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Monday, May 18, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 18, 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. Like a game that has gone into a penalty shootout 4
2A 5. Luxury handbag brand 5
3A 10. Petri dish gel 4
4A 14. West Coast sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024 4
5A 15. Stereotypical meal for a college student 5
6A 16. "Veni, ___, vici" 4
7A 17. Like the Code of Hammurabi 10
8A 19. Enterprise rival 4
9A 20. Got to one's feet 5
10A 21. Elmer's product 4
11A 23. "There's a cockroach!" 3
12A 24. Patch up some clothes, say 3
13A 25. Pioneering hybrid car 11
14A 29. Pouty expression 4
15A 30. Future atty.'s exam 4
16A 31. Rae who played President Barbie in "Barbie" 4
17A 34. Tackling of the quarterback 4
18A 37. Nebraska's largest city 5
19A 40. Governing body in the Harry Potter universe 15
20A 43. Fibrous part of broccoli 5
21A 44. Nothin' 4
22A 45. Cool, slangily 4
23A 46. "___ Calm and Carry On" 4
24A 48. Region 4
25A 50. Gardener's tool 11
26A 54. Kit ___ bar 3
27A 57. Woodcutter's tool 3
28A 58. Beauty queen's accessory 4
29A 59. Garlicky condiment 5
30A 61. Eye irritation 4
31A 63. Advice for the overambitious ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 40- and 50-Across 10
32A 66. ___ leches cake 4
33A 67. Oopsie 5
34A 68. Lotion ingredient 4
35A 69. Toward sunrise 4
36A 70. "Same!" 5
37A 71. Stereotypically antisocial pets 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Like a game that has gone into a penalty shootout"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord
  • Similar words include: trussed, draw, bind
  • Opposite of: untied, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Luxury handbag brand"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Petri dish gel"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent
  • Similar words include: nutrient agar, agar-agar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. West Coast sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Stereotypical meal for a college student"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. "Veni, ___, vici""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Like the Code of Hammurabi"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inhabitant of ancient babylon
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BABYLONIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Enterprise rival"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Got to one's feet"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: get up, grow, rise up
  • Opposite of: sit down, fall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Elmer's product"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive
  • Similar words include: gum, paste, mucilage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "There's a cockroach!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Patch up some clothes, say"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Pioneering hybrid car"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Pouty expression"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disdainful grimace
  • Similar words include: pout, wry face
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Future atty.'s exam"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Rae who played President Barbie in "Barbie""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Tackling of the quarterback"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
  • Similar words include: paper bag, poke, sacking
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Nebraska's largest city"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people formerly living in the missouri river valley in northeastern nebraska
  • Similar words include: Maha
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMAHA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Governing body in the Harry Potter universe"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Fibrous part of broccoli"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
  • Similar words include: stem, husk, angry walk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STALK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Nothin'"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Cool, slangily"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: the skinny, Mary Jane, dope up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. "___ Calm and Carry On""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the financial means whereby one lives
  • Similar words include: livelihood, dungeon, hold on
  • Opposite of: discontinue, break
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Region"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: surface area, sphere, domain
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Gardener's tool"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Kit ___ bar"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the leaves of the shrub catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
  • Similar words include: cat, African tea, qat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. Woodcutter's tool"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
  • Similar words include: ax
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Beauty queen's accessory"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a framework that holds the panes of a window in the window frame
  • Similar words include: waistband, girdle, window sash
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Garlicky condiment"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that garlic mayonnaise
  • Similar words include: aioli sauce, garlic sauce
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIOLI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Eye irritation"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Advice for the overambitious ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 40- and 50-Across"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. ___ leches cake"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Oopsie"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
  • Similar words include: mistake, erroneous belief, misplay
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERROR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Lotion ingredient"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Toward sunrise"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
  • Similar words include: Orient, E, eastern United States
  • Opposite of: west
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. "Same!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Stereotypically antisocial pets"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Large brass instruments 5
2D 2. "You have my sympathy" 5
3D 3. Macaroni shape 5
4D 4. 14 of these make up a fortnight 4
5D 5. Con's opposite 3
6D 6. Sprinted 3
7D 7. Friend in Mexico 5
8D 8. Gave out cards 5
9D 9. Zinnia or sunflower 6
10D 10. Director DuVernay 3
11D 11. Attempt something 9
12D 12. "Au revoir!" 5
13D 13. Puts on the line 5
14D 18. Oscar winner Jared 4
15D 22. English town famous for its salts 5
16D 26. Throw out of office 4
17D 27. Long (for) 5
18D 28. Holiday Inn competitor 6
19D 29. Sent by post 6
20D 31. Writes to on WhatsApp, in brief 3
21D 32. Puppy school command 3
22D 33. Roll of two ones 9
23D 35. "Ta-ta," in a text 3
24D 36. Camera company known for its "moments" 5
25D 38. With it 3
26D 39. Unreturned serve 3
27D 41. Distorts, as data 5
28D 42. Ticket price 4
29D 47. The "terrible twos" and the "threenager" years, for example 6
30D 49. Chapters of history 4
31D 50. Squander 5
32D 51. Outlandishly over the top, in modern slang 5
33D 52. Houston baseballer 5
34D 53. Swiss ___ (salad green) 5
35D 54. Marsupial often mistermed a "bear" 5
36D 55. Apportion 5
37D 56. There are 100 of these in every Scrabble game 5
38D 60. Apple desktop 4
39D 62. Superlative suffix 3
40D 64. Down Under bounder, for short 3
41D 65. Prefix between bi- and tetra- 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Large brass instruments"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lowest brass wind instrument
  • Similar words include: bass horn, tuba, sousaphone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUBAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "You have my sympathy""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Macaroni shape"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
  • Similar words include: human elbow, cubital joint, articulatio cubiti
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELBOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. 14 of these make up a fortnight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time during which someone's life continues
  • Similar words include: Day, daylight, Clarence Day
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Con's opposite"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an athlete who plays for pay
  • Similar words include: professional
  • Opposite of: amateur, anti
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Sprinted"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
  • Similar words include: function, bunk, be given
  • Opposite of: idle, malfunction
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Friend in Mexico"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friend or comrade
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMIGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Gave out cards"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Zinnia or sunflower"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year
  • Similar words include: one-year, yearbook, yearly
  • Opposite of: biennial
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNUAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Director DuVernay"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Attempt something"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Au revoir!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a farewell remark
  • Similar words include: cheerio, bye, au revoir
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADIEU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Puts on the line"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
  • Similar words include: risk of exposure, take chances, risk of infection
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RISKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Oscar winner Jared"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wife or mistress of zeus and mother of apollo and artemis in ancient mythology; called latona in roman mythology
  • Similar words include: Latona
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LETO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. English town famous for its salts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Throw out of office"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from a position or office
  • Similar words include: throw out, boot out, drum out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Long (for)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that desire strongly or persistently
  • Similar words include: hanker, pine, ache
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEARN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Holiday Inn competitor"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Sent by post"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that send via the postal service
  • Similar words include: get off, mail-clad, mail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAILED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Writes to on WhatsApp, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Puppy school command"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be around, often idly or without specific purpose
  • Similar words include: model, sit around, baby-sit
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Roll of two ones"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. "Ta-ta," in a text"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Camera company known for its "moments""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. With it"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh
  • Similar words include: hip joint, coxa, articulatio coxae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Unreturned serve"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: 1, sensation, breeze through
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Distorts, as data"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn or place at an angle
  • Similar words include: skew
  • Opposite of: align
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKEWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Ticket price"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agenda of things to do
  • Similar words include: menu, make out, come
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. The "terrible twos" and the "threenager" years, for example"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any distinct time period in a sequence of events
  • Similar words include: phase angle, form, phase
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHASES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Chapters of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Squander"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
  • Similar words include: wild, consume, thriftlessness
  • Opposite of: conserve
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WASTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Outlandishly over the top, in modern slang"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Houston baseballer"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Swiss ___ (salad green)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that beet lacking swollen root; grown as a vegetable for its edible leaves and stalks
  • Similar words include: spinach beet, Swiss chard, leaf beet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Marsupial often mistermed a "bear""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sluggish tailless australian arboreal marsupial with grey furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark
  • Similar words include: kangaroo bear, native bear, koala bear
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KOALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Apportion"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that allow to have
  • Similar words include: dish out, accord, assign
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. There are 100 of these in every Scrabble game"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
  • Similar words include: roofing tile, tile
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Apple desktop"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Superlative suffix"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 5th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern united states
  • Similar words include: Eastern Time, Eastern Standard Time
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "64. Down Under bounder, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "65. Prefix between bi- and tetra-"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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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
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: May 18, 2026 at 07:10 AM

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

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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

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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

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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

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7A: "17. *Peers"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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8A: "19. Order to relax"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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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

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11A: "23. ___ mater"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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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

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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

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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

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

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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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

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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

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25A: "52. Beauty supply chain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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