Search Clues

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

Monday, June 22, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers June 22, 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. The "S" of N.S.F.W. 4
2A 5. Invite to enter 5
3A 10. Artist Salvador 4
4A 14. "___ Your Enthusiasm" 4
5A 15. Totally sus, say 5
6A 16. Scholarly "same" 4
7A 17. Wave of antigovernment protests in the early 2010s 10
8A 19. Old name of Thailand 4
9A 20. What's rolled out for yoga 3
10A 21. Pint in a pub, maybe 3
11A 22. Performance at Lincoln Center 5
12A 23. Heading back to where one lives 13
13A 28. Sitting on 4
14A 30. Shows signs of hunger 6
15A 31. Harsh, as a takedown 6
16A 34. Hollywood workplace 8
17A 38. Some undergrad degs. 3
18A 39. Low-tech cooler on a hot day 3
19A 41. Container at a beer blast 3
20A 42. "Wha-a-at?" 3
21A 43. "___ Got Talent" 8
22A 46. Madame : France :: ___ : Spain 6
23A 48. Playground denial 6
24A 50. Golf club often numbered 3 to 9 4
25A 51. Repository of seeds from all corners of the globe, informally 13
26A 56. What volcanoes do 5
27A 57. Pie ___ mode 3
28A 58. What the light from a lighthouse may pierce 3
29A 61. Singer James 4
30A 62. Track-and-field event with a sandpit ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 23- and 51-Across 10
31A 66. "But ___ again ..." 4
32A 67. "Fingers crossed" 5
33A 68. Area east of the Urals 4
34A 69. Group 4
35A 70. Light brown and dull, as hair 5
36A 71. Actions at the Bellagio or Encore 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. The "S" of N.S.F.W."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that strongbox where valuables can be safely kept
  • Similar words include: secure, good, safety
  • Opposite of: dangerous, out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Invite to enter"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Artist Salvador"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that surrealist spanish painter (1904-1989)
  • Similar words include: Salvador Dali
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. "___ Your Enthusiasm""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
  • Similar words include: curb bit, subdue, control
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Totally sus, say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
  • Similar words include: dissembler, pretender, bogus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHONY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Scholarly "same""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Wave of antigovernment protests in the early 2010s"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Old name of Thailand"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a country of southeastern asia that extends southward along the isthmus of kra to the malay peninsula
  • Similar words include: Kingdom of Thailand, Thailand
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. What's rolled out for yoga"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
  • Similar words include: Master of Arts in Teaching, matte, entangle
  • Opposite of: unsnarl, disentangle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Pint in a pub, maybe"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Performance at Lincoln Center"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes
  • Similar words include: opera house
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Heading back to where one lives"

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Sitting on"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that on, to, or at the top
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Shows signs of hunger"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pretentious or silly talk or writing
  • Similar words include: twaddle, drool, slabber
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DROOLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Harsh, as a takedown"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
  • Similar words include: roughshod, unrelenting, vicious
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUTAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Hollywood workplace"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Some undergrad degs."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group; found in barite
  • Similar words include: Artium Baccalaurens, atomic number 56, Ba
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Low-tech cooler on a hot day"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a device for creating a current of air by movement of a surface or surfaces
  • Similar words include: buff, devotee, lover
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Container at a beer blast"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quantity contained in a keg
  • Similar words include: kegful
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. "Wha-a-at?""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. "___ Got Talent""

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Madame : France :: ___ : Spain"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a spanish title or form of address for a married woman; similar to the english `mrs' or `madam'
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Playground denial"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Golf club often numbered 3 to 9"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
  • Similar words include: iron out, smoothing iron, atomic number 26
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Repository of seeds from all corners of the globe, informally"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "56. What volcanoes do"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that start abruptly
  • Similar words include: come out, catch fire, ignite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERUPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. Pie ___ mode"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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!

28A: "58. What the light from a lighthouse may pierce"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
  • Similar words include: befog, murkiness, murk
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Singer James"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Track-and-field event with a sandpit ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 23- and 51-Across"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "66. "But ___ again ...""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that that time; that moment
  • Similar words include: and then, so, and so
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "67. "Fingers crossed""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "68. Area east of the Urals"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

34A: "69. Group"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
  • Similar words include: class, variety, sort out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "70. Light brown and dull, as hair"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that quiet and timid and ineffectual
  • Similar words include: mousey, mouselike, mouse-colored
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "71. Actions at the Bellagio or Encore"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the money risked on a gamble
  • Similar words include: wager, count, stake
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Hoodwink 4
2D 2. Vibe 4
3D 3. Beer pong venue, maybe 9
4D 4. Flow out 3
5D 5. Garden of Eden fruit 5
6D 6. Brilliant at negotiating 6
7D 7. Ornamental fish in a pond 3
8D 8. Holiday ___ 3
9D 9. MetLife Stadium team, on scoreboards 3
10D 10. Get rid (of) 7
11D 11. "Goodbye, mes amis" 5
12D 12. "Live and ___" 5
13D 13. What the "face with steam from nose" emoji suggests 5
14D 18. Piano player in "Casablanca" 3
15D 22. Compel 6
16D 24. Pick, with "for" 3
17D 25. Elbow's place 3
18D 26. King's partner in castling 4
19D 27. Birds of peace 5
20D 28. Group whose "Gold: Greatest Hits" is the second-best-selling album in U.K. history 4
21D 29. Disneyland transport 4
22D 32. Unprecedented 6
23D 33. Fastened, as a corset or shoe 5
24D 35. Explosive personality trait 9
25D 36. Continental money 4
26D 37. Greater ___ 4
27D 40. Grandma, affectionately 4
28D 44. Spreading unchecked 7
29D 45. Miso bean 3
30D 47. Zero, in soccer 3
31D 49. The Roku Channel, Hulu and others 6
32D 51. Little specifics, in slang 5
33D 52. One dental specialty, informally 5
34D 53. ___ Banks (barrier islands of North Carolina) 5
35D 54. Narrow backstreet 5
36D 55. Abu Dhabi's land, for short 3
37D 59. Leave out 4
38D 60. Transcript figs. 4
39D 62. ___ Cook, longtime tech C.E.O. 3
40D 63. Letter before sigma 3
41D 64. Debtor's note 3
42D 65. Boxing punch 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Hoodwink"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fraudulent business scheme
  • Similar words include: mulct, hornswoggle, con
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Vibe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: aureole, atmosphere, glory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Beer pong venue, maybe"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Flow out"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number)
  • Similar words include: wane, ebb down, ebb out
  • Opposite of: tide
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EBB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Garden of Eden fruit"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
  • Similar words include: orchard apple tree, Malus pumila
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Brilliant at negotiating"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
  • Similar words include: conniving, astute, sharp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHREWD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Ornamental fish in a pond"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Holiday ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
  • Similar words include: lodge, auberge, hostel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. MetLife Stadium team, on scoreboards"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Get rid (of)"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give, sell, or transfer to another
  • Similar words include: throw out, toss out, discard
  • Opposite of: indispose, disqualify
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISPOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Goodbye, mes amis""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Live and ___""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gain knowledge or skills
  • Similar words include: con, watch, pick up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEARN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. What the "face with steam from nose" emoji suggests"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Piano player in "Casablanca""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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!

15D: "22. Compel"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that force somebody to do something
  • Similar words include: obligate, hold, bind
  • Opposite of: disoblige
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBLIGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Pick, with "for""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that select as an alternative over another
  • Similar words include: choose, prefer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Elbow's place"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: subdivision, branch, weapon
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. King's partner in castling"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard
  • Similar words include: mulct, hornswoggle, con
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Birds of peace"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of numerous small pigeons
  • Similar words include: Columba, Dove, dove
  • Opposite of: hawk
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOVES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Group whose "Gold: Greatest Hits" is the second-best-selling album in U.K. history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Disneyland transport"

4 letters 💭 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: tramway, trolley car, ropeway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Unprecedented"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Fastened, as a corset or shoe"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spin,wind, or twist together
  • Similar words include: twine, spike, fortify
  • Opposite of: unlaced, untwine
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LACED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Explosive personality trait"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. Continental money"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit of most members of the european union (introduced in 1999); in 2002 twelve european nations (germany, france, belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, italy, spain, portugal, ireland, greece, austria, finland) adopted the euro as their basic unit of money and abandoned their traditional currencies
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EURO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "37. Greater ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Grandma, affectionately"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Spreading unchecked"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unrestrained and violent
  • Similar words include: rearing
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAMPANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Miso bean"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a source of oil; used for forage and soil improvement and as food
  • Similar words include: soya, soya bean, soybean plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Zero, in soccer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: nothing, nada, zippo
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. The Roku Channel, Hulu and others"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Little specifics, in slang"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. One dental specialty, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. ___ Banks (barrier islands of North Carolina)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being on the outside or further from a center
  • Similar words include: verboten, tabu, out
  • Opposite of: inner, safe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Narrow backstreet"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrow street with walls on both sides
  • Similar words include: skittle alley, bowling alley, alleyway
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Abu Dhabi's land, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Leave out"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Transcript figs."

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. ___ Cook, longtime tech C.E.O."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "63. Letter before sigma"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 17th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Debtor's note"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal debt instrument; representing `i owe you'
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "65. Boxing punch"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: poke, dig, stab
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAB

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

36 Across Clues
42 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: June 22, 2026 at 09:27 AM

Friday, January 16, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 16, 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. Coming-out party? 10
2A 11. Finish (up) 4
3A 15. "Hello-o-o?" 10
4A 16. Dialect featured in the literature of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, for short 4
5A 17. Scenario calling for self-reliance 10
6A 18. Summer flier 4
7A 19. Classic 1926 poem associated with the Harlem Renaissance 4
8A 20. Do some cleaning 4
9A 21. Creatures that can turn into humans on land, in Scottish folklore 5
10A 22. Sound around a summer cornfield 3
11A 23. Wood used for flooring 3
12A 24. Trunk item 6
13A 25. Shortest-reigning English monarch (9 days) 8
14A 28. Molecule that can self-splice 3
15A 29. Enthusiasm-curbing 6
16A 32. "Here we go!" 8
17A 34. Uncovered 4
18A 35. Some cuts of meat 5
19A 37. Tennis great who had a tennis scholarship from U.C.L.A. 4
20A 38. Place for trading stories? 8
21A 40. Diverts 6
22A 42. It takes a long time to get this 3
23A 43. Leading character on social media? 8
24A 45. White House partner, for short 6
25A 47. Assume, as costs 3
26A 48. Do some cleaning 3
27A 51. Market for currencies, informally 5
28A 52. Financial aid basis 4
29A 54. Hand count? 4
30A 55. Ian : Scotland :: ___ : Wales 4
31A 56. One might help you hitch a ride 10
32A 58. Parmesan cheese feature 4
33A 59. Novel whence the line "Four legs good, two legs bad" 10
34A 60. Rests 4
35A 61. They're green year-round 10

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Coming-out party?"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "11. Finish (up)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cloak that is folded or wrapped around a person
  • Similar words include: roll, twine, enwrap
  • Opposite of: unwrap, unwind
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WRAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "15. "Hello-o-o?""

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "16. Dialect featured in the literature of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, for short"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a nonstandard form of american english characteristically spoken by african americans in the united states
  • Similar words include: Black English Vernacular, Black Vernacular, Black Vernacular English
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Scenario calling for self-reliance"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Summer flier"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various small biting flies: midges; biting midges; black flies; sand flies
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GNAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Classic 1926 poem associated with the Harlem Renaissance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Do some cleaning"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fine powdery material such as dry earth or pollen that can be blown about in the air
  • Similar words include: detritus, disperse, scatter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Creatures that can turn into humans on land, in Scottish folklore"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
  • Similar words include: sealskin, SEAL, cachet
  • Opposite of: unseal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Sound around a summer cornfield"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by corvine birds
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Wood used for flooring"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nonresinous wood of a fir tree
  • Similar words include: true fir, fir tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Trunk item"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Shortest-reigning English monarch (9 days)"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Molecule that can self-splice"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

15A: "29. Enthusiasm-curbing"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
  • Similar words include: wear down, tire, fatigue
  • Opposite of: refresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JADING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. "Here we go!""

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Uncovered"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: spread out, afford, heart-to-heart
  • Opposite of: covert, closed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Some cuts of meat"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
  • Similar words include: chop up, chopper, chop
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Tennis great who had a tennis scholarship from U.C.L.A."

4 letters 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!

20A: "38. Place for trading stories?"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fair organized by publishers or booksellers to promote the sale of books
  • Similar words include: book fair
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOKFAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Diverts"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
  • Similar words include: divert, disport, amuse
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMUSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. It takes a long time to get this"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
  • Similar words include: older, sure-enough, sometime
  • Opposite of: new, young
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Leading character on social media?"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. White House partner, for short"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "47. Assume, as costs"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take in solid food
  • Similar words include: eat on, deplete, run through
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Do some cleaning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
  • Similar words include: mop up, mow, swob
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "51. Market for currencies, informally"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Financial aid basis"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition requiring relief
  • Similar words include: ask, call for, necessitate
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Hand count?"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
  • Similar words include: quintuplet, quint, fin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Ian : Scotland :: ___ : Wales"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "56. One might help you hitch a ride"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. Parmesan cheese feature"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the natural outer covering of food (usually removed before eating)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. Novel whence the line "Four legs good, two legs bad""

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Rests"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. They're green year-round"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Bare-bones 5
2D 2. Oscar-winning musical role for Rita Moreno 5
3D 3. Already 5
4D 4. "The Memory Police" author ___ Ogawa 4
5D 5. Brand lead-in to Caps or Balls 3
6D 6. Unwieldy situation, metaphorically 11
7D 7. "As if!" 6
8D 8. Blows away 4
9D 9. Release 4
10D 10. Kind of cycle 3
11D 11. Listing on a W-2 form 5
12D 12. Stumbled upon 9
13D 13. Overwhelming amount 9
14D 14. Some terrarium denizens 9
15D 21. Declares 4
16D 23. Tai chi accessory 3
17D 24. Receives unfair criticism 11
18D 25. Nimble, zigzagging maneuver 4
19D 26. Best Original Song Oscar winner from 2014's "Selma" 5
20D 27. P.E. unit 3
21D 29. Invitations to come on board 9
22D 30. First NASA mission broadcast live from orbit 9
23D 31. Secret offering? 9
24D 33. Julia of "The Addams Family" 4
25D 36. ___ Excellency 3
26D 39. Like leatherette 4
27D 41. Witticism 3
28D 44. Start of a secret invitation, perhaps 6
29D 46. Leans 5
30D 48. Locale of a semiannual fashion week 5
31D 49. Opposite of subtle 5
32D 50. Makes do for a while? 5
33D 52. Gram, by another name 4
34D 53. Composer Satie 4
35D 54. Goal-oriented global org.? 4
36D 56. Half-___ 3
37D 57. Totally 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Bare-bones"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a popular programming language that is relatively easy to learn; an acronym for beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code; no longer in general use
  • Similar words include: staple, canonical, canonic
  • Opposite of: incidental
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Oscar-winning musical role for Rita Moreno"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Already"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "The Memory Police" author ___ Ogawa"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Brand lead-in to Caps or Balls"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Unwieldy situation, metaphorically"

11 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "As if!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Blows away"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a joke that seems extremely funny
  • Similar words include: sidesplitter, scream, belly laugh
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Release"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expel (gases or odors)
  • Similar words include: give off, pass off, utter
  • Opposite of: absorb
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Kind of cycle"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs; a state of rapidly shifting eye movements during sleep
  • Similar words include: rapid eye movement, paradoxical sleep, REM sleep
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Listing on a W-2 form"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
  • Similar words include: reward, waggle, earnings
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Stumbled upon"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Overwhelming amount"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain
  • Similar words include: roll down
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVALANCHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Some terrarium denizens"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Declares"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chance to speak
  • Similar words include: enunciate, enjoin, pronounce
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Tai chi accessory"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a device for creating a current of air by movement of a surface or surfaces
  • Similar words include: lover, buff, devotee
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Receives unfair criticism"

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Nimble, zigzagging maneuver"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Best Original Song Oscar winner from 2014's "Selma""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of high honor
  • Similar words include: glorification, nimbus, aureole
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. P.E. unit"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal abbreviation of `representative'
  • Similar words include: repp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Invitations to come on board"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. First NASA mission broadcast live from orbit"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "31. Secret offering?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toiletry applied to the skin in order to mask unpleasant odors
  • Similar words include: deodourant
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEODORANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Julia of "The Addams Family""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "36. ___ Excellency"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Like leatherette"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article
  • Similar words include: fake, imitation, simulated
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAUX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Witticism"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clever remark
  • Similar words include: Ministry of Transportation test, bon mot, MOT test
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Start of a secret invitation, perhaps"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. Leans"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined
  • Similar words include: be given, run, tend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Locale of a semiannual fashion week"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital of lombardy in northern italy; has been an international center of trade and industry since the middle ages
  • Similar words include: Milano
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MILAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Opposite of subtle"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open and observable; not secret or hidden
  • Similar words include: open
  • Opposite of: covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Makes do for a while?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in the european part of russia
  • Similar words include: permanent wave, permanent, Perm
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Gram, by another name"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Composer Satie"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Goal-oriented global org.?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Half-___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Totally"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that quantifier; used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
  • Similar words include: wholly, totally, entirely
  • Opposite of: partly, some
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALL

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
37 Down Clues
72 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: January 16, 2026 at 04:13 AM