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

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 13, 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. Uber alternative 4
2A 5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26 3
3A 8. Hosp. triage specialists 6
4A 14. One acting on impulse? 4
5A 15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe 3
6A 16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot 6
7A 17. *Peers 8
8A 19. Order to relax 6
9A 20. Group of reps 3
10A 21. Back-comb, in a way 5
11A 23. ___ mater 4
12A 24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics 12
13A 27. Brews 6
14A 30. Heated competition? 4
15A 31. Kilauea output 4
16A 32. Some porcelain pieces 5
17A 34. Shiba ___ (dog breed) 3
18A 37. *Number of Supreme Court justices 15
19A 41. Ethane or methane 3
20A 42. Belittle 5
21A 43. Conscious of systemic societal problems 4
22A 44. Big inits. in frozen desserts 4
23A 45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel 6
24A 47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist 12
25A 52. Beauty supply chain 4
26A 53. "Swell!" 5
27A 54. Under the weather 3
28A 57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity 6
29A 60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match 8
30A 62. It was discovered by the Curies 6
31A 63. Kind of line at the beach 3
32A 64. Try a new course, say 4
33A 65. TikTok phenomena 6
34A 66. Guileful 3
35A 67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Uber alternative"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, taxicab, hack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. The class of '26, at the beginning of '26"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Hosp. triage specialists"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. One acting on impulse?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wasabi-coated tidbit, maybe"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seed of a pea plant used for food
  • Similar words include: pea plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Pittsburgh Pirates mascot"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. *Peers"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Order to relax"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Group of reps"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Back-comb, in a way"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. ___ mater"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. *Number of years between Summer Olympics"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Brews"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a steep place (as on a hill)
  • Similar words include: steep, engross, infuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEEPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Heated competition?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
  • Similar words include: play, contact, get together
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Kilauea output"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rock that in its molten form (as magma) issues from volcanos; lava is what magma is called when it reaches the surface
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Some porcelain pieces"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern asia; the most populous country in the world
  • Similar words include: Red China, Nationalist China, mainland China
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHINA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Shiba ___ (dog breed)"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. *Number of Supreme Court justices"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Ethane or methane"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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: boast, gun, accelerator pedal
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Belittle"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
  • Similar words include: humiliate, mortify, humble
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Conscious of systemic societal problems"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be awake, be alert, be there
  • Similar words include: stir up, awake, wake
  • Opposite of: fall asleep, cause to sleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Big inits. in frozen desserts"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. They're adjusted when truing a bicycle wheel"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
  • Similar words include: wheel spoke, spoke, radius
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOKES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. *Guns N' Roses guitarist"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Beauty supply chain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. "Swell!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Under the weather"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: badly, complaint, sick
  • Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Jackal-headed Egyptian deity"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that egyptian god of tombs and ruler of the underworld; usually depicted as a man with the head of a jackal
  • Similar words include: Anpu
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANUBIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. What you'd need to press to make the starred clues and their answers match"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. It was discovered by the Curies"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores
  • Similar words include: Ra, atomic number 88
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RADIUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Kind of line at the beach"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Try a new course, say"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: swerve, trend, slue
  • Opposite of: back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. TikTok phenomena"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general direction in which something tends to move
  • Similar words include: drift, veer, trend
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Guileful"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. Drink with junmai and nigori variants"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reason for wanting something done
  • Similar words include: rice beer, interest, saki
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Array behind the counter at a tavern 4
2D 2. Wheel assembly component 4
3D 3. Strike from a list 4
4D 4. Important contacts 3
5D 5. Many fast pitches 6
6D 6. Majestic 5
7D 7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones" 5
8D 8. Fuel economy org. 3
9D 9. Tattletale 3
10D 10. Imagined while sleeping 6
11D 11. Toothbrush handle? 5
12D 12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail 5
13D 13. Criminally good deal 5
14D 18. "Quit it!" 4
15D 22. Its fur might trim a royal robe 6
16D 24. College faculty head 4
17D 25. Email status 4
18D 26. Opposite of "nah" 4
19D 27. Real grind 4
20D 28. Seville snack 4
21D 29. Holiday preceders 4
22D 32. Handout with a kids' menu 6
23D 33. Bulls and bucks 3
24D 34. Avoids injury, say 4
25D 35. Personification of victory 4
26D 36. Wields 4
27D 38. Formal accord 4
28D 39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City" 4
29D 40. Furry "Star Wars" creature 4
30D 44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short 6
31D 45. Smooth and glossy 6
32D 46. Seminar head, informally 4
33D 47. Ice cream purchase 5
34D 48. Forearm-related, in a way 5
35D 49. Practice piece 5
36D 50. Tree "houses" 5
37D 51. Palace, in Hindi 5
38D 54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance 4
39D 55. Garlic relative 4
40D 56. Strings of yore 4
41D 58. T-shaped birth control insert 3
42D 59. Texting inits. 3
43D 61. Fixtures at sports bars 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Array behind the counter at a tavern"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) signal to turn the lights out
  • Similar words include: beg, hydrant, tap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Wheel assembly component"

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!

3D: "3. Strike from a list"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Important contacts"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Many fast pitches"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
  • Similar words include: patter, spiel, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Majestic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
  • Similar words include: royal, imperial, majestic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REGAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Stark daughter played by Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Fuel economy org."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
  • Similar words include: Environmental Protection Agency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Tattletale"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
  • Similar words include: dirty dog, lowlife, git
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Imagined while sleeping"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy
  • Similar words include: woolgather, dream, stargaze
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREAMT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Toothbrush handle?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Cranberry-tinged cocktail"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Criminally good deal"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an advantageous purchase
  • Similar words include: slip, bargain, buy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "Quit it!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something ending
  • Similar words include: cease, stop consonant, period
  • Opposite of: begin, continuant consonant
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Its fur might trim a royal robe"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive white fur of the ermine
  • Similar words include: shorttail weasel, Mustela erminea
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERMINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. College faculty head"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
  • Similar words include: James Byron Dean, James Dean, doyen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Email status"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 senti equal 1 kroon in estonia
  • Similar words include: get off, charge, send off
  • Opposite of: unsent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Opposite of "nah""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not only so, but
  • Similar words include: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Real grind"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that work doggedly or persistently
  • Similar words include: slug, pad, keep one's shoulder to the wheel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Seville snack"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the thin fibrous bark of the paper mulberry and pipturus albidus
  • Similar words include: tapa bark, tappa bark, tappa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Holiday preceders"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) adam's wife in judeo-christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; god created eve from adam's rib and placed adam and eve in the garden of eden
  • Similar words include: evening, eventide, even
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Handout with a kids' menu"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that writing implement consisting of a colored stick of composition wax used for writing and drawing
  • Similar words include: wax crayon
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAYON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Bulls and bucks"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in texas and kansas)
  • Similar words include: atomic number 2, helium, he
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Avoids injury, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Personification of victory"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) winged goddess of victory; identified with roman victoria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Wields"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: habit, purpose, usage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Formal accord"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  • Similar words include: accord, treaty
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Actress Jacobson of "Broad City""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Furry "Star Wars" creature"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Container at an airport checkpoint, for short"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Smooth and glossy"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
  • Similar words include: silky, sleek, slick
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATINY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Seminar head, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
  • Similar words include: professor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. Ice cream purchase"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united states liquid unit equal to 32 fluid ounces; four quarts equal one gallon
  • Similar words include: dry quart
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. Forearm-related, in a way"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relating to or near the ulna
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ULNAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. Practice piece"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "50. Tree "houses""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
  • Similar words include: nestle, draw close, nest
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "51. Palace, in Hindi"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Retail outlet with a store map at its entrance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Garlic relative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild allium ampeloprasum
  • Similar words include: Allium porrum, scallion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. Strings of yore"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "58. T-shaped birth control insert"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that contraceptive device consisting of a piece of bent plastic or metal that is inserted through the vagina into the uterus
  • Similar words include: intrauterine device
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IUD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "59. Texting inits."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

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, samarium, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "61. Fixtures at sports bars"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that broadcasting visual images of stationary or moving objects; ; - ernie kovacs
  • Similar words include: telly, television set, TV
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TVS

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

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: May 13, 2026 at 06:37 AM

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 25, 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. [Taps casino table] 5
2A 6. Signs of treble? 5
3A 11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend) 3
4A 14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley 5
5A 15. Deck in divination 5
6A 16. Mil. authority 3
7A 17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this 11
8A 19. Possessed 3
9A 20. Lotto-like casino game 4
10A 21. Summer treats in small cups 4
11A 22. Sounds of sudden vanishing 5
12A 24. Zero 4
13A 26. Inverse of kilo- 5
14A 27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889 14
15A 32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit 5
16A 33. Tribal home, maybe, informally 3
17A 34. Reason to take a painkiller 4
18A 35. So-called "melting pot," in brief 3
19A 36. E-bike alternative 7
20A 40. One ___ time 3
21A 41. Bubbles in a bubble bath 4
22A 43. A QR code might access one 3
23A 44. Purplish perennial 5
24A 46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list 14
25A 50. Ransacks 5
26A 51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products 4
27A 52. Stays in line, say 5
28A 53. Hawaiian goose 4
29A 55. Thumbs-down votes 4
30A 59. Buried 3
31A 60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across? 11
32A 63. Fruit drink 3
33A 64. On a higher level 5
34A 65. Second-chance show 5
35A 66. Org. with metal detectors 3
36A 67. Supped 5
37A 68. Paradises 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. [Taps casino table]"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Signs of treble?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it
  • Similar words include: clef
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLEFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Deck in divination"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

6A: "16. Mil. authority"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREDITSCORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Possessed"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense
  • Similar words include: ingest, receive, sustain
  • Opposite of: refuse, abstain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Lotto-like casino game"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
  • Similar words include: bingo, lotto, beano
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KENO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Summer treats in small cups"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: ice, frost, deoxyephedrine
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Sounds of sudden vanishing"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that offensive term for an openly homosexual man
  • Similar words include: pouf, poof, pansy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POOFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Zero"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cipher, zip, zippo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NADA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Inverse of kilo-"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Tribal home, maybe, informally"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Reason to take a painkiller"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain
  • Similar words include: languish, smart, hurt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. So-called "melting pot," in brief"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that north american republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in north america plus alaska in northwest north america and the hawaiian islands in the pacific ocean; achieved independence in 1776
  • Similar words include: U.S., US, U. S. Army
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. E-bike alternative"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motorboat resembling a motor scooter
  • Similar words include: motor scooter, sea scooter, water scooter
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCOOTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. One ___ time"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Bubbles in a bubble bath"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the froth produced by soaps or detergents
  • Similar words include: spume, froth, lather
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. A QR code might access one"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the address of a web page on the world wide web
  • Similar words include: universal resource locator, uniform resource locator
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Purplish perennial"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus aster with showy daisylike flowers
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Ransacks"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Stays in line, say"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time during which some action is awaited
  • Similar words include: await, waiting, hold off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Hawaiian goose"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Thumbs-down votes"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: nay
  • Opposite of: yea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Buried"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prevent from being seen or discovered
  • Similar words include: hide out, obliterate, obscure
  • Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across?"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREAKDANCES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Fruit drink"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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!

33A: "64. On a higher level"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an earlier section of a written text
  • Similar words include: supra, higher up, to a higher place
  • Opposite of: below
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABOVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Second-chance show"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a program that is broadcast again
  • Similar words include: rebroadcast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RERUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Org. with metal detectors"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
  • Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Supped"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have supper; eat dinner
  • Similar words include: boom, din, dine
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Paradises"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
  • Similar words include: Garden of Eden, Shangri-la, promised land
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Pawn 4
2D 2. Concerning 4
3D 3. One subject to a curfew, maybe 4
4D 4. So-called "Queen of Pop" 7
5D 5. Former Giant Manning 3
6D 6. Healthy self-image? 6
7D 7. Tie up 4
8D 8. God depicted with a bow 4
9D 9. Word between "word" and "word" 3
10D 10. Intervene 6
11D 11. Sound-track? 10
12D 12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage 10
13D 13. Calculated ratios 4
14D 18. Era competitor 4
15D 23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk" 4
16D 25. Behaves 4
17D 26. Where you might lose your way 4
18D 27. Demo graphics, maybe 10
19D 28. "This is news to me!" 10
20D 29. Cyber punk? 5
21D 30. Tick doc 3
22D 31. When repeated, "Preach!" 4
23D 32. When repeated, secret 4
24D 37. Bear's heirs? 4
25D 38. 60 minuti 3
26D 39. Pulse quickly, as the heart 4
27D 42. Bratty kid 4
28D 45. Was a fangirl of, say 7
29D 47. "Really awful" 6
30D 48. Connected 6
31D 49. Scraped (by) 4
32D 52. "Huh?" 4
33D 53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall 4
34D 54. Roof projection 4
35D 56. Farming area 4
36D 57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope" 4
37D 58. Tax IDs 4
38D 61. Result of a solo homer, for short 3
39D 62. "There you ___!" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Pawn"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several white wines from the rhine river valley in germany (`hock' is british usage)
  • Similar words include: Rhine wine, pawn, hock-joint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOCK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Concerning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. One subject to a curfew, maybe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity
  • Similar words include: teenage, adolescent, teenaged
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. So-called "Queen of Pop""

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the mother of jesus; christians refer to her as the virgin mary; she is especially honored by roman catholics
  • Similar words include: Madonna Louise Ciccone, Blessed Virgin, Mary
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADONNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Former Giant Manning"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Healthy self-image?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Tie up"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)
  • Similar words include: entwine, braid, interlace
  • Opposite of: untwine
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. God depicted with a bow"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) god of love; son of aphrodite; identified with roman cupid
  • Similar words include: physical attraction, concupiscence, sexual desire
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Word between "word" and "word""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Intervene"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Sound-track?"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Calculated ratios"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
  • Similar words include: betting odds
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Era competitor"

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: surge, lunar time period
  • Opposite of: ebb
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Behaves"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Where you might lose your way"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
  • Similar words include: labyrinth, tangle, snarl
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Demo graphics, maybe"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. "This is news to me!""

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Cyber punk?"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
  • Similar words include: round, trolling
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Tick doc"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a doctor who practices veterinary medicine
  • Similar words include: veteran, veterinary surgeon, veterinarian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. When repeated, "Preach!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
  • Similar words include: try, see, find out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. When repeated, secret"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poetic) tranquil silence
  • Similar words include: shut up, quieten, quiet down
  • Opposite of: louden
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Bear's heirs?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an awkward and inexperienced youth
  • Similar words include: sonny boy, sonny, rookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. 60 minuti"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: os, bone, oculus sinister
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Pulse quickly, as the heart"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any competition
  • Similar words include: hasten, cannonball along, hotfoot
  • Opposite of: linger
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Bratty kid"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
  • Similar words include: snob, snoot, prig
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Was a fangirl of, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. "Really awful""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Connected"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make a logical or causal connection
  • Similar words include: colligate, joined, link up
  • Opposite of: disconnect, dissociate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LINKED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Scraped (by)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. "Huh?""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Roof projection"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Farming area"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
  • Similar words include: Accho, Akko, Akka
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Tax IDs"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "61. Result of a solo homer, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a run that is the result of the batter's performance
  • Similar words include: run batted in
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. "There you ___!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
  • Similar words include: equal, comprise, follow
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 25, 2026 at 05:09 AM