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Monday, July 13, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 13, 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. Similar (to) 4
2A 5. Taters 5
3A 10. Whole bunch 4
4A 14. Titillating 4
5A 15. Over-the-top enthusiasm 5
6A 16. Ice cream holder 4
7A 17. Meccano offering for budding builders 10
8A 19. Taj Mahal city 4
9A 20. Catch red-handed 3
10A 21. Fairy tale fiend 4
11A 22. Ancient inhabitants of the Andes 5
12A 23. Ring-shaped coral reef 5
13A 25. Human's earliest phase, according to Freud 9
14A 28. Like the man on an annual People magazine cover 7
15A 30. Crimebuster 3
16A 31. Ann Patchett novel "___ Canto" 3
17A 32. Suffix with lemon or orange 3
18A 33. "Of course!" 3
19A 34. Relieves (of) 4
20A 35. Metaphorical Cold War barrier 11
21A 38. "Deadly" transgressions 4
22A 40. Structure for hydroelectric power 3
23A 41. Hypotheticals 3
24A 42. PC exit key 3
25A 43. No-good dog 3
26A 44. Watches on Hulu, say 7
27A 48. Small aircraft for short flights 9
28A 51. Beauty maven Lauder 5
29A 52. Three-note chord 5
30A 53. Christmas Eve service 4
31A 55. Laudatory verse 3
32A 56. Not as much 4
33A 57. Toys ... or the ends of 17-, 25-, 35- and 48-Across? 10
34A 60. Polish for publishing 4
35A 61. Treat for Winnie-the-Pooh 5
36A 62. "Begone!" 4
37A 63. Spoonful of medicine, maybe 4
38A 64. Water or rust, chemically 5
39A 65. One who saves the day 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Similar (to)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that similar in quality or character
  • Similar words include: blood-related, consanguineal, cognate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AKIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Taters"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edible tuber native to south america; a staple food of ireland
  • Similar words include: white potato, potato, Irish potato
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPUDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Whole bunch"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: plenty, hatful, veer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Titillating"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of zest or vigor
  • Similar words include: rich, full-bodied, gamey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Over-the-top enthusiasm"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
  • Similar words include: manic disorder, passion, cacoethes
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Ice cream holder"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any cone-shaped artifact
  • Similar words include: conoid, retinal cone, strobile
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Meccano offering for budding builders"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Taj Mahal city"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Catch red-handed"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tag the base runner to get him out
  • Similar words include: nail, apprehend, collar
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Fairy tale fiend"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cruel wicked and inhuman person
  • Similar words include: monster, fiend, demon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Ancient inhabitants of the Andes"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ruler of the incas (or a member of his family)
  • Similar words include: Inka, Incan, Inca
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Ring-shaped coral reef"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Human's earliest phase, according to Freud"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Like the man on an annual People magazine cover"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest
  • Similar words include: aphrodisiac, sexy, aphrodisiacal
  • Opposite of: anaphrodisiac, unsexy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEXIEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Crimebuster"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uncomplimentary terms for a policeman
  • Similar words include: copper, fuzz, thieve
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Ann Patchett novel "___ Canto""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels
  • Similar words include: B
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Suffix with lemon or orange"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice
  • Similar words include: fruit drink
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. "Of course!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an affirmative
  • Opposite of: no
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. Relieves (of)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relieve from
  • Similar words include: free, disembarrass, rid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Metaphorical Cold War barrier"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. "Deadly" transgressions"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that estrangement from god
  • Similar words include: goof, Sin, boob
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Structure for hydroelectric power"

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: decameter, dyke, dam up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Hypotheticals"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. PC exit key"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. No-good dog"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
  • Similar words include: mongrel, mutt
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "44. Watches on Hulu, say"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
  • Similar words include: well out, current, pelt
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STREAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "48. Small aircraft for short flights"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an airplane with an external propeller that is driven by a turbojet engine
  • Similar words include: propjet, turbo-propeller plane
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TURBOPROP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. Beauty maven Lauder"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "52. Three-note chord"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
  • Similar words include: tierce, leash, three
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "53. Christmas Eve service"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
  • Similar words include: plenty, hatful, slew
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "55. Laudatory verse"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "56. Not as much"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree
  • Similar words include: to a lesser extent
  • Opposite of: more
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "57. Toys ... or the ends of 17-, 25-, 35- and 48-Across?"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an artifact designed to be played with
  • Similar words include: toy, plaything
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAYTHINGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Polish for publishing"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting
  • Similar words include: delete, blue-pencil, redact
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. Treat for Winnie-the-Pooh"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sweet yellow liquid produced by bees
  • Similar words include: love, dear, dearest
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONEY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. "Begone!""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument
  • Similar words include: take to the woods, break away, scarper
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. Spoonful of medicine, maybe"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
  • Similar words include: dot, sexually transmitted disease, dosage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "64. Water or rust, chemically"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any compound of oxygen with another element or a radical
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OXIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "65. One who saves the day"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
  • Similar words include: zep, Cuban sandwich, hero sandwich
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Large venues 6
2D 2. Martial art in which folks get their kicks 6
3D 3. Refrigerator, quaintly 6
4D 4. Home of the Empire State Bldg. 3
5D 5. Unhealthy haze 4
6D 6. Mimic 6
7D 7. Indy racer Al or Bobby 5
8D 8. Yahtzee cube 3
9D 9. Was successful in musical chairs 3
10D 10. Minimal 5
11D 11. Woodsy abode 8
12D 12. Furious 7
13D 13. Sneaky types 7
14D 18. Ohio port on Lake Erie 6
15D 22. Co. with a lot of connections? 3
16D 24. Tall tale tellers 5
17D 26. Taiwanese computer giant 4
18D 27. Went ballistic 6
19D 29. Humorous parody 6
20D 33. "Dee-lish!" 3
21D 34. Expands, as dough with yeast 5
22D 35. Experiencing great difficulty 8
23D 36. Singer Vikki with three Grammys 4
24D 37. With a clean slate 6
25D 38. Avoided a trial, say 7
26D 39. Emphatic affirmative 7
27D 43. Common fish-and-chips fish 3
28D 44. Fixed at the vet 6
29D 45. Immediately 6
30D 46. Brooklyn's ___ Evers College 6
31D 47. Looks after 6
32D 49. Sew loosely 5
33D 50. Saudi neighbor 5
34D 54. Eyelid affliction 4
35D 57. Vietnamese soup with rice noodles 3
36D 58. Salmon on a bagel 3
37D 59. Suffix with bull or bear 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Large venues"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular environment or walk of life
  • Similar words include: arena, stadium, sphere
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARENAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Martial art in which folks get their kicks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a traditional japanese system of unarmed combat; sharp blows and kicks are given to pressure-sensitive points on the body of the opponent
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KARATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Refrigerator, quaintly"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that white goods in which food can be stored at low temperatures
  • Similar words include: refrigerator
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICEBOX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Home of the Empire State Bldg."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Unhealthy haze"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Mimic"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Indy racer Al or Bobby"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Yahtzee cube"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
  • Similar words include: decease, break, break down
  • Opposite of: be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Was successful in musical chairs"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
  • Similar words include: model, sit down, Sabbatum
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Minimal"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that work hastily or carelessly; deal with inadequately and superficially
  • Similar words include: light, skimp, stint
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Woodsy abode"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Furious"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put into a rage; make violently angry
  • Similar words include: enrage, infuriated, angered
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENRAGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Sneaky types"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who is regarded as treacherous or sneaky
  • Similar words include: weasel
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEASELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Ohio port on Lake Erie"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an industrial city in northwestern ohio on lake erie
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOLEDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Co. with a lot of connections?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Tall tale tellers"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
  • Similar words include: prevaricator, liar
  • Opposite of: square shooter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Taiwanese computer giant"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that type genus of the aceraceae; trees or shrubs having winged fruit
  • Similar words include: genus Acer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Went ballistic"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Humorous parody"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way
  • Similar words include: parody, mockery, put-on
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENDUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "33. "Dee-lish!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "34. Expands, as dough with yeast"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a growth in strength or number or importance
  • Similar words include: raise, wage increase, rising
  • Opposite of: turn in, descent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Experiencing great difficulty"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Singer Vikki with three Grammys"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. With a clean slate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that again but in a new or different way
  • Similar words include: anew
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFRESH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Avoided a trial, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
  • Similar words include: locate, reconcile, settle
  • Opposite of: float, unsettled
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETTLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Emphatic affirmative"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Common fish-and-chips fish"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)
  • Similar words include: put on, codfish, tantalise
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Fixed at the vet"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove the ovaries of
  • Similar words include: neuter, spay, castrate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAYED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Immediately"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Brooklyn's ___ Evers College"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Looks after"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Sew loosely"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loose temporary sewing stitch to hold layers of fabric together
  • Similar words include: batter, basting stitch, tack
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Saudi neighbor"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of oman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMANI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Eyelid affliction"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. Vietnamese soup with rice noodles"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. Salmon on a bagel"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bluish translucent magnetic liquid obtained by compressing gaseous oxygen and then cooling it below its boiling point; used as an oxidizer in rocket propellants
  • Similar words include: liquid oxygen
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Suffix with bull or bear"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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

39 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 13, 2026 at 06:35 AM

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

XWordHint Crossword Answers December 17, 2025 | 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. Lock combinations? 5
2A 6. ___ League 4
3A 10. Single instruction 4
4A 14. Enemy W.W. II vessel 5
5A 15. Turner of old movies 4
6A 16. Powerful impulse 4
7A 17. Group of grumps sitting around kvetching? 10
8A 19. Elmer's nemesis 4
9A 20. Meeting, casually 4
10A 21. A smartphone has lots of these 4
11A 22. Centerpiece of "The Hobbit" 5
12A 23. Community property pronoun 3
13A 25. Like barked orders 4
14A 26. Ali vs. Frazier, e.g.? 15
15A 34. Genre for GloRilla 3
16A 35. Official mandate 6
17A 36. Fellow fighter 4
18A 37. Brand once known as "Standard Oil Company of Indiana" 5
19A 39. Mardi Gras day, in brief 3
20A 40. Works on a muffler, say 5
21A 41. Welcome figure on Wall Street, unwelcome figure in a china shop 4
22A 42. See 50-Down 6
23A 44. To and ___ 3
24A 45. Welcome sight on a whale-watching cruise? 15
25A 48. Poindexter 4
26A 49. TV freebie of a sort 3
27A 50. Easter Island's country 5
28A 52. Dark-skinned fruit 4
29A 55. Pieces of advice 4
30A 59. Primordial substance 4
31A 60. Painstakingly explain something ... or a hint to 17-, 26- and 45-Across 10
32A 62. Takes a tour of 4
33A 63. Compassionate 4
34A 64. Terra ___ 5
35A 65. Does the math, in a way 4
36A 66. Pot grower? 4
37A 67. H, on the N.Y.S.E. 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Lock combinations?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair)
  • Similar words include: hairdo, hairstyle, do
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COIFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. ___ League"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a semitic people originally from the arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks arabic and who inhabits much of the middle east and northern africa
  • Similar words include: Arabian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Single instruction"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
  • Similar words include: whole tone, tread, tone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Enemy W.W. II vessel"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Turner of old movies"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Powerful impulse"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an instinctive motive
  • Similar words include: itch, urge on, barrack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Group of grumps sitting around kvetching?"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Elmer's nemesis"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
  • Similar words include: intercept, bug, glitch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Meeting, casually"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. A smartphone has lots of these"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: United States of America, utilisation, economic consumption
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Centerpiece of "The Hobbit""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
  • Similar words include: request, pursuance, seeking
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Community property pronoun"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Like barked orders"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by rude or peremptory shortness
  • Similar words include: crisp, laconic, brusk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. Ali vs. Frazier, e.g.?"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "34. Genre for GloRilla"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
  • Similar words include: belt, knock, pat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. Official mandate"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge)
  • Similar words include: rescript, rule, fiat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Fellow fighter"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friendly nation
  • Similar words include: friend
  • Opposite of: foe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Brand once known as "Standard Oil Company of Indiana""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Mardi Gras day, in brief"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Works on a muffler, say"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fabric made by knitting
  • Similar words include: knit, cockle, knitting
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Welcome figure on Wall Street, unwelcome figure in a china shop"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
  • Similar words include: Taurus, fuzz, bullshit
  • Opposite of: bear
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BULL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. See 50-Down"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. To and ___"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Welcome sight on a whale-watching cruise?"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Poindexter"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a carnival performer who does disgusting acts
  • Similar words include: oddball, eccentric, flake
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. TV freebie of a sort"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protein manufactured exclusively by the prostate gland; psa is produced for the ejaculate where it liquifies the semen and allows sperm cells to swim freely; elevated levels of psa in blood serum are associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer
  • Similar words include: prostate specific antigen
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. Easter Island's country"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in southern south america on the western slopes of the andes on the south pacific coast
  • Similar words include: chilli, Republic of Chile, chili
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHILE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Dark-skinned fruit"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild plum of northeastern united states having dark purple fruits with yellow flesh
  • Similar words include: Allegheny plum, blackthorn, Prunus spinosa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Pieces of advice"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
  • Similar words include: baksheesh, wind, fee
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Primordial substance"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any thick, viscous matter
  • Similar words include: slime, oozing, seepage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OOZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Painstakingly explain something ... or a hint to 17-, 26- and 45-Across"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Takes a tour of"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
  • Similar words include: run into, hear, ensure
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Compassionate"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
  • Similar words include: sort, tolerant, variety
  • Opposite of: unkind
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KIND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Terra ___"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. Does the math, in a way"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: ADD, attention deficit disorder, contribute
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pot grower?"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. H, on the N.Y.S.E."

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Tarot suit associated with the element of water 4
2D 2. Yamaha product 4
3D 3. What makes a stud become studious? 4
4D 4. Fully get 6
5D 5. Hog's home 3
6D 6. "That's a real shame" 4
7D 7. Steakhouse order 4
8D 8. Marchers in sidewalk cracks 4
9D 9. Howl at the moon 3
10D 10. Chevy S.U.V. 8
11D 11. Authentic 10
12D 12. Ones from platypuses have leathery shells 4
13D 13. Fly by night ... or by day 4
14D 18. Compact holder 5
15D 22. Neighbor of Ont. 3
16D 24. Red carpet hairstyle, perhaps 4
17D 25. Jost's longtime "Weekend Update" co-anchor 3
18D 26. Food you might eat wearing a bib 5
19D 27. Overplay for the audience 5
20D 28. Was the bigger person, say 10
21D 29. Follow, as advice 5
22D 30. Have faith in 5
23D 31. Canines, e.g. 5
24D 32. Mega- 5
25D 33. Big name in chicken or boxing 5
26D 38. 1990s comedy inspired by "Emma" 8
27D 40. "Get Smart" bad guys 4
28D 42. Suffix with beat or neat 3
29D 43. Throw off 5
30D 46. Stick in the ground? 3
31D 47. Just about anything on a string 6
32D 50. With 42-Across, the Mafia 4
33D 51. Cultivated, in a way 4
34D 52. Start a turn in Twister 4
35D 53. Time to do without 4
36D 54. Gary's ___ Towne Tavern (rival bar on "Cheers") 4
37D 56. Minuscule amount 4
38D 57. Short stroke 4
39D 58. Batting avg., e.g. 4
40D 60. Rocksteady relative 3
41D 61. "___ bin ein Berliner" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tarot suit associated with the element of water"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
  • Similar words include: loving cup, transfuse, cup
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Yamaha product"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slender double-reed instrument; a woodwind with a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece
  • Similar words include: hautboy, hautbois
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. What makes a stud become studious?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fully get"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth
  • Similar words include: sound, penetrate, fthm
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FATHOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Hog's home"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "That's a real shame""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Similar words include: unluckily, ala, unfortunately
  • Opposite of: fortunately, luckily
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Steakhouse order"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
  • Similar words include: rarefied, rarified, uncommon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Marchers in sidewalk cracks"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
  • Similar words include: ant, emmet, pismire
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Howl at the moon"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
  • Similar words include: quest, true laurel, bay laurel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Chevy S.U.V."

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that relating to or characteristic of or situated in suburbs
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUBURBAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Authentic"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Ones from platypuses have leathery shells"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
  • Similar words include: testis, orchis, ball
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Fly by night ... or by day"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
  • Similar words include: gadfly, pestis, pesterer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Compact holder"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
  • Similar words include: pocketbook, handbag, wrinkle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Neighbor of Ont."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Red carpet hairstyle, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Jost's longtime "Weekend Update" co-anchor"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Food you might eat wearing a bib"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that infestation of the pubic hair by crab lice
  • Similar words include: crab, squawk, bellyache
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Overplay for the audience"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Was the bigger person, say"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
  • Similar words include: apologize, excuse, justify
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APOLOGIZED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Follow, as advice"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Have faith in"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
  • Similar words include: believe, corporate trust, cartel
  • Opposite of: distrust, mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "31. Canines, e.g."

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
  • Similar words include: tooth, dentition
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "32. Mega-"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm
  • Similar words include: radical, extremist
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ULTRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "33. Big name in chicken or boxing"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion (born in 1966)
  • Similar words include: Mike Tyson, Michael Gerald Tyson
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYSON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. 1990s comedy inspired by "Emma""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that totally uninformed about what is going on; not having even a clue from which to infer what is occurring
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLUELESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. "Get Smart" bad guys"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Suffix with beat or neat"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Throw off"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to move back by force or influence
  • Similar words include: fight off, beat back, drive back
  • Opposite of: attract
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REPEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Stick in the ground?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the starting place for each hole on a golf course
  • Similar words include: tee up, golf tee, football tee
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Just about anything on a string"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. With 42-Across, the Mafia"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Cultivated, in a way"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dig with a hoe
  • Similar words include: hoe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Start a turn in Twister"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a swift whirling motion (usually of a missile)
  • Similar words include: spin around, twisting, gyrate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. Time to do without"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 40 weekdays from ash wednesday to holy saturday
  • Similar words include: bring, Lententide, contribute
  • Opposite of: borrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Gary's ___ Towne Tavern (rival bar on "Cheers")"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Minuscule amount"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
  • Similar words include: smidgin, smidgen, whit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Short stroke"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
  • Similar words include: putting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUTT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. Batting avg., e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "60. Rocksteady relative"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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41D: "61. "___ bin ein Berliner""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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Expert Solving Strategies

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Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: December 17, 2025 at 04:06 AM