: "31. Clothing brand named for perceived generational differences in the '60s"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: spread, crack, col
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

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23D: "33. "___ Rouge""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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24D: "34. It's driven into the ground"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a collection of objects laid on top of each other
  • Similar words include: peck, great deal, mountain
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PILE

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25D: "35. Flair"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
  • Similar words include: flair, panache, style
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAN

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26D: "36. Redheaded "Queen of Country""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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27D: "38. Diminutive Spanish suffix"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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28D: "41. Bill of HBO's "Real Time""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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29D: "42. Mine craft?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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30D: "43. Do some garment-making"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten by sewing; do needlework
  • Similar words include: stitch, run up, tailor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEW

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31D: "44. Performances for one"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any activity that is performed alone without assistance
  • Similar words include: solo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLI

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32D: "46. Competitor of Bluesky and X"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for clothing
  • Similar words include: screw thread, togs, train of thought
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THREADS

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33D: "48. Affliction for some vets, in brief"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images
  • Similar words include: posttraumatic stress disorder
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PTSD

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34D: "50. Greek PPP"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 17th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Similar words include: rho
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHOS

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35D: "51. Promise of payback"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal debt instrument; representing `i owe you'
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOU

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36D: "52. Chef Nosrat who wrote the best seller "Salt Fat Acid Heat""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "54. Tall tale"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
  • Similar words include: recital, thread, narration
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YARN

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38D: "56. Sonic euphoria, colloquially"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "57. Scottish hillsides"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slope or hillside
  • Similar words include: brae
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAES

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40D: "60. Far from the target, in a guessing game"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
  • Similar words include: inhuman, cold-blooded, insensate
  • Opposite of: hot, hotness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COLD

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41D: "61. Illuminated from below"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "64. Univ. course that's in demand?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "65. Streisand musical"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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44D: "67. "That's freaking epic!""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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45D: "69. Rubberneck"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an awkward stupid person
  • Similar words include: lubber, clod, stumblebum
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAWK

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46D: "70. ___ cava (major blood vessel)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart
  • Similar words include: vein, venous blood vessel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VENA

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47D: "71. Sci-fi pioneer Jules"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french writer who is considered the father of science fiction (1828-1905)
  • Similar words include: Jules Verne
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VERNE

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48D: "72. It gets you a hand"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTE

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49D: "74. Portmanteau sandwich cookie with a layer of marshmallow"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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50D: "75. Big ___, nickname for M.L.B.'s David Ortiz"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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51D: "76. Lefty, to a righty"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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52D: "81. "Ni ___" (Chinese "hello")"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 10 hao equal 1 dong in vietnam
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAO

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53D: "82. ___ Khalifa, tower scaled by Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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54D: "83. Heir with much hair in the Bible"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) the eldest son of isaac who would have inherited the covenant that god made with abraham and that abraham passed on to isaac; he traded his birthright to his twin brother jacob for a mess of pottage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESAU

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55D: "84. Great success"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force
  • Similar words include: putsch, coup d'etat, takeover
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COUP

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56D: "86. Fish hawk"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large harmless hawk found worldwide that feeds on fish and builds a bulky nest often occupied for years
  • Similar words include: sea eagle, fish hawk, fish eagle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSPREY

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57D: "87. Purportedly calming compound in some gummies, in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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58D: "88. Play for ___"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the financial means whereby one lives
  • Similar words include: go along, bread and butter, hold back
  • Opposite of: lose, break
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEEPS

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59D: "92. Shaders of gray?"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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60D: "93. Cultural group of SW Britain"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a celtic language spoken in cornwall
  • Similar words include: Cornish fowl
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORNISH

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61D: "96. ___ soda"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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62D: "97. Astronomically demoted, as per a 2006 Word of the Year"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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63D: "99. Persist"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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64D: "101. Fitting"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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65D: "102. "Am I crazy ...?""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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66D: "104. Twin sister of Sherri on "The Simpsons""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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67D: "105. Malaise, with "the""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction
  • Similar words include: blah, rant, fustian
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLAHS

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68D: "106. Lets up"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
  • Similar words include: alleviate, relief, simpleness
  • Opposite of: difficulty
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASES

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69D: "108. Violently eliminates, in gamer-speak"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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70D: "109. Volkswagen sedan"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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71D: "110. Buck enshrined in Cooperstown"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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72D: "111. David who fronted Talking Heads"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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73D: "114. Some loaves or liquors"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seed of the cereal grass
  • Similar words include: Secale cereale, rye, rye whiskey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RYES

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74D: "116. Something gas cars do noisily that electric vehicles don't"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rate of revolution of a motor
  • Similar words include: rev up, rpm, revolutions per minute
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REV

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75D: "117. That, in Spanish"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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76D: "118. Forerunner of the DVD player"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magnetic tape recorder for recording (and playing back) tv programs
  • Similar words include: videocassette recorder
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VCR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

77D: "120. "when r u coming?""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom, Euskadi ta Askatasuna
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

78D: "121. Relaxing getaway"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: health spa, watering place, resort hotel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

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

62 Across Clues
78 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: September 27, 2026 at 09:24 AM