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
- Across Clues Table (29 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (33 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Moderate
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 Jeffersons" or "The Simpsons," notably | 7 |
| 2A | 8. Team with the mascot Big Al, familiarly | 4 |
| 3A | 12. In time | 13 |
| 4A | 14. Dish purportedly invented in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo neighborhood | 14 |
| 5A | 15. New York's ___ Valley | 6 |
| 6A | 16. Thawing | 7 |
| 7A | 17. Treat | 6 |
| 8A | 18. New outfit or accessory for a character, in video game-speak | 3 |
| 9A | 19. Things that shouldn't be hidden | 4 |
| 10A | 20. Non-eco-friendly refrigerant | 5 |
| 11A | 21. Term in the bedroom, maybe | 8 |
| 12A | 23. Unite | 3 |
| 13A | 24. Two-pronged | 4 |
| 14A | 26. Metros in the 1990s | 4 |
| 15A | 27. "Wait just a sec" | 9 |
| 16A | 29. Cowboy's friend, informally | 4 |
| 17A | 30. Name that spiked in popularity following a 2013 Disney movie | 4 |
| 18A | 31. Finalized | 3 |
| 19A | 34. "You've got nothing to worry about" | 8 |
| 20A | 36. All-time scoring leader for the Miami Heat, familiarly | 5 |
| 21A | 38. Routine surfaces | 4 |
| 22A | 39. Browns, on a scoreboard | 3 |
| 23A | 40. Mathematics writer Gardner | 6 |
| 24A | 41. Words of endorsement | 7 |
| 25A | 43. Arrived | 6 |
| 26A | 44. Make-believe sorrow | 14 |
| 27A | 46. Cause of amusement to a vet, maybe | 13 |
| 28A | 47. Daredevil's calculation | 4 |
| 29A | 48. Some fairy tale characters | 7 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. "The Jeffersons" or "The Simpsons," notably"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPINOFF
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2A: "8. Team with the mascot Big Al, familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAMA
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3A: "12. In time"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOONERORLATER
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4A: "14. Dish purportedly invented in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo neighborhood"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALIFORNIAROLL
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5A: "15. New York's ___ Valley"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a new york river; flows southward into new york bay; explored by henry hudson early in the 17th century
- Similar words include: Hudson River, W. H. Hudson, William Henry Hudson
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUDSON
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6A: "16. Thawing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations)
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DETENTE
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7A: "17. Treat"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a licensed medical practitioner
- Similar words include: restore, doc, doctor up
- Opposite of: break
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOCTOR
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8A: "18. New outfit or accessory for a character, in video game-speak"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a british teenager or young adult in the 1960s; noted for their clothes consciousness and opposition to the rockers
- Similar words include: modernistic, modern
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOD
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9A: "19. Things that shouldn't be hidden"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
- Similar words include: tip, bung, fee
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEES
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10A: "20. Non-eco-friendly refrigerant"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any one or more chlorofluorocarbons (or related compounds) that are used as an aerosol propellant, organic solvent, or refrigerant
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FREON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "21. Term in the bedroom, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAFEWORD
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12A: "23. Unite"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fourth day of the week; the third working day
- Similar words include: espouse, Wednesday, splice
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WED
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13A: "24. Two-pronged"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that consisting of or involving two parts or components usually in pairs
- Similar words include: two-fold, threefold, twofold
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUAL
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14A: "26. Metros in the 1990s"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEOS
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15A: "27. "Wait just a sec""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANGTIGHT
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16A: "29. Cowboy's friend, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARD
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17A: "30. Name that spiked in popularity following a 2013 Disney movie"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELSA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "31. Finalized"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
- Similar words include: rigid, set up, fructify
- Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SET
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19A: "34. "You've got nothing to worry about""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESTEASY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "36. All-time scoring leader for the Miami Heat, familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DWADE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "38. Routine surfaces"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
- Similar words include: matte, Master of Arts in Teaching, tangle
- Opposite of: disentangle, unsnarl
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "39. Browns, on a scoreboard"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLE
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23A: "40. Mathematics writer Gardner"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that french bishop who is a patron saint of france (died in 397)
- Similar words include: Mary Martin, Dean Martin, Steve Martin
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARTIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "41. Words of endorsement"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMFORIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "43. Arrived"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADEIT
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26A: "44. Make-believe sorrow"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROCODILETEARS
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27A: "46. Cause of amusement to a vet, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOKIEMISTAKE
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28A: "47. Daredevil's calculation"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
- Similar words include: betting odds
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "48. Some fairy tale characters"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a young unmarried woman
- Similar words include: damozel, damsel, damosel
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAMSELS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Did business with, in a way | 6 |
| 2D | 2. Blowgun projectile | 10 |
| 3D | 3. Words before "a penny" or "a treat" | 5 |
| 4D | 4. Fifth-most abundant element in the universe | 4 |
| 5D | 5. Lieutenant in "Catch-22" | 3 |
| 6D | 6. Into | 6 |
| 7D | 7. Breakfast dish that might go over well? | 9 |
| 8D | 8. How people get into a swimming pool, typically | 8 |
| 9D | 9. Yom Kippur observers | 7 |
| 10D | 10. Like the cheese in fondue | 6 |
| 11D | 11. Backdrop for many van Gogh paintings | 5 |
| 12D | 12. Blitzed | 6 |
| 13D | 13. ___ pull-downs (exercise) | 3 |
| 14D | 14. Item in a list on the fridge, maybe | 5 |
| 15D | 17. Texas air hub, for short | 3 |
| 16D | 18. Silky-haired toy | 7 |
| 17D | 21. Start to give | 3 |
| 18D | 22. "Hey, no backing out now!" | 10 |
| 19D | 25. Still waffling | 9 |
| 20D | 27. Relatives of ottomans | 8 |
| 21D | 28. Texter's affectionate sign-off | 3 |
| 22D | 29. It's not fit for human consumption | 7 |
| 23D | 31. Cutting stuff | 6 |
| 24D | 32. Cuts a line? | 5 |
| 25D | 33. It takes two hands to show | 3 |
| 26D | 34. Musketeer's tool | 6 |
| 27D | 35. Nissan model | 6 |
| 28D | 37. Brings about, as havoc | 6 |
| 29D | 38. Less than milli-, more than nano- | 5 |
| 30D | 40. Paint option | 5 |
| 31D | 42. Metric for a venture capitalist, in brief | 3 |
| 32D | 43. Play (with) | 4 |
| 33D | 45. Calc. calculation | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Did business with, in a way"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOLDTO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Blowgun projectile"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POISONDART
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3D: "3. Words before "a penny" or "a treat""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INFOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Fifth-most abundant element in the universe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
- Similar words include: atomic number 10, Ne
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Lieutenant in "Catch-22""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that canadian hockey player (born 1948)
- Similar words include: Robert Orr, Bobby Orr
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Into"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONDOF
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Breakfast dish that might go over well?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRIEDEGGS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. How people get into a swimming pool, typically"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that without shoes
- Similar words include: shoeless, barefooted
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAREFOOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Yom Kippur observers"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATONERS
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10D: "10. Like the cheese in fondue"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating
- Similar words include: melt down, mellow, dissolve
- Opposite of: unmelted
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MELTED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Backdrop for many van Gogh paintings"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract
- Similar words include: earnest money
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARLES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Blitzed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that behave saucily or impudently towards
- Similar words include: sauce
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAUCED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. ___ pull-downs (exercise)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a broad flat muscle on either side of the back
- Similar words include: latissimus dorsi
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "14. Item in a list on the fridge, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee
- Similar words include: job, task
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHORE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "17. Texas air hub, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DFW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "18. Silky-haired toy"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native or inhabitant of malta
- Similar words include: Malti, Maltese language, Maltese dog
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALTESE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "21. Start to give"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a shape that sags
- Similar words include: swag, droop, flag
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "22. "Hey, no backing out now!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEHADADEAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "25. Still waffling"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not brought to a conclusion; subject to further thought
- Similar words include: open, unresolved, on the fence
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNDECIDED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "27. Relatives of ottomans"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that thick cushion used as a seat
- Similar words include: pouffe, pouf, hassock
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HASSOCKS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "28. Texter's affectionate sign-off"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "29. It's not fit for human consumption"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that food prepared for animal pets
- Similar words include: pet food, pet-food
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETFOOD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "31. Cutting stuff"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that witty language used to convey insults or scorn; ; ; --jonathan swift
- Similar words include: caustic remark, sarcasm, irony
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATIRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "32. Cuts a line?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting
- Similar words include: edit, blue-pencil, edit out
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDITS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "33. It takes two hands to show"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
- Similar words include: ten-spot, x, decade
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "34. Musketeer's tool"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a rod used to ram the charge into a muzzle-loading firearm
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAMROD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "35. Nissan model"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALTIMA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "37. Brings about, as havoc"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
- Similar words include: play, make for, wreak
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WREAKS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "38. Less than milli-, more than nano-"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that extremely small in scale or scope or capability
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MICRO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "40. Paint option"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mixture of sulfides that forms when sulfide metal ores are smelted
- Similar words include: matted, matt-up, mat
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATTE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "42. Metric for a venture capitalist, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (corporate finance) the amount, expressed as a percentage, that is earned on a company's total capital calculated by dividing the total capital into earnings before interest, taxes, or dividends are paid
- Similar words include: return on invested capital, return on investment
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "43. Play (with)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a state of confusion and disorderliness
- Similar words include: mass, kettle of fish, muss
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MESS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "45. Calc. calculation"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIM
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
29 Across Clues
33 Down Clues
62 Total Clues
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