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

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers September 02, 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. "Melts in your mouth" candies ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme 6
2A 7. Mattress or memo follower 3
3A 10. Maine city near the mouth of the Kennebec River 4
4A 14. Mama Morton of "Chicago," for one 6
5A 15. Meaning of "mono-" 3
6A 16. Marco Polo made his way across it 4
7A 17. Much of Mali 6
8A 18. Meet and glance off a bumper, as a pool ball might 8
9A 20. Multicolored implements in many art drawers 12
10A 22. Markdown on Cyber Monday, e.g. 4
11A 24. Maroon and mahogany, for two 6
12A 25. Man's "monkey suit" 3
13A 26. Mom-to-aunt moniker 3
14A 28. Muscular part of a marathoner 3
15A 29. Marshall Mathers ___ Eminem 3
16A 32. Met melody 4
17A 34. Make sure not to miss it! 3
18A 36. Made eyes at in the manner of a satyr 5
19A 38. Marauder's Map encryption phrase in "Harry Potter" 15
20A 42. Minced-meat cake 5
21A 43. Male meower 3
22A 44. "Mega cool!," in modern lingo 4
23A 45. Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr. 3
24A 46. Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief 3
25A 49. Modern-day name for the American Messenger Co. 3
26A 51. Make free (of), maybe 3
27A 52. Munificent man 6
28A 54. Maximum measure of attractiveness, say 4
29A 56. M.L.B. M.V.P. nicknamed the "Commerce Comet" 12
30A 60. Midwest state that's home to Moline 8
31A 61. Many-toothed metal tool 6
32A 65. Much-heard sound from a horse in motion 4
33A 66. Martial arts master Bruce 3
34A 67. Maneuver a monoplane, e.g. 6
35A 68. Mechanics might provide them for their work: Abbr. 4
36A 69. Modern modem inits. 3
37A 70. Maniacs, maybe 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Melts in your mouth" candies ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Mattress or memo follower"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
  • Similar words include: embellish, fill out, lodgings
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Maine city near the mouth of the Kennebec River"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a constant temperature or to lubricate it)
  • Similar words include: bathtub, bathing tub, bathroom
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Mama Morton of "Chicago," for one"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Meaning of "mono-""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Marco Polo made his way across it"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Much of Mali"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern africa
  • Similar words include: Sahara Desert
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAHARA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Meet and glance off a bumper, as a pool ball might"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a glancing rebound
  • Similar words include: carom, resile, bound
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICOCHET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Multicolored implements in many art drawers"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Markdown on Cyber Monday, e.g."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular instance of buying or selling
  • Similar words include: flock, allot, sight
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Maroon and mahogany, for two"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spectacles that are darkened or polarized to protect the eyes from the glare of the sun
  • Similar words include: nuance, shade off, shade
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHADES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Man's "monkey suit""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that semiformal evening dress for men
  • Similar words include: black tie, tuxedo, dinner jacket
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Mom-to-aunt moniker"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female person who has the same parents as another person
  • Similar words include: Si, Systeme International d'Unites, si
  • Opposite of: brother
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Muscular part of a marathoner"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle
  • Similar words include: branch, wooden leg, pegleg
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Marshall Mathers ___ Eminem"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Met melody"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an elaborate song for solo voice
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Make sure not to miss it!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech
  • Similar words include: pool cue, prompt, clue
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Made eyes at in the manner of a satyr"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look at with amorous intentions
  • Similar words include: ogle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Marauder's Map encryption phrase in "Harry Potter""

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Minced-meat cake"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small flat mass of chopped food
  • Similar words include: cake
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Male meower"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (ethnic slur) offensive and derogatory name for a black man who is abjectly servile and deferential to whites
  • Similar words include: tomcat, turkey cock, tom turkey
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. "Mega cool!," in modern lingo"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands
  • Similar words include: Associate in Nursing, autonomic nervous system, AN
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lightweight consumer electronic device that looks like a hand-held computer but instead performs specific tasks; can serve as a diary or a personal database or a telephone or an alarm clock etc.
  • Similar words include: organizer, organiser, personal organizer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Modern-day name for the American Messenger Co."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Make free (of), maybe"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relieve from
  • Similar words include: free, disembarrass
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Munificent man"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who has or gives or receives a part or a share
  • Similar words include: partaker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHARER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Maximum measure of attractiveness, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sun (or solar disc) which was the deity of a monotheistic cult under the pharaoh akhenaten
  • Similar words include: Aton
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. M.L.B. M.V.P. nicknamed the "Commerce Comet""

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Midwest state that's home to Moline"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a midwestern state in north-central united states
  • Similar words include: Land of Lincoln, Prairie State, IL
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILLINOIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Many-toothed metal tool"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a handsaw for cutting with the grain of the wood
  • Similar words include: splitsaw
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIPSAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Much-heard sound from a horse in motion"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound of a horse's hoofs hitting on a hard surface
  • Similar words include: clippety-clop, clip-clop, clump
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Martial arts master Bruce"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
  • Similar words include: Lee Yuen Kam, lee side, Bruce Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "67. Maneuver a monoplane, e.g."

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that operate an airplane
  • Similar words include: pilot, fly
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVIATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "68. Mechanics might provide them for their work: Abbr."

4 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: EST, Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Time
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "69. Modern modem inits."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a generic name for digital lines that are provided by telephone companies to their local subscribers and that carry data at high speeds
  • Similar words include: digital subscriber line
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DSL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "70. Maniacs, maybe"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an insane person
  • Similar words include: maniac, madman, lunatic
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Metric measurements: Abbr. 3
2D 2. Motorists make up this org. 3
3D 3. Maximum degree in math 3
4D 4. Molière's or Mamet's field 5
5D 5. Maxims discouraging misconduct 6
6D 6. Minor mishap 4
7D 7. Many a mailbox locale 5
8D 8. Marmot or marmoset 6
9D 9. Month multiplied by 120 6
10D 10. Musters support for, as a mission 5
11D 11. Men's tennis champ with a Presidential Medal of Freedom 4
12D 12. Measure of a membership 4
13D 13. Milliners manufacture them 4
14D 19. Milwaukie and Mount Hood are here 6
15D 21. Matter to mull over 5
16D 22. Malodorous Malaysian fruit 6
17D 23. Manifests in the material world 6
18D 25. Major metropolis on a bay of the same name 5
19D 27. Map word in Marseille 3
20D 29. Main man for Bill Clinton, 1993-2001 6
21D 30. Maintain, as movie footage 6
22D 31. Made a basic math calculation 5
23D 33. Magician's or marionettist's performance 3
24D 35. Movement of money digitally from bank to bank, in brief 3
25D 37. Meander mindlessly (about) 3
26D 39. Mild-mannered characteristic? 6
27D 40. Miss badly, maybe 5
28D 41. Music magnifier at a concert 3
29D 47. Made a mere 24 hours ago 6
30D 48. Military groups that meet in battle 6
31D 50. Mouth moistener 6
32D 52. Moves merrily 5
33D 53. Mobile stand at a meeting 5
34D 55. Meh ... or medium-temp 5
35D 56. Miniature maze runners 4
36D 57. Major misfortunes 4
37D 58. Medical mass 4
38D 59. Means of transport in a mine 4
39D 62. Musician Cooke who sang "You Send Me" 3
40D 63. Made a meal of 3
41D 64. Ming-Na of 1998's "Mulan" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Metric measurements: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter
  • Similar words include: millimeter, millimetre, mm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Motorists make up this org."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Maximum degree in math"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that last or greatest in an indefinitely large series
  • Similar words include: n-th
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Molière's or Mamet's field"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
  • Similar words include: dramatic event, dramatic play, play
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Maxims discouraging misconduct"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • Similar words include: morality, lesson, ethics
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Minor mishap"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp protuberance
  • Similar words include: rip, tear, rent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Many a mailbox locale"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Marmot or marmoset"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
  • Similar words include: fleshly, beast, creature
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANIMAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Month multiplied by 120"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 10 years
  • Similar words include: decennary, X, 10
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Musters support for, as a mission"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
  • Similar words include: stake, rear, support
  • Opposite of: advance, front
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BACKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Men's tennis champ with a Presidential Medal of Freedom"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states tennis player who was the first black to win united states and english singles championships (1943-1993)
  • Similar words include: Arthur Ashe, Arthur Robert Ashe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Measure of a membership"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
  • Similar words include: level, grade, tier up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Milliners manufacture them"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
  • Similar words include: lid, hat, chapeau
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "19. Milwaukie and Mount Hood are here"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in northwestern united states on the pacific
  • Similar words include: Beaver State, OR
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREGON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Matter to mull over"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an important question that is in dispute and must be settled
  • Similar words include: yield, outcome, result
  • Opposite of: recall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Malodorous Malaysian fruit"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tree of southeastern asia having edible oval fruit with a hard spiny rind
  • Similar words include: Durio zibethinus, durion, durian tree
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DURIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Manifests in the material world"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have an existence, be extant
  • Similar words include: exist, live, survive
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXISTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Major metropolis on a bay of the same name"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a resort city in western florida; located on tampa bay on the gulf of mexico
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAMPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Map word in Marseille"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Main man for Bill Clinton, 1993-2001"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Maintain, as movie footage"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Made a basic math calculation"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
  • Similar words include: append, tot, summate
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Magician's or marionettist's performance"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
  • Similar words include: work, human activity, routine
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Movement of money digitally from bank to bank, in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a newt in its terrestrial stage of development
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Meander mindlessly (about)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling or lightheadedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months
  • Similar words include: anxiety reaction, jazz around, generalized anxiety disorder
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Mild-mannered characteristic?"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text
  • Similar words include: dash, hyphenate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYPHEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Miss badly, maybe"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feel sadness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Music magnifier at a concert"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of electric current adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: adenylic acid, A, adenosine monophosphate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Made a mere 24 hours ago"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Military groups that meet in battle"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
  • Similar words include: Army, USA, regular army
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Mouth moistener"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
  • Similar words include: spittle, spit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALIVA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Moves merrily"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gait in which steps and hops alternate
  • Similar words include: hop, cut, skip over
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Mobile stand at a meeting"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "55. Meh ... or medium-temp"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that moderately warm
  • Similar words include: halfhearted, half-hearted, lukewarm
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEPID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. Miniature maze runners"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
  • Similar words include: computer mouse, mouse, black eye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "57. Major misfortunes"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: ill, ailment, complaint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Medical mass"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lump of material formed from the content of a liquid
  • Similar words include: curdle, coagulate, clog
  • Opposite of: homogenize
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Means of transport in a mine"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
  • Similar words include: trolley car, tramway, tramcar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Musician Cooke who sang "You Send Me""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
  • Similar words include: surface-to-air missile
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "63. Made a meal of"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: use up, eat up, rust
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Ming-Na of 1998's "Mulan""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a common cyst of the skin; filled with fatty matter (sebum) that is secreted by a sebaceous gland that has been blocked
  • Similar words include: sebaceous cyst, steatocystoma, pilar cyst
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: September 02, 2026 at 08:00 AM

Thursday, August 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 20, 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. Sound like heaven 4
2A 5. Game of observation for travel 6
3A 11. Ad free 3
4A 14. Brief in pants 4
5A 15. Correct thoroughly 6
6A 16. Bad feel 3
7A 17. Try to place connoisseurs? 11
8A 19. Cells in compound 3
9A 20. Checks with style 5
10A 21. To cop 3
11A 22. Competition, for starters 5
12A 24. York ___ 5
13A 26. Place recording 6
14A 27. Signals over game 5
15A 29. Maturity approaching 5
16A 31. Crows to relatives 6
17A 32. Free booze 3
18A 33. Confidentiality of letters? 4
19A 37. "Done well" 5
20A 38. Short for "info flight" 3
21A 39. Sponge bath 5
22A 40. Nothing doing 4
23A 41. Say "minus C" 3
24A 42. Set off 6
25A 43. Practice Japanese 5
26A 45. Equal roughly 5
27A 46. Into light 6
28A 49. Nags about noise? 5
29A 51. Land of Spot 5
30A 52. On-off signs 3
31A 53. Lines some over draw 5
32A 57. For repentance some feel 3
33A 58. Details insignificant contests 11
34A 61. Spending limits it 3
35A 62. Forum discussion, popular once 6
36A 63. Cut short 4
37A 64. Rock-___ 3
38A 65. Out with ate, ate, ate 6
39A 66. Website gift custom 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sound like heaven"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers
  • Similar words include: dwell, mouth organ, mouth harp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Game of observation for travel"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overland journey by hunters (especially in africa)
  • Similar words include: hunting expedition, campaign
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAFARI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Ad free"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protein manufactured exclusively by the prostate gland; psa is produced for the ejaculate where it liquifies the semen and allows sperm cells to swim freely; elevated levels of psa in blood serum are associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer
  • Similar words include: prostate specific antigen
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Brief in pants"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Correct thoroughly"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Bad feel"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that aromatic bulb used as seasoning
  • Similar words include: garlic, trouble, pain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Try to place connoisseurs?"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Cells in compound"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from dna to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell
  • Similar words include: ribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Checks with style"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cloth having a crisscross design
  • Similar words include: tartan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. To cop"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have ownership or possession of
  • Similar words include: have, possess, ain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Competition, for starters"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. York ___"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Place recording"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
  • Similar words include: studio apartment
  • Opposite of: location
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUDIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Signals over game"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
  • Similar words include: tusk, trump, automobile horn
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Maturity approaching"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
  • Similar words include: mature, advanced, ripe
  • Opposite of: green
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Crows to relatives"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large black bird with a straight bill and long wedge-shaped tail
  • Similar words include: devour, prey, guttle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAVENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Free booze"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • Similar words include: wry, prohibitionist, teetotal
  • Opposite of: wet, sweet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Confidentiality of letters?"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. "Done well""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
  • Similar words include: assassin, assassinator
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAVO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Short for "info flight""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. Sponge bath"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer
  • Similar words include: loofah, loufah sponge, luffa
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOFA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Nothing doing"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
  • Similar words include: stagnate, dead, groundless
  • Opposite of: run, work
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Say "minus C""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Set off"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bear the expenses of
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEFRAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. Practice Japanese"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Equal roughly"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Into light"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "49. Nags about noise?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the characteristic sounds made by a horse
  • Similar words include: nicker, whinny, whicker
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEIGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Land of Spot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island
  • Similar words include: isle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "52. On-off signs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in south central united states
  • Similar words include: okeh, Oklahoma, Sooner State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "53. Lines some over draw"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a just detectable amount
  • Similar words include: decipher, hint, hunt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "57. For repentance some feel"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Details insignificant contests"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "61. Spending limits it"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. Forum discussion, popular once"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Cut short"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece of anything (especially a piece that has been snipped off)
  • Similar words include: nip off, clip, snippet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. Rock-___"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "65. Out with ate, ate, ate"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that live like a pig, in squalor
  • Similar words include: farrow, devour, guttle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIGGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "66. Website gift custom"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. URL starter 4
2D 2. Asian sea currently undergoing replenishment efforts 4
3D 3. Civil rights icon Parks 4
4D 4. Shift the gears of, in a way ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues 12
5D 5. ID in some data breaches 3
6D 6. Elite H.S. class covering the Constitution 5
7D 7. Visionary ... or what you'll need to return to when solving this puzzle's Down clues 15
8D 8. Loads 4
9D 9. Babe in the Hundred Acre Wood 3
10D 10. One advocated for by the National Prison Project 6
11D 11. Whittled (down) 5
12D 12. Biblical mount 5
13D 13. It's worth remembering! 5
14D 18. "No idea" 6
15D 23. Distinctive expression ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues 12
16D 25. Feature of San Francisco's Lombard Street 3
17D 26. Mole, e.g. 3
18D 27. Firm 4
19D 28. Like many cricket fields 4
20D 30. Plan to contribute to, for short 3
21D 31. One of 1,909 for Willie Mays, for short 3
22D 34. "___ the Explorer" 4
23D 35. Some distance away 4
24D 36. Declare 3
25D 38. "Oh no! A mouse!" 3
26D 39. What the second number indicates in men's jeans sizes 6
27D 41. Univ. with an annual Mystery Hunt 3
28D 42. Eager response to "Wanna join?" 3
29D 44. Goes nuts for 6
30D 46. Around 5
31D 47. Garden-variety 5
32D 48. Wasn't paying attention 5
33D 50. Lauder of cosmetics 5
34D 52. Designer Cassini 4
35D 54. "I don't really care / If ya think I'm strange / I ___ gonna change": Joan Jett 4
36D 55. N.F.L. commentator Collinsworth 4
37D 56. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, e.g. 4
38D 59. Letter after chi 3
39D 60. The "S" of E.S.T.: Abbr. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. URL starter"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protocol (utilizing tcp) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • Similar words include: hypertext transfer protocol
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HTTP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Asian sea currently undergoing replenishment efforts"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Civil rights icon Parks"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
  • Similar words include: genus Rosa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Shift the gears of, in a way ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues"

12 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. ID in some data breaches"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Elite H.S. class covering the Constitution"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Visionary ... or what you'll need to return to when solving this puzzle's Down clues"

15 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Loads"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sun (or solar disc) which was the deity of a monotheistic cult under the pharaoh akhenaten
  • Similar words include: Aten
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Babe in the Hundred Acre Wood"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. One advocated for by the National Prison Project"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of several resident of a dwelling (especially someone confined to a prison or hospital)
  • Similar words include: yard bird, yardbird, convict
  • Opposite of: outpatient
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INMATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Whittled (down)"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Biblical mount"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain peak in the southern sinai peninsula (7,500 feet high); it is believed to be the peak on which moses received the ten commandments
  • Similar words include: Sinai Peninsula, Mount Sinai, Sinai Desert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. It's worth remembering!"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a siege and massacre at a mission in san antonio in 1836; mexican forces under santa anna besieged and massacred american rebels who were fighting to make texas independent of mexico
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALAMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "No idea""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Distinctive expression ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues"

12 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Feature of San Francisco's Lombard Street"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Mole, e.g."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors
  • Similar words include: descry, undercover agent, spot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Firm"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Like many cricket fields"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • Similar words include: ovate, ellipse, prolate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Plan to contribute to, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
  • Similar words include: Provisional IRA, Irish Republican Army, wrath
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. One of 1,909 for Willie Mays, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. "___ the Explorer""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Some distance away"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Declare"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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25D: "38. "Oh no! A mouse!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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26D: "39. What the second number indicates in men's jeans sizes"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
  • Similar words include: distance, duration
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENGTH

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27D: "41. Univ. with an annual Mystery Hunt"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an engineering university in cambridge
  • Similar words include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIT

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28D: "42. Eager response to "Wanna join?""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the united states federal department charged with conservation and the development of natural resources; created in 1849
  • Similar words include: Interior, Interior Department, Department of the Interior
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOI

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29D: "44. Goes nuts for"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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30D: "46. Around"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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31D: "47. Garden-variety"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
  • Similar words include: common
  • Opposite of: unusual
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USUAL

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32D: "48. Wasn't paying attention"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be able to accommodate for sleeping
  • Similar words include: sleep, log Z's, catch some Z's
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEPT

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33D: "50. Lauder of cosmetics"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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34D: "52. Designer Cassini"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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35D: "54. "I don't really care / If ya think I'm strange / I ___ gonna change": Joan Jett"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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36D: "55. N.F.L. commentator Collinsworth"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "56. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, e.g."

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that catch sight of
  • Similar words include: descry, spy, spot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESPY

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38D: "59. Letter after chi"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

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39D: "60. The "S" of E.S.T.: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact
  • Similar words include: venereal infection, dose, sexually transmitted disease
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STD

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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

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 20, 2026 at 04:04 AM