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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

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Last updated: August 19, 2026 at 04:04 AM

Monday, July 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 20, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Scarecrow stuffing 5
2A 6. Ralph who ran for president four times 5
3A 11. Some HP products 3
4A 14. Ebb 5
5A 15. Top-tier group 5
6A 16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi 3
7A 17. On/off device 11
8A 19. Empty space between things 3
9A 20. Something at either end of a hammock, often 4
10A 21. Brain tests, for short 4
11A 22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout) 5
12A 24. Golf club for teeing off 6
13A 26. Small orchard 5
14A 27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points 12
15A 31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short 4
16A 33. Regret 3
17A 34. Pursue 4
18A 35. Young Yorkie, e.g. 3
19A 36. Better halves 7
20A 40. Blue state? 3
21A 41. GPS guesses 4
22A 43. April 15 deadline org. 3
23A 44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. 4
24A 46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport 12
25A 50. Like many English bogs 5
26A 51. Begin to grow choppers 6
27A 54. Measure around the middle 5
28A 55. Norse god of thunder 4
29A 57. Agricultural locale 4
30A 59. Chicken ___ king 3
31A 60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across 11
32A 63. Rapper Tone ___ 3
33A 64. Reef material 5
34A 65. Winning Monopoly player's collection 5
35A 66. Had dinner, say 3
36A 67. Transmits 5
37A 68. Hockey feints 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Scarecrow stuffing"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
  • Similar words include: drinking straw, pale yellow, stalk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STRAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Ralph who ran for president four times"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Some HP products"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time
  • Similar words include: microcomputer, personal computer, PC
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Ebb"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less active or intense
  • Similar words include: let up, slack, slack off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Top-tier group"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
  • Similar words include: elect, elite group
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. On/off device"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Empty space between things"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: opening, crack, breach
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Something at either end of a hammock, often"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
  • Similar words include: tree diagram, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, corner
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Brain tests, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a graphical record of electrical activity of the brain; produced by an electroencephalograph
  • Similar words include: electroencephalogram, encephalogram, EEG
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
  • Similar words include: particular, token, detail
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Golf club for teeing off"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the operator of a motor vehicle
  • Similar words include: device driver, number one wood
  • Opposite of: nondriver
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRIVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Small orchard"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small growth of trees without underbrush
  • Similar words include: plantation, woodlet, orchard
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Regret"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Pursue"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
  • Similar words include: assay, search, look for
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Young Yorkie, e.g."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf
  • Similar words include: puppy, whelp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Better halves"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's partner in marriage
  • Similar words include: partner, mate, better half
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOUSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Blue state?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
  • Similar words include: suffering, woefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. GPS guesses"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. April 15 deadline org."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
  • Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Like many English bogs"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or pertaining to or of the nature of peat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEATY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Begin to grow choppers"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grow teeth; cut the baby teeth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEETHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Measure around the middle"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the distance around a person's body
  • Similar words include: cinch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIRTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Norse god of thunder"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) god of thunder and rain and farming; pictured as wielding a hammer emblematic of the thunderbolt; identified with teutonic donar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Agricultural locale"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
  • Similar words include: produce, grow, raise
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Chicken ___ king"

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!

31A: "60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Rapper Tone ___"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Reef material"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a variable color averaging a deep pink
  • Similar words include: precious coral, red coral
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Winning Monopoly player's collection"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that performance of moral or religious acts
  • Similar words include: human activity, title, works
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Had dinner, say"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Transmits"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: station, transport, get off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Hockey feints"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Add some seasoning to 4
2D 2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally 5
3D 3. Wild party 5
4D 4. Faith no more? 7
5D 5. More than damp 3
6D 6. Big name in baseball caps 6
7D 7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona 4
8D 8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code 4
9D 9. And more like that: Abbr. 3
10D 10. Put back on the payroll 6
11D 11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase 9
12D 12. Creature that blends into its surroundings 9
13D 13. Drinks daintily 4
14D 18. Prognosticator 4
15D 23. Young 'uns 4
16D 25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally 4
17D 26. Utter delight 4
18D 28. Item for a painter or hairstylist 5
19D 29. Vehicle to and from school 3
20D 30. Barely get, with "out" 3
21D 31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this 9
22D 32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s 9
23D 35. Get-up-and-go 3
24D 37. "It's a shame, really!" 4
25D 38. Monster of Tolkiendom 3
26D 39. Very wise 4
27D 42. 32-card card game 4
28D 45. Liberate 7
29D 47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers 6
30D 48. Bikini and others 6
31D 49. Spongy ball material 4
32D 52. "Frida" star Salma 5
33D 53. Slowly chip away at 5
34D 54. Fancy party 4
35D 55. Gull relative 4
36D 56. Lettuce unit 4
37D 58. "No ___, no fuss!" 4
38D 61. Opponent 3
39D 62. Unfamiliar 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Add some seasoning to"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: saltiness, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, common salt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Wild party"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Faith no more?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the doctrine or belief that there is no god
  • Similar words include: godlessness
  • Opposite of: theism
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHEISM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. More than damp"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: pissed, loaded, soaked
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big name in baseball caps"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shorter of the two telegraphic signals used in morse code
  • Similar words include: dit, dot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. And more like that: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Put back on the payroll"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Creature that blends into its surroundings"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a changeable or inconstant person
  • Similar words include: chamaeleon, Chamaeleon
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAMELEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Drinks daintily"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small drink
  • Similar words include: sip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Prognosticator"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person with unusual powers of foresight
  • Similar words include: oracle, prophet, prophesier
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Young 'uns"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small amount (especially of a drink)
  • Similar words include: summate, total, tote up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magnetic tape recorder for recording (and playing back) tv programs
  • Similar words include: VCR, videocassette recorder
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VCRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Utter delight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that great merriment
  • Similar words include: mirth, hilarity, gleefulness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Item for a painter or hairstylist"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dense growth of bushes
  • Similar words include: coppice, copse, clash
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Vehicle to and from school"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
  • Similar words include: motorbus, autobus, busbar
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Barely get, with "out""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness
  • Similar words include: automatic pilot, robot pilot
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUTOPILOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Get-up-and-go"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liveliness and energy
  • Similar words include: ginger, peppiness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. "It's a shame, really!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
  • Similar words include: pathos, feel for, ruth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Monster of Tolkiendom"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Very wise"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
  • Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. 32-card card game"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Liberate"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • Similar words include: moral philosophy, ethical code, morals
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHICS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Bikini and others"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
  • Similar words include: atoll
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOLLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Spongy ball material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. "Frida" star Salma"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english economist (born in austria) noted for work on the optimum allocation of resources (1899-1992)
  • Similar words include: Friedrich August von Hayek
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAYEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Slowly chip away at"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
  • Similar words include: gnaw, fret, gnaw at
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Fancy party"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gay festivity
  • Similar words include: gala affair, jamboree, blowout
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Gull relative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small slender gull having narrow wings and a forked tail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TERN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Lettuce unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
  • Similar words include: maneuver, headway, manoeuvre
  • Opposite of: tail, foot
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. "No ___, no fuss!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of confusion and disorderliness
  • Similar words include: Mus, messiness, mess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "61. Opponent"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
  • Similar words include: enemy, foeman, opposition
  • Opposite of: friend
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Unfamiliar"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not divisible by two
  • Similar words include: funny, unmated, rummy
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODD

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

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Last updated: July 20, 2026 at 06:29 AM