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Tuesday, May 5, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 05, 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: 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. Tried-and-true choice, informally 4
2A 5. It's perfect for some musicians 5
3A 10. Motorcyclist's invitation 5
4A 15. Asia's shrinking ___ Sea 4
5A 16. Ruckus 5
6A 17. Where Boise is 5
7A 18. It's a piece of cake 10
8A 20. Computer geeks 5
9A 21. Source of some South American wool 5
10A 22. Alaska politico Palin 5
11A 24. ___-Ball 4
12A 25. Alternative to a Word doc 3
13A 27. It's child's play 9
14A 29. Glassblower, e.g. 7
15A 33. One of three statistical averages 4
16A 34. M.L.B. stadium demolished in 2009 4
17A 35. Ones always blowing off steam? 7
18A 39. Altar promise 3
19A 42. It's a no-brainer 16
20A 45. Starchy tuber 3
21A 46. 2016 Ariana Grande love song 7
22A 47. Drug buster 4
23A 48. Heavy, spiked club 4
24A 50. Bared one's teeth, say 7
25A 52. It's a breeze 9
26A 57. ___-fi 3
27A 58. Sudden or impulsive, as a decision 4
28A 59. Lipstick blunder 5
29A 61. Intermittently offered fast-food pork sandwich 5
30A 65. Oscars host, e.g. 5
31A 67. It's a walk in the park 10
32A 69. Abandon prematurely, as a mission 5
33A 70. Piano exercise 5
34A 71. Fencing blade 4
35A 72. "OMG, same!" 5
36A 73. About 50.7% of all Americans 5
37A 74. Like typical communicators in sign language 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Tried-and-true choice, informally"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. It's perfect for some musicians"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
  • Similar words include: auction pitch, tilt, toss
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Motorcyclist's invitation"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Asia's shrinking ___ Sea"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Ruckus"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Where Boise is"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in the rocky mountains
  • Similar words include: Gem State, ID
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDAHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. It's a piece of cake"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small finger-shaped sponge cake
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADYFINGER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Computer geeks"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a school teaching mechanical and industrial arts and the applied sciences
  • Similar words include: technical school, tech
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TECHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Source of some South American wool"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Alaska politico Palin"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) the wife of abraham and mother of isaac
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. ___-Ball"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Alternative to a Word doc"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. It's child's play"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Glassblower, e.g."

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  • Similar words include: craftsman, artificer, journeyman
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARTISAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. One of three statistical averages"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n
  • Similar words include: tight, signify, mean value
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. M.L.B. stadium demolished in 2009"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Ones always blowing off steam?"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid
  • Similar words include: kettleful, kettle, boiler
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KETTLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Altar promise"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an artificial language that is a revision and simplification of esperanto
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. It's a no-brainer"

16 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEADLESSHORSEMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "45. Starchy tuber"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that edible tuber of any of several yams
  • Similar words include: yam plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "46. 2016 Ariana Grande love song"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "47. Drug buster"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lawman concerned with narcotics violations
  • Similar words include: narcotics agent, nark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NARC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Heavy, spiked club"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (trademark) a liquid that temporarily disables a person; prepared as an aerosol and sprayed in the face, it irritates the eyes and causes dizziness and immobilization
  • Similar words include: Chemical Mace, macebearer, macer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Bared one's teeth, say"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
  • Similar words include: snarl up, entangle, knotty
  • Opposite of: disentangle, unsnarl
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNARLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. It's a breeze"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "57. ___-fi"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "58. Sudden or impulsive, as a decision"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any red eruption of the skin
  • Similar words include: foolhardy, blizzard, efflorescence
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "59. Lipstick blunder"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slanderous defamation
  • Similar words include: calumniate, daub, smudge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Intermittently offered fast-food pork sandwich"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "65. Oscars host, e.g."

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and introduces other speakers)
  • Similar words include: compere, host, master of ceremonies
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMCEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "67. It's a walk in the park"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "69. Abandon prematurely, as a mission"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of terminating a project or procedure before it is completed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "70. Piano exercise"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "71. Fencing blade"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "72. "OMG, same!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a capacious bag or basket
  • Similar words include: total, tote, tug
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "73. About 50.7% of all Americans"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
  • Similar words include: woman, cleaning woman, adult female
  • Opposite of: man
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "74. Like typical communicators in sign language"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who have severe hearing impairments
  • Similar words include: indifferent, deafen
  • Opposite of: hearing
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEAF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Effrontery 4
2D 2. Not in writing, as an exam 4
3D 3. Magician's "Look what I did!" 4
4D 4. International competition in math, science and other disciplines 8
5D 5. Greek letter that looks like an "O" superimposed with an "I" 3
6D 6. Charged particles 4
7D 7. Roman robes 5
8D 8. French sweetheart 5
9D 9. Prohibited in Islam 5
10D 10. Chart-topper 3
11D 11. Texas setting for 2004's "Friday Night Lights" 6
12D 12. Mule or burro 10
13D 13. "Fancy seeing you here!" 5
14D 14. They may be counted when taking attendance 5
15D 19. Bell-bottom jeans and pet rocks, in the 1970s 4
16D 23. Undeniable successes 8
17D 26. Media misinformation 8
18D 28. Loch ___ monster 4
19D 29. Like a campfire by morning, typically 4
20D 30. Flightless bird from South America 4
21D 31. Figure in a school pep rally 10
22D 32. Empty ___ (home after the kids go off to college) 4
23D 36. Chinese general on a menu 3
24D 37. "___ will be done" 3
25D 38. English facilities 4
26D 40. "Don't you ___!" 4
27D 41. How much 1990s music was issued 4
28D 43. Pet pests 4
29D 44. Having added nutrients 8
30D 49. Obey, with "to" 6
31D 51. Apex 4
32D 52. Pay for at a restaurant, say 5
33D 53. Title role for Sylvester Stallone 5
34D 54. "This is my first day on the job" 5
35D 55. "Groovy" 5
36D 56. Unit of information 5
37D 60. Like checking a dating app while you're on a date 4
38D 62. Fully matured 4
39D 63. Swedish furniture supplier 4
40D 64. Complaint, informally 4
41D 66. Arrivals in the 2016 thriller "Arrival," in brief 3
42D 68. ___ Faire (historical event) 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Effrontery"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open sore on the back of a horse caused by ill-fitting or badly adjusted saddle
  • Similar words include: saddle sore, freshness, irk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Not in writing, as an exam"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an examination conducted by spoken communication
  • Similar words include: viva voce, viva, oral exam
  • Opposite of: aboral, anal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Magician's "Look what I did!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. International competition in math, science and other disciplines"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the four-year intervals between olympic games; used to reckon time in ancient greece for twelve centuries beginning in 776 bc
  • Similar words include: Olympics, Olympic Games
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLYMPIAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Greek letter that looks like an "O" superimposed with an "I""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 21st letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Charged particles"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Roman robes"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a one-piece cloak worn by men in ancient rome
  • Similar words include: toga
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOGAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. French sweetheart"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Prohibited in Islam"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Chart-topper"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
  • Similar words include: stumble, reach, slay
  • Opposite of: miss
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Texas setting for 2004's "Friday Night Lights""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a port city of south central ukraine on an arm of the black sea
  • Similar words include: Odesa
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODESSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Mule or burro"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "Fancy seeing you here!""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. They may be counted when taking attendance"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: horn in, wind, pry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Bell-bottom jeans and pet rocks, in the 1970s"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
  • Similar words include: craze, rage, cult
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Undeniable successes"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Media misinformation"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Loch ___ monster"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strip of land projecting into a body of water
  • Similar words include: cape
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Like a campfire by morning, typically"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of a light grey
  • Similar words include: ash-grey, ash-gray
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Flightless bird from South America"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fertility goddess in ancient greek mythology; wife of cronus and mother of zeus; identified with roman ops and cybele of ancient asia minor
  • Similar words include: nandu, Pterocnemia pennata, Rhea americana
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Figure in a school pep rally"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Empty ___ (home after the kids go off to college)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Chinese general on a menu"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. "___ will be done""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. English facilities"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that austrian architect (1870-1933)
  • Similar words include: closet, Adolf Loos, water closet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. "Don't you ___!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
  • Similar words include: defy, presume, make bold
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. How much 1990s music was issued"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Pet pests"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals
  • Similar words include: bird louse, worm, dirt ball
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Having added nutrients"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make better or improve in quality
  • Similar words include: enrich
  • Opposite of: deprive, impoverish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENRICHED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Obey, with "to""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be compatible or in accordance with
  • Similar words include: bind, bond, hold fast
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADHERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Apex"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
  • Similar words include: vertex, summit, pinnacle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Pay for at a restaurant, say"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something considered choice to eat
  • Similar words include: care for, plow, deal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Title role for Sylvester Stallone"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. "This is my first day on the job""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. "Groovy""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Unit of information"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an item of factual information derived from measurement or research
  • Similar words include: data point
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DATUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "60. Like checking a dating app while you're on a date"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that socially incorrect in behavior
  • Similar words include: uncivil, unmannered, underbred
  • Opposite of: civil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "62. Fully matured"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
  • Similar words include: right, advanced, mature
  • Opposite of: green
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "63. Swedish furniture supplier"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "64. Complaint, informally"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cattle that are reared for their meat
  • Similar words include: gripe, bellyache, bitch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEEF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "66. Arrivals in the 2016 thriller "Arrival," in brief"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "68. ___ Faire (historical event)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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
42 Down Clues
79 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: May 05, 2026 at 06:01 AM

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 18, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Genre for James Brown or Al Green, informally 5
2A 6. Biblical name for Syria 4
3A 10. International agreements 5
4A 15. "That's ___" (Dean Martin classic) 5
5A 16. Plumb mad 4
6A 17. Ancient Greek marketplace 5
7A 18. Dwindled away 10
8A 20. ___ Aran, heroine of Nintendo's Metroid 5
9A 21. πŸ•˜⏳⏰ 15
10A 23. Gullible one 3
11A 24. Pepper that's two steps above poblano on the Scoville scale 7
12A 25. Irritated outburst 3
13A 28. Carnaval city, informally 3
14A 30. Smallish batteries 3
15A 31. Reservoir producer 3
16A 34. Bounty 9
17A 38. Favorable starting point of an auto race 4
18A 39. πŸ€™πŸ‘πŸ‘‹ 16
19A 43. The Farm Service Agcy. is part of it 4
20A 44. Some wand wielders 9
21A 45. Trident-shaped letter 3
22A 46. QB's call 3
23A 49. Write "their" for "there," say 3
24A 50. Slopping spot 3
25A 51. Offensively odorous 7
26A 55. Noted wildlife refuge 3
27A 57. πŸ’¬πŸ—£️πŸ—―️ 15
28A 62. Cara of "Fame" fame 5
29A 63. Digital capture 10
30A 65. Enchantress of Greek mythology 5
31A 66. Popular D.I.Y. website 4
32A 67. Go after 5
33A 68. Nincompoops 5
34A 69. Rackets 4
35A 70. Reduced to crumbs, say 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Genre for James Brown or Al Green, informally"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Biblical name for Syria"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the biblical name for ancient syria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. International agreements"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  • Similar words include: pact, accord, treaty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. "That's ___" (Dean Martin classic)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Plumb mad"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
  • Similar words include: kooky, wacky, around the bend
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Ancient Greek marketplace"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 agorot equal 1 shekel in israel
  • Similar words include: public square
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. Dwindled away"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. ___ Aran, heroine of Nintendo's Metroid"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. πŸ•˜⏳⏰"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIGNSOFTHETIMES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "23. Gullible one"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant
  • Similar words include: tomfool, exhaust, muggins
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Pepper that's two steps above poblano on the Scoville scale"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Irritated outburst"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Carnaval city, informally"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the former capital and 2nd largest city of brazil; chief brazilian port; famous as a tourist attraction
  • Similar words include: Rio de Janeiro
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Smallish batteries"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an associate degree in applied science
  • Similar words include: Associate in Arts, aa, AA
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Reservoir producer"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
  • Similar words include: dkm, dam up, decameter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Bounty"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply
  • Similar words include: teemingness, copiousness
  • Opposite of: scarcity
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABUNDANCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Favorable starting point of an auto race"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic
  • Similar words include: terminal, rod, magnetic pole
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. πŸ€™πŸ‘πŸ‘‹"

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYMBOLICGESTURES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "43. The Farm Service Agcy. is part of it"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the federal department that administers programs that provide services to farmers (including research and soil conservation and efforts to stabilize the farming economy); created in 1862
  • Similar words include: Agriculture, Agriculture Department, Department of Agriculture
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "44. Some wand wielders"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one who practices magic or sorcery
  • Similar words include: thaumaturgist, magician, necromancer
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SORCERERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "45. Trident-shaped letter"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. QB's call"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that temporary military shelter
  • Similar words include: shack, army hut, hovel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "49. Write "their" for "there," say"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "50. Slopping spot"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Offensively odorous"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that causing or able to cause nausea
  • Similar words include: stinking, funky, ill-scented
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOISOME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Noted wildlife refuge"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (judaism) sacred chest where the ancient hebrews kept the two tablets containing the ten commandments
  • Similar words include: Ark of the Covenant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. πŸ’¬πŸ—£️πŸ—―️"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIGURESOFSPEECH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "62. Cara of "Fame" fame"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "63. Digital capture"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "65. Enchantress of Greek mythology"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) a sorceress who detained odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIRCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "66. Popular D.I.Y. website"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "67. Go after"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
  • Similar words include: pursual, tag, track
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "68. Nincompoops"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: can, buns, butt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "69. Rackets"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud harsh or strident noise
  • Similar words include: rumpus, blaring, boom
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "70. Reduced to crumbs, say"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take in solid food
  • Similar words include: exhaust, deplete, eat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EATEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. What a fall guy has to take, with "the" 3
2D 2. Home of the Big 12's Cyclones 4
3D 3. Terse denial 4
4D 4. Remains 5
5D 5. Leader of the Sharks in "West Side Story" 8
6D 6. Gucci of fashion 4
7D 7. Locales for some urban gardens 5
8D 8. Like the accents in "dΓ©classΓ©" 5
9D 9. Godzilla foe 6
10D 10. Elbows and bow ties 6
11D 11. Once more 5
12D 12. Best-selling home computers of the 1980s 10
13D 13. On the money 4
14D 14. Freshness 4
15D 19. Observation 6
16D 22. It might be a stretch for historians 3
17D 25. Fill an automobile tank ... or boost the confidence of, in slang 5
18D 26. Deep chasm 5
19D 27. Pips 10
20D 29. Demon of Japanese folklore 3
21D 32. On guard 5
22D 33. Like some buns and bedrooms 5
23D 35. Org. for Wizards and Magic 3
24D 36. Includes, in a way 3
25D 37. One of the "six enemies of the mind," in Hinduism 3
26D 38. Big name in water filters 3
27D 40. Old-fashioned word that's a homophone of 49-Across 3
28D 41. Distressing encounter 6
29D 42. ___ Howard, Oscar-nominated actor for 2005's "Hustle & Flow" 8
30D 46. New workmates 6
31D 47. Manipulate 3
32D 48. Cast 6
33D 52. Meager measure of compassion? 5
34D 53. Traditional rice cake snack on Japanese New Year 5
35D 54. Actor Zac of "High School Musical" 5
36D 56. Singer with the 2009 #1 hit "Tik Tok" 5
37D 57. Acronym on a W-2 4
38D 58. Bluish-purple bloom 4
39D 59. Wraps (up) 4
40D 60. TΓͺte-Γ -tΓͺte 4
41D 61. Firefighting aid 4
42D 64. X 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. What a fall guy has to take, with "the""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
  • Similar words include: whang, hip-hop, tap
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Home of the Big 12's Cyclones"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Terse denial"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Remains"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid
  • Similar words include: dreg, settlings
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DREGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Leader of the Sharks in "West Side Story""

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Gucci of fashion"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Locales for some urban gardens"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
  • Similar words include: roof, ceiling, cap
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Like the accents in "dΓ©classΓ©""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation
  • Similar words include: ague, piercing, intense
  • Opposite of: chronic, obtuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACUTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Godzilla foe"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Elbows and bow ties"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dish that contains pasta as its main ingredient
  • Similar words include: pasta, alimentary paste
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Once more"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: once more, over again, once again
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Best-selling home computers of the 1980s"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
  • Similar words include: commodore
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMMODORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. On the money"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
  • Similar words include: admittedly, dependable, dead on target
  • Opposite of: false, untruthful
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Freshness"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
  • Similar words include: SAS, lip, back talk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Observation"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of detecting something; catching sight of something
  • Similar words include: catching, spotting, spying
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESPIAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. It might be a stretch for historians"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Fill an automobile tank ... or boost the confidence of, in slang"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Deep chasm"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
  • Similar words include: abysm
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABYSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Pips"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone of remarkable excellence
  • Similar words include: humdinger
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUMDINGERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Demon of Japanese folklore"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the military intelligence agency that provides for the intelligence and counterintelligence and investigative and security requirements of the united states navy
  • Similar words include: Office of Naval Intelligence
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. On guard"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action
  • Similar words include: lively, spanking, zippy
  • Opposite of: unalert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Like some buns and bedrooms"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dirty and disorderly
  • Similar words include: mussy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MESSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Org. for Wizards and Magic"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Includes, in a way"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metric unit of volume equal to one thousandth of a liter
  • Similar words include: cubic centimetre, cubic centimeter, milliliter
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. One of the "six enemies of the mind," in Hinduism"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: self-importance, self, egotism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Big name in water filters"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Old-fashioned word that's a homophone of 49-Across"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Distressing encounter"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harsh noise made by scraping
  • Similar words include: scratch, scar, scraping
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCRAPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. ___ Howard, Oscar-nominated actor for 2005's "Hustle & Flow""

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. New workmates"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that engage or hire for work
  • Similar words include: engage, lease, employ
  • Opposite of: fire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIREES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Manipulate"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: consumption, usage, economic consumption
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. Cast"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that throw or toss with a light motion
  • Similar words include: cast out, toss away, cast aside
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOSSED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Meager measure of compassion?"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a pound
  • Similar words include: troy ounce, snow leopard, Panthera uncia
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUNCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Traditional rice cake snack on Japanese New Year"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Actor Zac of "High School Musical""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Singer with the 2009 #1 hit "Tik Tok""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Acronym on a W-2"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tax on employees and employers that is used to fund the social security system
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FICA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Bluish-purple bloom"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  • Similar words include: flag, fleur-de-lis, sword lily
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

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39D: "59. Wraps (up)"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten by sewing; do needlework
  • Similar words include: tailor-make, sew, stitch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEWS

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40D: "60. TΓͺte-Γ -tΓͺte"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal conversation
  • Similar words include: chew the fat, confabulate, shoot the breeze
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAT

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41D: "61. Firefighting aid"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that socks and stockings and tights collectively (the british include underwear)
  • Similar words include: hose down, hosepipe, hosiery
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOSE

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42D: "64. X"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

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: tenner, decade, ten-spot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEN

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
42 Down Clues
77 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 18, 2026 at 05:09 AM