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Wednesday, August 19, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 19, 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. Sahara-esque 4
2A 5. Exams for high school jrs. 5
3A 10. Private sleeping accommodations? 4
4A 14. "Didn't you get the ___?" 4
5A 15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak 5
6A 16. Section in a textbook 4
7A 17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit) 4
8A 18. Deceptive move in fencing 5
9A 19. Depend (on) 4
10A 20. Natural pillow filling 13
11A 23. Graffiti, to some 3
12A 24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand 3
13A 25. Quinceañeras, e.g. 5
14A 28. Lifted 5
15A 30. Services for senior citizens 9
16A 34. Hybrid tennis attire 5
17A 36. Word with pan, pump or paint 3
18A 37. ___ Minor 4
19A 38. Unofficial vote 9
20A 41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college 4
21A 44. "___ got it!" 3
22A 45. Cats and dogs, for example 5
23A 48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies 9
24A 51. Excludes 5
25A 53. Mount ___ Health System 5
26A 54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game 3
27A 56. Something to trust 3
28A 57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across 13
29A 62. They offer support 4
30A 64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps 5
31A 65. Field 4
32A 66. Facility 4
33A 67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot 5
34A 68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel 4
35A 69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6 4
36A 70. Fall bloom 5
37A 71. Cave wall hangings? 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sahara-esque"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lacking sufficient water or rainfall
  • Similar words include: waterless, desiccated, desiccate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Exams for high school jrs."

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Private sleeping accommodations?"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: camp bed, cot, fingerstall
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. "Didn't you get the ___?""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written proposal or reminder
  • Similar words include: memorandum, memoranda
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Section in a textbook"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
  • Similar words include: whole, building block, unit of measurement
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Deceptive move in fencing"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Depend (on)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have confidence or faith in
  • Similar words include: bank, swear, trust
  • Opposite of: mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Natural pillow filling"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Graffiti, to some"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the products of human creativity; works of art collectively
  • Similar words include: fine art, artwork, graphics
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Quinceañeras, e.g."

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
  • Similar words include: religious rite, ritual, rite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Lifted"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
  • Similar words include: steal, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Services for senior citizens"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Hybrid tennis attire"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Word with pan, pump or paint"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water
  • Similar words include: petroleum, embrocate, crude
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. ___ Minor"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Unofficial vote"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states sculptor (1860-1936)
  • Similar words include: Lorado Taft, William Howard Taft, President Taft
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. "___ got it!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Cats and dogs, for example"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action
  • Similar words include: noun
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Excludes"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prevent from being included or considered or accepted
  • Similar words include: except, take out, leave out
  • Opposite of: include, attend to
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Mount ___ Health System"

5 letters Category: Common Word

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: Mount Sinai, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Desert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: prat, tooshie, fundament
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. Something to trust"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus
  • Similar words include: intestine, catgut, bowel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "62. They offer support"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
  • Similar words include: brassiere, bandeau, bra
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Field"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Facility"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
  • Similar words include: dye, dyestuff
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. Fall bloom"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Cave wall hangings?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
  • Similar words include: kooky, wacky, at-bat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada 6
2D 2. Some vacation destinations 7
3D 3. "My mood is pretty low" 7
4D 4. Top three sights in Fiji? 4
5D 5. Like eyes during an allergy attack 5
6D 6. "Bless you!" elicitor 6
7D 7. ___ Minor 4
8D 8. Something that's pitched 4
9D 9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane 4
10D 10. Set of courses offered 10
11D 11. Miserable rating 7
12D 12. "___ death do us part" 3
13D 13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to 3
14D 21. Put forth 5
15D 22. Drop the ball 3
16D 26. Verbal hesitations 3
17D 27. Neptune's territory 3
18D 29. Situations one might no longer put effort into 10
19D 31. Drop 5
20D 32. Drop 3
21D 33. North Carolina university 4
22D 35. Chicago paper, with "the" 4
23D 39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho" 3
24D 40. Not taut 5
25D 41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer 3
26D 42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith 3
27D 43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g. 7
28D 46. Country bordering Chad and Benin 7
29D 47. Lecture attendee 7
30D 49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail) 3
31D 50. Rat (on) 6
32D 52. They can be well-done 6
33D 55. See-through 5
34D 58. Part of the Corn Belt 4
35D 59. Important stretches 4
36D 60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this 4
37D 61. What a shepherd may shepherd 4
38D 62. Bouncy part of a trampoline 3
39D 63. "A drop of golden sun," in song 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Some vacation destinations"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel located in a resort area
  • Similar words include: resort hotel, recur, recourse
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESORTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "My mood is pretty low""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Top three sights in Fiji?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very small circular shape
  • Similar words include: constellate, sprinkle, dit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Like eyes during an allergy attack"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing
  • Similar words include: turgid, gusty, tumescent
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Bless you!" elicitor"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose
  • Similar words include: sneezing, sternutation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEEZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ Minor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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!

8D: "8. Something that's pitched"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
  • Similar words include: camp, encamp, collapsible shelter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) third son of adam and eve; given by god in place of the murdered abel
  • Similar words include: Set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Set of courses offered"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an integrated course of academic studies
  • Similar words include: course of study, syllabus, program
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURRICULUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Miserable rating"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "___ death do us part""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Put forth"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have and exercise
  • Similar words include: exercise, wield, maintain
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Drop the ball"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Similar words include: drift, stray, slip
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Verbal hesitations"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: Er, ER, emergency room
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Neptune's territory"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
  • Similar words include: ocean
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Situations one might no longer put effort into"

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "31. Drop"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lower of two berths
  • Similar words include: lour, humiliated, miserable
  • Opposite of: raise, high
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Drop"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a depression in an otherwise level surface
  • Similar words include: angle of dip, magnetic inclination, drop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. North Carolina university"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Chicago paper, with "the""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "40. Not taut"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grant freedom to; free from confinement
  • Similar words include: liberal, liberate, wanton
  • Opposite of: tight, affixed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metallic element of the rare earth group; used in lasers; occurs in apatite and monazite and xenotime and ytterbite
  • Similar words include: terbium, terabyte, Tb
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
  • Similar words include: Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Muhammad Ali
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g."

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Country bordering Chad and Benin"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in west africa on the gulf of guinea; gained independence from britain in 1960; most populous african country
  • Similar words include: Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGERIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Lecture attendee"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution
  • Similar words include: bookman, pupil, educatee
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUDENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Rat (on)"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that disclosing information or giving evidence about another
  • Similar words include: let the cat out of the bag, blab, peach
  • Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TATTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. They can be well-done"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
  • Similar words include: steak
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. See-through"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: transparent, gauze-like, vapourous
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "58. Part of the Corn Belt"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people formerly living in iowa and minnesota and missouri
  • Similar words include: IA, Hawkeye State, Ioway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOWA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "59. Important stretches"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
  • Similar words include: table salt, common salt, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "61. What a shepherd may shepherd"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young sheep
  • Similar words include: Elia, dear, Charles Lamb
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "62. Bouncy part of a trampoline"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
  • Similar words include: make love, kip down, roll in the hay
  • Opposite of: get up, turn out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "63. "A drop of golden sun," in song"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: beam of light, shaft of light, shaft
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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: August 19, 2026 at 04:04 AM

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 14, 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. Closest bud 3
2A 4. Put-up job 4
3A 8. Destination for some sci-fi travelers 4
4A 12. ___ and dear 4
5A 13. Magician's "Look at what I just did!" 4
6A 14. Supportive advocate, as for L.G.B.T.Q. rights 4
7A 15. Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor 9
8A 17. Merest little chirp 4
9A 18. Folded French pancake 5
10A 19. ___ mode (in the fashionable style) 3
11A 20. Industry showcase 4
12A 21. Nightmares for nannies 12
13A 24. "We come in peace" speakers, in a sci-fi trope 6
14A 26. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly 3
15A 27. + or – particle 3
16A 28. Word after twin, tanning or trundle 3
17A 31. Rapper ___ Rhymes 5
18A 35. Movie review site with a percentage rating scale 14
19A 39. Schnozzle 5
20A 40. Firefighter's tool 3
21A 41. Helpful posting at a trailhead 3
22A 42. "Stop, Look and Listen" spot, e.g., in brief 3
23A 44. Curiosity and Perseverance, for two 6
24A 47. Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping 12
25A 52. Hasn't been canceled 4
26A 53. Stimpy's TV companion 3
27A 54. ___ peek 5
28A 57. State along a river of the same name 4
29A 58. Heading the wrong way ... or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35- and 47-Across 9
30A 60. Home in the woods 4
31A 61. Earring type 4
32A 62. Actress ___ Rachel Wood 4
33A 63. Half brother and rival of the goddess Athena 4
34A 64. Align 4
35A 65. Mo. with International Talk Like a Pirate Day 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Closest bud"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Put-up job"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
  • Similar words include: assume, shammer, fictive
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Destination for some sci-fi travelers"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time that has elapsed
  • Similar words include: retiring, past times, by
  • Opposite of: present, future
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "12. ___ and dear"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move towards
  • Similar words include: cheeseparing, nearly, virtually
  • Opposite of: far
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "13. Magician's "Look at what I just did!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "14. Supportive advocate, as for L.G.B.T.Q. rights"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friendly nation
  • Similar words include: friend
  • Opposite of: foe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "15. Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "17. Merest little chirp"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the short weak cry of a young bird
  • Similar words include: cheep, chirp, chirrup
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "18. Folded French pancake"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that paper with a crinkled texture; usually colored and used for decorations
  • Similar words include: French pancake, crepe paper, crape
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "19. ___ mode (in the fashionable style)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "20. Industry showcase"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a collection of things (goods or works of art etc.) for public display
  • Similar words include: exposition, exhibition
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXPO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "21. Nightmares for nannies"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. "We come in peace" speakers, in a sci-fi trope"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
  • Similar words include: foreigner, estrange, extraterrestrial being
  • Opposite of: acquaintance, citizen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "27. + or – particle"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "28. Word after twin, tanning or trundle"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
  • Similar words include: bang, do it, hit the sack
  • Opposite of: turn out, get up
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. Rapper ___ Rhymes"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Movie review site with a percentage rating scale"

14 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Schnozzle"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
  • Similar words include: snot, schnoz, beak
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Firefighter's tool"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Helpful posting at a trailhead"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface (or part of it)
  • Similar words include: mathematical function, mapping, single-valued function
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. "Stop, Look and Listen" spot, e.g., in brief"

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!

23A: "44. Curiosity and Perseverance, for two"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
  • Similar words include: bird of passage, rover, roamer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROVERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Hasn't been canceled"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "53. Stimpy's TV companion"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. ___ peek"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
  • Similar words include: sneaky, lift, hook
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. State along a river of the same name"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a midwestern state in north central united states in the great lakes region
  • Similar words include: OH, Ohio River, Buckeye State
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "58. Heading the wrong way ... or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35- and 47-Across"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Home in the woods"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Earring type"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man who is virile and sexually active
  • Similar words include: scantling, dot, stud poker
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Actress ___ Rachel Wood"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Half brother and rival of the goddess Athena"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) greek god of war; son of zeus and hera; identified with roman mars
  • Similar words include: are, ar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Align"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make synchronous and adjust in time or manner
  • Similar words include: synchronize, synchronise
  • Opposite of: desynchronize, desynchronise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYNC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. Mo. with International Talk Like a Pirate Day"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following august and preceding october
  • Similar words include: Sept, September
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Campsite crasher in the Rockies 4
2D 2. Gradually blends with 9
3D 3. Chilled coffee drink 6
4D 4. Longtime NASCAR sponsor 3
5D 5. Special request for a flight meal 5
6D 6. Singer with the best-selling album "21" 5
7D 7. Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea 6
8D 8. Slice of Life or nick of Time? 8
9D 9. Assistant with a whisper mode 5
10D 10. Gave it a rest? 5
11D 11. Writing wrongs 5
12D 12. Jimmy Fallon's network 3
13D 16. Underappreciated worker, say 4
14D 22. Library ID 4
15D 23. Tea with tapioca pearls 4
16D 24. Publicizes 4
17D 25. Lake bird with a laughing call 4
18D 29. When U R due 3
19D 30. Reveal private info about, in online lingo 3
20D 32. "The audacity!" 9
21D 33. Lachrymal unit 4
22D 34. Nile reptiles 4
23D 36. Traditional sumo hairstyles 8
24D 37. Online crafts bazaar 4
25D 38. Hired soldier, in slang 4
26D 43. Unlike the direction of this clue's answer 6
27D 45. "All right. What's the big deal?" 4
28D 46. Concert sites 6
29D 47. Shrek's beloved 5
30D 48. Escort 5
31D 49. Snap, crackle or pop 5
32D 50. Sizable 5
33D 51. For kicks and giggles 5
34D 55. "I need this immediately" 4
35D 56. "She's everything. He's just ___" ("Barbie" tagline) 3
36D 59. Public health agcy. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Campsite crasher in the Rockies"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws
  • Similar words include: wear, assume, behave
  • Opposite of: bull
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Gradually blends with"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Chilled coffee drink"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liqueur poured over shaved ice
  • Similar words include: ice
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAPPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Longtime NASCAR sponsor"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard temperature and pressure
  • Similar words include: s.t.p.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Special request for a flight meal"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (islam) meat from animals that have been slaughtered in the prescribed way according to the shariah
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Singer with the best-selling album "21""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Slice of Life or nick of Time?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Assistant with a whisper mode"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Gave it a rest?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Writing wrongs"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
  • Similar words include: typo, literal error, erratum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYPOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Jimmy Fallon's network"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "16. Underappreciated worker, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
  • Similar words include: galley slave, drudge, navvy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "22. Library ID"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Tea with tapioca pearls"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Publicizes"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affected manners intended to impress others
  • Similar words include: airwave, melodic line, gentle wind
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Lake bird with a laughing call"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. When U R due"

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!

19D: "30. Reveal private info about, in online lingo"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. "The audacity!""

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Lachrymal unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands
  • Similar words include: teardrop, rent, deplume
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Nile reptiles"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
  • Similar words include: Egyptian cobra, asp viper, Vipera aspis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Traditional sumo hairstyles"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that headdress consisting of a decorative ribbon or bow worn in the hair
  • Similar words include: topknot
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOPKNOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Online crafts bazaar"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Hired soldier, in slang"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "43. Unlike the direction of this clue's answer"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to the opposite side
  • Similar words include: crossways, crosswise
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACROSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "45. "All right. What's the big deal?""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Concert sites"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting)
  • Similar words include: locus, locale, venue
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VENUES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Shrek's beloved"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Escort"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that irish prelate who deduced from the bible that creation occurred in the year 4004 bc (1581-1656)
  • Similar words include: show, James Usher, James Ussher
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Snap, crackle or pop"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
  • Similar words include: dissonance, disturbance, stochasticity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOISE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Sizable"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
  • Similar words include: goodish, sizable, healthy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEFTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. For kicks and giggles"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "55. "I need this immediately""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that as soon as possible
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "56. "She's everything. He's just ___" ("Barbie" tagline)"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that range of what one can know or understand
  • Similar words include: sight, cognizance
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "59. Public health agcy."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a federal agency in the department of health and human services; located in atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases)
  • Similar words include: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CDC

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
36 Down Clues
71 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: July 14, 2026 at 05:43 AM