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 (34 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (36 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
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. Phrase said indignantly before a citation | 9 |
| 2A | 10. Place with flasks and alcohol | 3 |
| 3A | 13. Nested birds? | 9 |
| 4A | 14. "___ Atardecer," Bad Bunny song whose name means "Another Sunset" | 4 |
| 5A | 16. "Argh! What is happening?" | 15 |
| 6A | 19. Philosopher Descartes | 4 |
| 7A | 20. Worried | 6 |
| 8A | 21. French word in the middle of a name | 3 |
| 9A | 22. Annoy | 3 |
| 10A | 23. The flying fox is a type of one | 3 |
| 11A | 24. Site with a monument that gets around 7 million ticketed visitors a year | 4 |
| 12A | 25. Totally down (for) | 4 |
| 13A | 27. Topical application | 4 |
| 14A | 29. Like the glass in many a Dale Chihuly sculpture | 5 |
| 15A | 30. Win-win | 6 |
| 16A | 32. California's San ___ Island | 6 |
| 17A | 33. Drift off | 7 |
| 18A | 35. Beatles song with the lyric "I tried to telephone / They said you were not home / That's a lie" | 7 |
| 19A | 36. Privileged groups | 6 |
| 20A | 37. Hot spot | 6 |
| 21A | 38. Unacceptable | 5 |
| 22A | 39. Remove, as from a cluttered container, with "out" | 4 |
| 23A | 40. Title derived from the Persian for "king" | 4 |
| 24A | 43. Anora's husband in "Anora" | 4 |
| 25A | 44. Sat ___ (GPS, to Brits) | 3 |
| 26A | 45. History unit | 3 |
| 27A | 46. One that's hard to catch | 3 |
| 28A | 47. Church congresses | 6 |
| 29A | 50. Foe of Wonder Woman | 4 |
| 30A | 51. Cold shoulder, so to speak | 15 |
| 31A | 54. ___ bar | 4 |
| 32A | 55. Get used to it | 9 |
| 33A | 56. Backup for a trapeze artist | 3 |
| 34A | 57. Popular antibiotic ointment | 9 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Phrase said indignantly before a citation"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANDIQUOTE
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2A: "10. Place with flasks and alcohol"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
- Similar words include: science lab, research laboratory, research lab
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAB
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3A: "13. Nested birds?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TURDUCKEN
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4A: "14. "___ Atardecer," Bad Bunny song whose name means "Another Sunset""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTRO
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5A: "16. "Argh! What is happening?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMILOSINGMYMIND
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6A: "19. Philosopher Descartes"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENE
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7A: "20. Worried"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
- Similar words include: venerate, dread, fear
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEARED
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8A: "21. French word in the middle of a name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (meaning literally `born') used to indicate the maiden or family name of a married woman
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEE
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9A: "22. Annoy"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that irritate or vex
- Similar words include: gall
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRK
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10A: "23. The flying fox is a type of one"
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: flutter, lick, cricket bat
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "24. Site with a monument that gets around 7 million ticketed visitors a year"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a city in northern india; former capital of the mogul empire; site of the taj mahal
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGRA
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12A: "25. Totally down (for)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOIN
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13A: "27. Topical application"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
- Similar words include: unction, ointment, unguent
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BALM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "29. Like the glass in many a Dale Chihuly sculpture"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that mix together different elements
- Similar words include: commingle, immix, meld
- Opposite of: defuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FUSED
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15A: "30. Win-win"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOLOSE
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16A: "32. California's San ___ Island"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIGUEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "33. Drift off"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
- Similar words include: sidetrack, depart, divagate
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIGRESS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "35. Beatles song with the lyric "I tried to telephone / They said you were not home / That's a lie""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOREPLY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "36. Privileged groups"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
- Similar words include: elite group, elite
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELITES
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20A: "37. Hot spot"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that arid land with little or no vegetation
- Similar words include: abandon, defect, forsake
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DESERT
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21A: "38. Unacceptable"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOTOK
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22A: "39. Remove, as from a cluttered container, with "out""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
- Similar words include: angle, Pisces the Fishes, Pisces
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FISH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "40. Title derived from the Persian for "king""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that title for the former hereditary monarch of iran
- Similar words include: Shah of Iran
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "43. Anora's husband in "Anora""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "44. Sat ___ (GPS, to Brits)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAV
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "45. History unit"
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, epoch, earned run average
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "46. One that's hard to catch"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "47. Church congresses"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a council convened to discuss ecclesiastical business
- Similar words include: synod
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYNODS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "50. Foe of Wonder Woman"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) greek god of war; son of zeus and hera; identified with roman mars
- Similar words include: ar, are
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARES
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30A: "51. Cold shoulder, so to speak"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SILENTTREATMENT
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31A: "54. ___ bar"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIKI
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32A: "55. Get used to it"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that get used to a certain climate
- Similar words include: acclimatise, acclimatize
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACCLIMATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "56. Backup for a trapeze artist"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the tcp/ip network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
- Similar words include: final, mesh, clear
- Opposite of: gross
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "57. Popular antibiotic ointment"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that trade name for a topical drug containing several antibacterials; used as an ointment for skin irritations and in the form of eyedrops for minor eye infections
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEOSPORIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Pop-punk band named after a video game company, with "The" | 6 |
| 2D | 2. Once, e.g. | 6 |
| 3D | 3. Fully appreciating something | 15 |
| 4D | 4. Wait for a passenger, perhaps | 4 |
| 5D | 5. Status ___ | 3 |
| 6D | 6. Bay Area sch. | 4 |
| 7D | 7. "___ From Muskogee" (Merle Haggard song) | 4 |
| 8D | 8. Within the realm of reason | 7 |
| 9D | 9. "Storage unit" of memory in the brain | 6 |
| 10D | 10. W.N.B.A. star Jewell ___ | 4 |
| 11D | 11. C-store offering | 3 |
| 12D | 12. Comes in last | 15 |
| 13D | 15. Like the original Looney Tunes shorts, lengthwise | 7 |
| 14D | 17. Linked up with | 3 |
| 15D | 18. Like assassins and some sins | 6 |
| 16D | 24. Helical tools | 6 |
| 17D | 26. Actor Edward of "A Complete Unknown" | 6 |
| 18D | 27. Big cheese | 4 |
| 19D | 28. Nincompoop | 3 |
| 20D | 29. Awesome, in slang | 4 |
| 21D | 31. Key ingredient in Bridget's blue soup, in "Bridget Jones's Diary" | 4 |
| 22D | 32. Dance wildly, in a way | 4 |
| 23D | 33. Ixnays | 6 |
| 24D | 34. "Yas queen!" | 7 |
| 25D | 35. Legend of Zelda console inits. | 3 |
| 26D | 37. Split decision? | 7 |
| 27D | 39. Chinese gambling game invented during the Northern and Southern dynasties | 6 |
| 28D | 41. "That's true about me, right?" | 6 |
| 29D | 42. Expedite | 6 |
| 30D | 44. Big Apple media inits. | 3 |
| 31D | 47. Mini-tantrum | 4 |
| 32D | 48. Empire State Building's style, informally | 4 |
| 33D | 49. Pizza shop in "Do the Right Thing" | 4 |
| 34D | 50. Snowballs, sometimes | 4 |
| 35D | 52. Squeeze (out) | 3 |
| 36D | 53. Q follower | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Pop-punk band named after a video game company, with "The""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATARIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Once, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NUMERO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Fully appreciating something"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRINKINGITALLIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Wait for a passenger, perhaps"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
- Similar words include: unfounded, jobless, groundless
- Opposite of: work, busy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Status ___"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Bay Area sch."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UCSF
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7D: "7. "___ From Muskogee" (Merle Haggard song)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKIE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Within the realm of reason"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that based on sound reasoning or evidence
- Similar words include: well-founded
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENABLE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. "Storage unit" of memory in the brain"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a postulated biochemical change (presumably in neural tissue) that represents a memory
- Similar words include: memory trace
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENGRAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. W.N.B.A. star Jewell ___"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOYD
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11D: "11. C-store offering"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
- Similar words include: automated teller machine, standard atmosphere, atmosphere
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Comes in last"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRINGSUPTHEREAR
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13D: "15. Like the original Looney Tunes shorts, lengthwise"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONEREEL
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14D: "17. Linked up with"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that come together
- Similar words include: play, assemble, satisfy
- Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "18. Like assassins and some sins"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that causing or capable of causing death
- Similar words include: lifelessly, deathly, mortal
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEADLY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Helical tools"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a long flexible steel coil for dislodging stoppages in curved pipes
- Similar words include: plumber's snake, auger, wimble
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUGERS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Actor Edward of "A Complete Unknown""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NORTON
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18D: "27. Big cheese"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who exercises control over workers
- Similar words include: chief, party boss, foreman
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOSS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "28. Nincompoop"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
- Similar words include: posterior, AS, nookie
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "29. Awesome, in slang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the event of something burning (often destructive)
- Similar words include: fuel, force out, flack
- Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "31. Key ingredient in Bridget's blue soup, in "Bridget Jones's Diary""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild allium ampeloprasum
- Similar words include: Allium porrum, scallion
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEEK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "32. Dance wildly, in a way"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that dance the slam dance
- Similar words include: slam dance, thrash, slam
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOSH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "33. Ixnays"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that declare untrue; contradict
- Similar words include: abnegate, traverse, refuse
- Opposite of: allow, admit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DENIES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "34. "Yas queen!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILOVEIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "35. Legend of Zelda console inits."
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: northeast, neon, Cornhusker State
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "37. Split decision?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the legal dissolution of a marriage
- Similar words include: disjoint, disassociate, divorcement
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVORCE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "39. Chinese gambling game invented during the Northern and Southern dynasties"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a chinese gambling game; a random number of counters are placed under a bowl and you gamble on how many will be left (0, 1, 2, or 3 modulo 4)
- Similar words include: sevens, fan tan, parliament
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FANTAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "41. "That's true about me, right?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARENTI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "42. Expedite"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that act or move at high speed
- Similar words include: rush, bucket along, hurry
- Opposite of: linger
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HASTEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "44. Big Apple media inits."
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NYT
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31D: "47. Mini-tantrum"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a state of agitated irritation
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "48. Empire State Building's style, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
- Similar words include: art deco
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "49. Pizza shop in "Do the Right Thing""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "50. Snowballs, sometimes"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that projectiles to be fired from a gun
- Similar words include: ammunition
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMMO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "52. Squeeze (out)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EKE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "53. Q follower"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
- Similar words include: baksheesh, tilt, bakshis
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIP
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
34 Across Clues
36 Down Clues
70 Total Clues
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