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Monday, May 4, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 04, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "The ___ is clear!" 5
2A 6. "Mamma Mia" group 4
3A 10. Spaces, as between teeth 4
4A 14. Author Joyce Carol ___ 5
5A 15. Devices for keyless entry 4
6A 16. Amo, amas, ___ 4
7A 17. "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde," informally 10
8A 19. Actress Dunham or Waithe 4
9A 20. Call from an ump 3
10A 21. Group of connected PCs 3
11A 22. Like some columns and bonds 5
12A 23. Methodical way for something to be built 12
13A 27. "This place is fire" 6
14A 30. Sidney who directed "12 Angry Men" and "The Wiz" 5
15A 31. Japanese camera giant 5
16A 32. "The Lion King" villain 4
17A 34. Soph., jr. and sr. 3
18A 37. Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts 15
19A 41. Swiss peak 3
20A 42. Enormous 4
21A 43. New England state with the slogan "The Way Life Should Be" 5
22A 44. Used, as a chair 5
23A 47. Shaggy hairstyle 6
24A 48. Simple game requiring steady hands 12
25A 52. Improvise, as a speech 5
26A 53. When a plane is due, for short 3
27A 54. Used to be 3
28A 57. College figure 4
29A 58. Suddenly feels repulsed by a romantic partner ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across 10
30A 62. Pole on a sailboat 4
31A 63. Tradition for many high school seniors 4
32A 64. Fasten, as a ship's rope 5
33A 65. In addition 4
34A 66. Levelheaded 4
35A 67. "Goodie" on classic radio 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "The ___ is clear!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shore of a sea or ocean
  • Similar words include: seashore, sea-coast, glide
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. "Mamma Mia" group"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Spaces, as between teeth"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: disruption, break, interruption
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Author Joyce Carol ___"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english conspirator who claimed that there was a jesuit plot to assassinate charles ii (1649-1705)
  • Similar words include: Titus Oates, Joyce Carol Oates
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Devices for keyless entry"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vest pocket to hold a pocket watch
  • Similar words include: watch pocket, watch chain, fob
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Amo, amas, ___"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde," informally"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Actress Dunham or Waithe"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a russian river in siberia; flows northward into the laptev sea
  • Similar words include: Lena River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Call from an ump"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball
  • Similar words include: verboten, tabu, kayoed
  • Opposite of: safe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Group of connected PCs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a local computer network for communication between computers; especially a network connecting computers and word processors and other electronic office equipment to create a communication system between offices
  • Similar words include: local area network
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Like some columns and bonds"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dialect of ancient greek spoken and written in attica and athens and ionia
  • Similar words include: Ionic dialect, Attic, Classical Greek
  • Opposite of: nonionic
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IONIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Methodical way for something to be built"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. "This place is fire""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Sidney who directed "12 Angry Men" and "The Wiz""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Japanese camera giant"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. "The Lion King" villain"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
  • Similar words include: scrape, cicatrice, mark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Soph., jr. and sr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
  • Similar words include: year, yr, twelvemonth
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Swiss peak"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any high mountain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Enormous"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - w.r.inge
  • Similar words include: immense, vast, Brobdingnagian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. New England state with the slogan "The Way Life Should Be""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in new england
  • Similar words include: Pine Tree State, ME
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Used, as a chair"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Shaggy hairstyle"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Simple game requiring steady hands"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Improvise, as a speech"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. When a plane is due, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Used to be"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in northwestern united states on the pacific
  • Similar words include: exist, represent, comprise
  • Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. College figure"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "58. Suddenly feels repulsed by a romantic partner ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Pole on a sailboat"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vertical spar for supporting sails
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Tradition for many high school seniors"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
  • Similar words include: promenade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Fasten, as a ship's rope"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BELAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. In addition"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in addition
  • Similar words include: as well, too, besides
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALSO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Levelheaded"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
  • Similar words include: reasonable
  • Opposite of: insane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. "Goodie" on classic radio"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a song that was formerly popular
  • Similar words include: golden oldie
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLDIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico 4
2D 2. Third-largest Hawaiian island 4
3D 3. Going ___ (fighting) 4
4D 4. Part of a min. 3
5D 5. Chiding sound 3
6D 6. Insurance company whose mascot is a duck 5
7D 7. Sound effect for a bop on the head 5
8D 8. Eng. channel 3
9D 9. Request 3
10D 10. Aplenty 6
11D 11. Bag of hotel room freebies, say 10
12D 12. Feel a suddenly overwhelming fear 5
13D 13. Serving of pancakes 5
14D 18. Move like a fairy 4
15D 22. Tech giant founded in 1911 3
16D 23. Voting group 4
17D 24. Skating locale 4
18D 25. Play loudly, as from a speaker 5
19D 26. Traditional circular dwelling 4
20D 27. Ancient Peruvian 4
21D 28. Cash drawer 4
22D 29. Plays hooky 10
23D 32. Shocks into silence 5
24D 33. Part of a gearwheel 3
25D 35. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe 4
26D 36. Bit of a staircase 4
27D 38. Flapjack franchise 4
28D 39. Reassurance after a loud crash, say 4
29D 40. Puts a limit on 4
30D 45. Resembling 6
31D 46. Spot for three men in a nursery rhyme 3
32D 47. Exam for a future doc 4
33D 48. Culinary personality Lakshmi 5
34D 49. Best imaginable 5
35D 50. Wyoming's Grand ___ National Park 5
36D 51. "Hi, you know who this is" 5
37D 54. Undomesticated 4
38D 55. Smoothie "superfood" 4
39D 56. Scottish terrier breed 4
40D 58. Rte. finder 3
41D 59. Long time in history 3
42D 60. Network for "Succession" and "The Wire" 3
43D 61. Slithery fish 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics
  • Similar words include: coconut, Cocos nucifera, coconut palm
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Third-largest Hawaiian island"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii (between molokai and kauai); the chief island of the state
  • Similar words include: Oahu Island
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAHU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Going ___ (fighting)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Part of a min."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Chiding sound"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
  • Similar words include: tut, tut-tut
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Insurance company whose mascot is a duck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sound effect for a bop on the head"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Eng. channel"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Request"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inquire about
  • Similar words include: involve, demand, inquire
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Aplenty"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in great numbers
  • Similar words include: abounding
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Bag of hotel room freebies, say"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Feel a suddenly overwhelming fear"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
  • Similar words include: affright, terror, scare
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Serving of pancakes"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an orderly pile
  • Similar words include: hatful, sight, plenty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Move like a fairy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden quick movement
  • Similar words include: fleet, dart, flutter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Tech giant founded in 1911"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Voting group"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of countries in special alliance
  • Similar words include: axis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Skating locale"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that building that contains a surface for ice skating or roller skating
  • Similar words include: skating rink
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Play loudly, as from a speaker"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud harsh or strident noise
  • Similar words include: clamor, claxon, cacophony
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Traditional circular dwelling"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting; originally used by nomadic mongol and turkic people of central asia but now used as inexpensive alternative or temporary housing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. Ancient Peruvian"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
  • Similar words include: Incan, Inka
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Cash drawer"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together
  • Similar words include: money box, trough, public treasury
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "29. Plays hooky"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Shocks into silence"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
  • Similar words include: stupefy, stun, daze
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Part of a gearwheel"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a subordinate who performs an important but routine function
  • Similar words include: sprocket
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in western nevada at the foot of the sierra nevada mountains; known for gambling casinos and easy divorce and remarriage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Bit of a staircase"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
  • Similar words include: pace, ill-use, tread
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Flapjack franchise"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Reassurance after a loud crash, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Puts a limit on"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tight-fitting headdress
  • Similar words include: capital, chapiter, hood
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Resembling"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "46. Spot for three men in a nursery rhyme"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body
  • Similar words include: bath, tubful, bathing tub
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "47. Exam for a future doc"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Culinary personality Lakshmi"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Best imaginable"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Wyoming's Grand ___ National Park"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the large western branch of sioux people which was made up of several groups that lived on the plains
  • Similar words include: Lakota, Teton Sioux, Teton Dakota
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TETON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. "Hi, you know who this is""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "54. Undomesticated"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wild primitive state untouched by civilization
  • Similar words include: unfounded, violent, waste
  • Opposite of: tame
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WILD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "55. Smoothie "superfood""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Scottish terrier breed"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "58. Rte. finder"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a navigational system involving satellites and computers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on earth by computing the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver
  • Similar words include: Global Positioning System
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "59. Long time in history"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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, epoch, geological era
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "60. Network for "Succession" and "The Wire""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "61. Slithery fish"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

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

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Last updated: May 04, 2026 at 06:26 AM

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 11, 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: Challenging

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. Lewis Carroll's "The ___ and the Carpenter" 6
2A 7. Something you might leave at the front door when entering a house 4
3A 11. "Yeah, right!" 4
4A 15. Quantity 6
5A 16. Words from someone who failed to understand 9
6A 18. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" 16
7A 20. Show contempt for, in a way 7
8A 21. Rain delay coverings 5
9A 22. Poet's dusk 3
10A 23. Mystical stuff 6
11A 26. "We don't discriminate in this workplace," in job ads 3
12A 29. Newfoundland or Labrador retriever 8
13A 31. Transcript fig. 3
14A 34. Openly resists 6
15A 36. "Then, window, let day in, and let ___ out": Juliet 4
16A 37. Smile broadly 4
17A 38. Arduous routine 5
18A 39. Get smart? 4
19A 40. "Priscilla" director Coppola 5
20A 41. How a German count might get started 4
21A 42. Swampy land 4
22A 43. Does the dishes? 6
23A 44. Complete collection 3
24A 45. Hoped-for prognosis for an election incumbent 8
25A 47. Twisty curve 3
26A 48. Spews out 6
27A 50. Big name in nail polish 3
28A 51. One-named singer with the 2017 platinum album "Melodrama" 5
29A 53. Trap 7
30A 57. 1957 rock 'n' roll classic suggested by this puzzle's circled letters 16
31A 62. Crème de la crème 9
32A 63. Prom, e.g. 6
33A 64. Iconic bit of NPR merch 4
34A 65. Confront 4
35A 66. Puts icing on 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Lewis Carroll's "The ___ and the Carpenter""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either of two large northern marine mammals having ivory tusks and tough hide over thick blubber
  • Similar words include: seahorse, sea horse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WALRUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Something you might leave at the front door when entering a house"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
  • Similar words include: skid, horseshoe, brake shoe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. "Yeah, right!""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Quantity"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of money
  • Similar words include: add up, amount of money, number
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Words from someone who failed to understand"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. "Oh, for heaven's sake!""

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Show contempt for, in a way"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Rain delay coverings"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that waterproofed canvas
  • Similar words include: tarp, tarpaulin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TARPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Poet's dusk"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. Mystical stuff"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that information known only to a special group
  • Similar words include: arcanum, secret
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. "We don't discriminate in this workplace," in job ads"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "29. Newfoundland or Labrador retriever"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "31. Transcript fig."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted
  • Similar words include: grade point average
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "34. Openly resists"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that resist or confront with resistance
  • Similar words include: dare, refuse, defy
  • Opposite of: lend oneself
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEFIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "36. "Then, window, let day in, and let ___ out": Juliet"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic state or mode of living
  • Similar words include: spirit, animation, life story
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "37. Smile broadly"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
  • Similar words include: broadcast, transmit, irradiation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Arduous routine"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious
  • Similar words include: crunch, moil, dig
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRIND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Get smart?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
  • Similar words include: back talk, lip, backtalk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. "Priscilla" director Coppola"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city of bulgaria located in western bulgaria
  • Similar words include: Serdica, Bulgarian capital
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. How a German count might get started"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Swampy land"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  • Similar words include: bog down, grind to a halt, quagmire
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Does the dishes?"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
  • Similar words include: ply, supply, cater
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Complete collection"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Hoped-for prognosis for an election incumbent"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. Twisty curve"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons
  • Similar words include: Es, atomic number 99, einsteinium
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Spews out"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put out or expel from a place
  • Similar words include: turf out, expel, eject
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EJECTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Big name in nail polish"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. One-named singer with the 2017 platinum album "Melodrama""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Trap"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take or catch as if in a snare or trap
  • Similar words include: trammel, entrap, frame
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENSNARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. 1957 rock 'n' roll classic suggested by this puzzle's circled letters"

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Crème de la crème"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Prom, e.g."

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lavish dance requiring formal attire
  • Similar words include: courtly, schematic, dinner gown
  • Opposite of: informal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FORMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Iconic bit of NPR merch"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a capacious bag or basket
  • Similar words include: lug, tote bag, tug
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Confront"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
  • Similar words include: grimace, human face, confront
  • Opposite of: avoid, back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Puts icing on"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
  • Similar words include: icing, ice, freeze
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FROSTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Tail or finger motion 3
2D 2. Andy's partner in an old radio sitcom 4
3D 3. State bird of Minnesota 4
4D 4. Ill-mannered 4
5D 5. Superfluous 8
6D 6. Purchases for some audiophiles 7
7D 7. Part of GPS: Abbr. 4
8D 8. Not share, as the covers 3
9D 9. Taylor Swift's "___ Song" 3
10D 10. She, in São Paulo 3
11D 11. ___ pear (applelike fruit) 5
12D 12. Cost required to stow furniture, say 10
13D 13. "My turn to play!" 4
14D 14. Come clean, with "up" 4
15D 17. Eightsome 5
16D 19. Belted out 4
17D 23. Comes into play 6
18D 24. Play callers? 4
19D 25. It's for "cookie," to Cookie Monster 3
20D 26. Sides 5
21D 27. Inducing goose bumps 5
22D 28. Worth exploring 10
23D 30. Plays at full blast 6
24D 32. What pants come in that shirts don't 5
25D 33. Accumulate 5
26D 35. Useful contacts 3
27D 37. Online automaton 3
28D 39. Search (through) 4
29D 40. Replaced as a substitute 8
30D 42. ___ and cheese 3
31D 43. Finishes with flair 7
32D 45. Take care of, as a task 5
33D 46. Seeming eternities 4
34D 49. Matchmaking site with a "synagogue attendance" filter 5
35D 51. Pride Month letters 4
36D 52. Black-and-white mouthful 4
37D 53. Actress Fanning 4
38D 54. Lead-in to Cuban or Caribbean 4
39D 55. Glasses sans glass 4
40D 56. Q.E.D. part 4
41D 58. Fave pal 3
42D 59. Small battery 3
43D 60. Cousin of Inc. 3
44D 61. Enrollment center? 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tail or finger motion"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a witty amusing person who makes jokes
  • Similar words include: waggle, wit, shake
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Andy's partner in an old radio sitcom"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
  • Similar words include: Book of Amos
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. State bird of Minnesota"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a worthless lazy fellow
  • Similar words include: addlehead, birdbrain, addle-head
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Ill-mannered"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that socially incorrect in behavior
  • Similar words include: raw, natural, unmannered
  • Opposite of: civil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Superfluous"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not necessary
  • Similar words include: unnecessary
  • Opposite of: necessary
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNNEEDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Purchases for some audiophiles"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that reproducer in which two microphones feed two or more loudspeakers to give a three-dimensional effect to the sound
  • Similar words include: stereoscopic photograph, stereophony, stereoscopic picture
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEREOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Part of GPS: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Not share, as the covers"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person regarded as greedy and pig-like
  • Similar words include: hogget, Sus scrofa, hogg
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Taylor Swift's "___ Song""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. She, in São Paulo"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an extreme leftist terrorist group formed in greece in 1971 to oppose the military junta that ruled greece from 1967 to 1974; a revolutionary group opposed to capitalism and imperialism and the united states
  • Similar words include: Revolutionary People's Struggle
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. ___ pear (applelike fruit)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of asia
  • Similar words include: Asiatic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Cost required to stow furniture, say"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "My turn to play!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Come clean, with "up""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield
  • Similar words include: Fes, Fez, fesse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "17. Eightsome"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one
  • Similar words include: ogdoad, eighter, VIII
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OCTAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Belted out"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that north american woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the chinese ginseng
  • Similar words include: blab, Panax quinquefolius, peach
  • Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Comes into play"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: turn out, go up, bob up
  • Opposite of: turn in, go to bed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "24. Play callers?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (sports) the chief official (as in boxing or american football) who is expected to ensure fair play
  • Similar words include: referee, ref
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "25. It's for "cookie," to Cookie Monster"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "26. Sides"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the boundary of a surface
  • Similar words include: inch, butt on, sharpness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "27. Inducing goose bumps"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
  • Similar words include: eery
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EERIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "28. Worth exploring"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "30. Plays at full blast"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud harsh or strident noise
  • Similar words include: blare, din, clamor
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLARES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. What pants come in that shirts don't"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a set of two similar things considered as a unit
  • Similar words include: couplet, brace, pair off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAIRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "33. Accumulate"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that collect or gather
  • Similar words include: pile up, compile, collect
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. Useful contacts"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

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: inch, indium, IN
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Online automaton"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Search (through)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move as if through a sieve
  • Similar words include: sieve, strain
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Replaced as a substitute"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "42. ___ and cheese"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Finishes with flair"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "45. Take care of, as a task"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Seeming eternities"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the longest division of geological time
  • Similar words include: aeon, eon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Matchmaking site with a "synagogue attendance" filter"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "51. Pride Month letters"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Black-and-white mouthful"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chocolate cookie with white cream filling
  • Similar words include: oreo cookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "53. Actress Fanning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Lead-in to Cuban or Caribbean"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rounded thickly curled hairdo
  • Similar words include: Afro hairdo
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Glasses sans glass"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object
  • Similar words include: brim, rim, flange
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. Q.E.D. part"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "58. Fave pal"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "59. Small battery"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta associated with old age and hypertension
  • Similar words include: abdominal aortic aneurysm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAA

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43D: "60. Cousin of Inc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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44D: "61. Enrollment center?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: altitude, EL, elevated railway
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELS

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
44 Down Clues
79 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 11, 2026 at 05:15 AM