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Friday, July 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 17, 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. Savory Chinese dish prepared on a griddle 15
2A 16. Ended something bad for good 15
3A 17. Had a little of this and that, say 15
4A 18. Dream setting, for short 3
5A 19. Does as a group? 4
6A 20. Air 4
7A 21. Water bearer 4
8A 23. It's a trap! 5
9A 27. Put into play 4
10A 31. Apply for an in-office job? 3
11A 32. Chase, in a way 3
12A 35. Pacifists' initiative 15
13A 40. Historical figure known to have acquired and dissected human corpses 15
14A 41. Common accompaniment to ribs 15
15A 42. It lacks a permanent host, for short 3
16A 43. Comedian Margaret 3
17A 44. Landform commonly seen in a crescent shape on Mars 4
18A 45. Phonies 5
19A 47. Candy bar similar to Heath 4
20A 51. Start of a tragedy 4
21A 54. They typically come in sets of four 4
22A 58. One who's been fleeced? 3
23A 59. French seafood topping named after another country 15
24A 64. "What on earth will you show some respect for?" 15
25A 65. Be alert 15

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Savory Chinese dish prepared on a griddle"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "16. Ended something bad for good"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "17. Had a little of this and that, say"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "18. Dream setting, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs; a state of rapidly shifting eye movements during sleep
  • Similar words include: rapid eye movement sleep, rapid eye movement, REM sleep
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "19. Does as a group?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that distinguished from bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
  • Similar words include: cervid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "20. Air"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
  • Similar words include: mode, temper, humour
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "21. Water bearer"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
  • Similar words include: pitcher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "23. It's a trap!"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that equipment designed to serve a specific function
  • Similar words include: apparatus, frame-up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "27. Put into play"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
  • Similar words include: victimized, victimised, utilise
  • Opposite of: misused
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "31. Apply for an in-office job?"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
  • Similar words include: break away, hunt down, track down
  • Opposite of: malfunction, idle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "32. Chase, in a way"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seek someone's favor
  • Similar words include: romance, court, solicit
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "35. Pacifists' initiative"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "40. Historical figure known to have acquired and dissected human corpses"

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "41. Common accompaniment to ribs"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "42. It lacks a permanent host, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "43. Comedian Margaret"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "44. Landform commonly seen in a crescent shape on Mars"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ridge of sand created by the wind; found in deserts or near lakes and oceans
  • Similar words include: sand dune
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "45. Phonies"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
  • Similar words include: sham, shammer, fake
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "47. Candy bar similar to Heath"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "51. Start of a tragedy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "54. They typically come in sets of four"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
  • Similar words include: mitt, hand, paw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "58. One who's been fleeced?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "59. French seafood topping named after another country"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "64. "What on earth will you show some respect for?""

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "65. Be alert"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Sweet sandwich 5
2D 2. Rod whom the annual A.L. batting title is named after 5
3D 3. Google smartphone feature that edits the photographer into the group shot 5
4D 4. Pulitzer-winning author whose only two novels were published 55 years apart 3
5D 5. Pie crust ingredient 4
6D 6. Slush Puppie alternative 4
7D 7. Dated many years ago? 4
8D 8. Approaches 5
9D 9. Mate 3
10D 10. What the names of all but one continent end with 3
11D 11. Airer of the original "Star Trek" series 3
12D 12. Marathoner's woe 5
13D 13. Prefix with -nautics 4
14D 14. Kaelin of the O.J. trial 4
15D 15. Pulled (out) 4
16D 22. Spoils 5
17D 24. Unearthed? 6
18D 25. Island nation north of Fiji 6
19D 26. Rough, in a way 6
20D 28. Fabric fragment 6
21D 29. Kitt who played Catwoman 6
22D 30. Marvel antagonist who wears a metal mask 6
23D 32. Headed out 4
24D 33. Never to be repeated 4
25D 34. First name of the singer dubbed the "King of Soul" 4
26D 35. Poor gift-giving? 4
27D 36. Like some lights 4
28D 37. Grind away 4
29D 38. Cut down on greens? 3
30D 39. Small amounts 5
31D 45. Incite to attack, as a dog 5
32D 46. Exhausted 5
33D 48. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham" 5
34D 49. Completely defeated 5
35D 50. Like marshes 5
36D 51. Thrift store tag 4
37D 52. Something big when all the world's a stage? 4
38D 53. It might be on a roll 4
39D 55. Exasperated cry 4
40D 56. Learned 4
41D 57. Disney antagonist who rules the Pride Lands 4
42D 60. Station information, for short 3
43D 61. "I've had a breakthrough!" 3
44D 62. Sch. that releases admission decisions on Pi Day 3
45D 63. Wizard 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Sweet sandwich"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Rod whom the annual A.L. batting title is named after"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that englishman and cavalier poet whose lyric poetry was favored by charles i (1595-1639)
  • Similar words include: Thomas Carew
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Google smartphone feature that edits the photographer into the group shot"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pulitzer-winning author whose only two novels were published 55 years apart"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
  • Similar words include: Lee Yuen Kam, leeward, Tsung Dao Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Pie crust ingredient"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog
  • Similar words include: aggrandise, embellish, blow up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Slush Puppie alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Dated many years ago?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Approaches"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move towards
  • Similar words include: near, draw close, come near
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Mate"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Similar words include: chum, chum up, brother
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. What the names of all but one continent end with"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Airer of the original "Star Trek" series"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Marathoner's woe"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
  • Similar words include: muscle spasm, spasm, cramp iron
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Prefix with -nautics"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Kaelin of the O.J. trial"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Pulled (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Spoils"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
  • Similar words include: ruin, smash, bankrupt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Unearthed?"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
  • Similar words include: gnaw at, wear away, scoured
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Island nation north of Fiji"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island republic on the tuvalu islands; formerly part of the british colony of gilbert and ellice islands until it withdrew in 1975 and became independent of the united kingdom in 1978
  • Similar words include: Ellice Islands
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUVALU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Rough, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
  • Similar words include: odd, mismatched, spotty
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNEVEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Fabric fragment"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sample piece of cloth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWATCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Kitt who played Catwoman"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Marvel antagonist who wears a metal mask"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Headed out"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
  • Similar words include: depart, exit, cash in one's chips
  • Opposite of: stay in place, come
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Never to be repeated"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that on one occasion
  • Similar words include: at one time, in one case, erst
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. First name of the singer dubbed the "King of Soul""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
  • Similar words include: Elisha Graves Otis, genus Otis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. Poor gift-giving?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that money or goods contributed to the poor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. Like some lights"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: atomic number 10, Ne
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "37. Grind away"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
  • Similar words include: labour, labor, grind
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "38. Cut down on greens?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loft in a barn where hay is stored
  • Similar words include: cut down, haymow, mop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "39. Small amounts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slight but appreciable amount
  • Similar words include: pinch, mite, hint
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Incite to attack, as a dog"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Exhausted"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pass time in a specific way
  • Similar words include: worn out, exhausted, expend
  • Opposite of: unexhausted
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Completely defeated"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have ownership or possession of
  • Similar words include: possess, own, have
  • Opposite of: unowned
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWNED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Like marshes"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a tone of a reed instrument
  • Similar words include: reedlike, wheezy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. Thrift store tag"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "52. Something big when all the world's a stage?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the actors in a play
  • Similar words include: stray, tramp, disgorge
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "53. It might be on a roll"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tropical american prickly pear of jamaica
  • Similar words include: Opuntia tuna, tunny, Anguilla sucklandii
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Exasperated cry"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. Learned"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a way of doing or being
  • Similar words include: wise to, fresh, impudent
  • Opposite of: foolish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WISE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "57. Disney antagonist who rules the Pride Lands"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
  • Similar words include: pit, mark, scratch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "60. Station information, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a system for screening luggage in airports; an agent passes a swab around or inside luggage and then runs the swab through a machine that can detect trace amounts of explosives
  • Similar words include: explosive trace detection
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "61. "I've had a breakthrough!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "62. Sch. that releases admission decisions on Pi Day"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an engineering university in cambridge
  • Similar words include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45D: "63. Wizard"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: angiotensin-converting enzyme, champion, topnotch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

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

25 Across Clues
45 Down Clues
70 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: July 17, 2026 at 05:58 AM

Sunday, February 8, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 08, 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. Crafty sort 7
2A 8. Vegetables that should typically be sliced lengthwise before washing 5
3A 13. Cowboy on the pampas 6
4A 19. "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" sculptor 7
5A 20. Supplement 6
6A 22. Get in on the game 6
7A 23. Scrunchie, e.g. 14
8A 25. "Oh, cruel fate!" 6
9A 26. Autocorrect target 4
10A 27. Classification 4
11A 28. Sports franchises, e.g. 5
12A 30. Fine-grained wood in some woodwind instruments 4
13A 31. Social norms 5
14A 34. Wizard of ___ Park (Thomas Edison nickname) 5
15A 35. Disney heroine based on New Orleans chef Leah Chase 5
16A 36. USA, e.g. 7
17A 39. Title for William beginning in 2022 13
18A 42. Hawk homes 6
19A 43. In view 4
20A 44. Money in rock 'n' roll 5
21A 45. Nonprofit group behind Smokey Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog 12
22A 48. Patron of sailors 6
23A 52. Work with a needle 3
24A 53. Position in basketball 5
25A 54. ___ Kippur 3
26A 57. Looks through someone's phone, say 6
27A 59. Pointers for a fencer? 5
28A 61. Slacken 6
29A 64. [Bo-o-oring!] 5
30A 65. Pop, to a tot 4
31A 67. Explicit command 11
32A 71. One-named singer with four Grammys 4
33A 72. Relative of a heron 5
34A 74. Sirenlike 6
35A 75. What a sad person might break into 5
36A 77. 1987 Dreyfuss/DeVito comedy 6
37A 79. "!!!" 3
38A 80. Philosopher Kierkegaard 5
39A 82. Dig up dirt? 3
40A 85. It typically has a string attached 6
41A 87. Bright shade similar to magenta 12
42A 91. "Things Fall ___" (Chinua Achebe novel) 5
43A 94. "Oh, cruel fate!" 4
44A 95. Canadian coin featuring a polar bear, informally 6
45A 96. Margaret Atwood novel with a love triangle involving a paleontologist 13
46A 101. Weasel relatives 7
47A 102. A water molecule contains three of these 5
48A 103. Vexillologist's subject 5
49A 104. Stone measure 5
50A 105. Explorer with her monkey friend Boots 4
51A 106. Bud of baseball 5
52A 107. What Excedrin relieves 4
53A 109. Strawberry ___ Refresher (Starbucks drink) 4
54A 113. Stir up 6
55A 115. Hit reality TV series suggested by this puzzle's groups of circled letters 14
56A 119. Place for a shoelace 6
57A 120. Manning with two Super Bowl rings 6
58A 121. "You can count on me!" 7
59A 122. Talks back to 6
60A 123. Witherspoon of "Legally Blonde" 5
61A 124. Patronized, as a restaurant 7

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Crafty sort"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "8. Vegetables that should typically be sliced lengthwise before washing"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild allium ampeloprasum
  • Similar words include: scallion, Allium porrum, leek
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEEKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "13. Cowboy on the pampas"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cowboy of the south american pampas
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAUCHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "19. "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" sculptor"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian sculptor and architect of the baroque period in italy; designed many churches and chapels and tombs and fountains (1598-1680)
  • Similar words include: Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BERNINI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "20. Supplement"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make better or improve in quality
  • Opposite of: impoverish, deprive
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENRICH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "22. Get in on the game"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "23. Scrunchie, e.g."

14 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELASTICHAIRTIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "25. "Oh, cruel fate!""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "26. Autocorrect target"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
  • Similar words include: erratum, typographical error, misprint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYPO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "27. Classification"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "28. Sports franchises, e.g."

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
  • Similar words include: team up, team, squad
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "30. Fine-grained wood in some woodwind instruments"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
  • Similar words include: pear tree, Pyrus communis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "31. Social norms"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group
  • Similar words include: Sir Thomas More, Thomas More, More
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "34. Wizard of ___ Park (Thomas Edison nickname)"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "35. Disney heroine based on New Orleans chef Leah Chase"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "36. USA, e.g."

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a path over which electrical signals can pass
  • Similar words include: line, distribution channel, canal
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHANNEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "39. Title for William beginning in 2022"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRINCEOFWALES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "42. Hawk homes"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lofty nest of a bird of prey (such as a hawk or eagle)
  • Similar words include: eyry, eyrie, aerie
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AERIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "43. In view"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
  • Similar words include: picture, date, view
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "44. Money in rock 'n' roll"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "45. Nonprofit group behind Smokey Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "48. Patron of sailors"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "52. Work with a needle"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten by sewing; do needlework
  • Similar words include: tailor, sew together, run up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "53. Position in basketball"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who keeps watch over something or someone
  • Similar words include: safeguard, safety device, hold
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "54. ___ Kippur"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "57. Looks through someone's phone, say"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others
  • Similar words include: sleuth, snooper, spy
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "59. Pointers for a fencer?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Similar words include: epee
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "61. Slacken"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "64. [Bo-o-oring!]"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the rattling noise produced when snoring
  • Similar words include: saw wood, snoring, saw logs
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "65. Pop, to a tot"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
  • Similar words include: pappa, dadaism, pop
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DADA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "67. Explicit command"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "71. One-named singer with four Grammys"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "72. Relative of a heron"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large mostly old world wading birds typically having white-and-black plumage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STORK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "74. Sirenlike"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter a shrill cry
  • Similar words include: pipe, pipe up, sharp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHRILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "75. What a sad person might break into"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
  • Similar words include: bout, shoot down, displume
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "77. 1987 Dreyfuss/DeVito comedy"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "79. "!!!""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "80. Philosopher Kierkegaard"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "82. Dig up dirt?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "85. It typically has a string attached"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "87. Bright shade similar to magenta"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "91. "Things Fall ___" (Chinua Achebe novel)"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remote and separate physically or socially; ; - w.h.hudson
  • Similar words include: isolated, obscure, aside
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "94. "Oh, cruel fate!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "95. Canadian coin featuring a polar bear, informally"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "96. Margaret Atwood novel with a love triangle involving a paleontologist"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIFEBEFOREMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "101. Weasel relatives"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that musteline mammal of prairie regions of united states; nearly extinct
  • Similar words include: black-footed ferret, ferret out, Mustela nigripes
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERRETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "102. A water molecule contains three of these"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
  • Similar words include: mote, speck, corpuscle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "103. Vexillologist's subject"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
  • Similar words include: flag, iris, masthead
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "104. Stone measure"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of weight for precious stones = 200 mg
  • Similar words include: kt, karat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "105. Explorer with her monkey friend Boots"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "106. Bud of baseball"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "107. What Excedrin relieves"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
  • Similar words include: infliction, hurt, pain in the neck
  • Opposite of: pleasure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "109. Strawberry ___ Refresher (Starbucks drink)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "113. Stir up"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that give an incentive for action
  • Similar words include: prod, prompt, egg on
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "115. Hit reality TV series suggested by this puzzle's groups of circled letters"

14 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNDERCOVERBOSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "119. Place for a shoelace"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hole (usually round and finished around the edges) in cloth or leather for the passage of a cord or hook or bar
  • Similar words include: eyehole, grommet, grummet
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYELET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "120. Manning with two Super Bowl rings"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "121. "You can count on me!""

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "122. Talks back to"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
  • Similar words include: mouth, back talk, sass
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "123. Witherspoon of "Legally Blonde""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "124. Patronized, as a restaurant"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Words on either side of "___ is ___" 4
2D 2. Bank (on) 4
3D 3. Sting operation 4
4D 4. Trouble with Z's? 8
5D 5. Take a load off 3
6D 6. Singer DiFranco who created Righteous Babe Records 3
7D 7. Small change 6
8D 8. Tilt 4
9D 9. Werewolf on TV's "Wednesday" 4
10D 10. Slip up 3
11D 11. Wee mewer 6
12D 12. Prestigious academic journal since 1880 7
13D 13. Résumé problems, at times 4
14D 14. 365 días 3
15D 15. More ideal? 6
16D 16. Trix or Kix 6
17D 17. ___ society 6
18D 18. Performances at Paris's Palais Garnier 6
19D 21. Well again 6
20D 24. Quick hellos 3
21D 29. Vibes 5
22D 32. Jumpy 6
23D 33. What many a shelter animal hopes to be 7
24D 34. BMW offering since 2000 4
25D 35. Many boy band fans 6
26D 36. 2019 film that one reviewer called "purr-fectly dreadful" 4
27D 37. Villainous chortle 4
28D 38. "Can I go now?" 9
29D 39. Await settlement, as a payment 4
30D 40. Partner of Parks, informally 3
31D 41. Goes well with 4
32D 43. California's Big ___ 3
33D 46. Band with the 1995 hit "Wonderwall" 5
34D 47. Clorox competitor 5
35D 49. Individualist 5
36D 50. Drink from a tub? 9
37D 51. Concert broadcast that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, with "the" 4
38D 55. The Who's "Love, Reign ___ Me" 3
39D 56. Makeup of some face masks 3
40D 58. Vast amount 3
41D 60. Italian city known for its cheese 5
42D 61. Vapes 5
43D 62. Georgia airport, for short 3
44D 63. ___ dish 5
45D 65. Annual reason for lost sleep: Abbr. 3
46D 66. Fighting 4
47D 68. Pi follower 3
48D 69. "Uhh ...," to Brits 3
49D 70. Come back in 7
50D 73. Alternatives to gyro platters 6
51D 76. Variety of rabbit or goat 6
52D 78. What a tall collar covers 4
53D 80. Read quickly 4
54D 81. Gives the green light 3
55D 83. "I've got this" 4
56D 84. Barely scrapes (by) 4
57D 86. Social blunder 5
58D 88. Amateur radio devotees 4
59D 89. Greeting in Brazil 3
60D 90. Easily moved 8
61D 92. Arrive by car 6
62D 93. Gym staff member 7
63D 96. Set of nine dancing in "The 12 Days of Christmas" 6
64D 97. 2017 figure skating biopic 6
65D 98. Compels 6
66D 99. Things that typically build up during vacation 6
67D 100. Easter purchase 6
68D 101. Social media tribute to a celeb, say 6
69D 104. Tech company exec 3
70D 106. Hollywood workplaces 4
71D 107. Major-leaguers 4
72D 108. Something hard to face? 4
73D 110. Small bug? 4
74D 111. ___ Minor 4
75D 112. Stevie Wonder's "___ She Lovely" 4
76D 114. Vex, with "off" 3
77D 116. Summer on the Riviera 3
78D 117. Onetime parent co. of Virgin Records 3
79D 118. Led 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Words on either side of "___ is ___""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Bank (on)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have confidence or faith in
  • Similar words include: swear, bank, trust
  • Opposite of: mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Sting operation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
  • Similar words include: ambuscade, sand trap, pin down
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Trouble with Z's?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inability to sleep; chronic sleeplessness
  • Opposite of: hypersomnia
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSOMNIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Take a load off"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be around, often idly or without specific purpose
  • Similar words include: sit around, model, seat
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Singer DiFranco who created Righteous Babe Records"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that black tropical american cuckoo
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Small change"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
  • Similar words include: atomic number 28, Ni, nickel note
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NICKEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Tilt"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical
  • Similar words include: inclination, tend, incline
  • Opposite of: fat, rich
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Werewolf on TV's "Wednesday""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a town in north central oklahoma
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Slip up"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Wee mewer"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young domestic cat
  • Similar words include: kitty
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KITTEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Prestigious academic journal since 1880"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular branch of scientific knowledge
  • Similar words include: skill, scientific discipline
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCIENCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Résumé problems, at times"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: break, disruption, crack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. 365 días"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a palestinian international terrorist organization that split from the plo in 1974; has conducted terrorist attacks in 20 countries
  • Similar words include: Fatah Revolutionary Council, Fatah-RC, Arab Revolutionary Brigades
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. More ideal?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a book written by sir thomas more (1516) describing the perfect society on an imaginary island
  • Similar words include: Sion, Zion
  • Opposite of: dystopia
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTOPIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "16. Trix or Kix"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet
  • Similar words include: cereal grass, grain, food grain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CEREAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "17. ___ society"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pertaining to or concerned with the humanities
  • Similar words include: humanistic, humanist
  • Opposite of: inhumane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUMANE

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18D: "18. Performances at Paris's Palais Garnier"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes
  • Similar words include: Opera, opera house, opera
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPERAS

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19D: "21. Well again"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that heal or recover
  • Similar words include: cure, cured, bring around
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEALED

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20D: "24. Quick hellos"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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21D: "29. Vibes"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
  • Similar words include: humour, climate, humor
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOODS

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22D: "32. Jumpy"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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23D: "33. What many a shelter animal hopes to be"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free from harm or evil
  • Similar words include: reclaimed, deliver, rescue
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESCUED

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24D: "34. BMW offering since 2000"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very short skirt
  • Similar words include: miniskirt
  • Opposite of: midi
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINI

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25D: "35. Many boy band fans"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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26D: "36. 2019 film that one reviewer called "purr-fectly dreadful""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: hombre, computed tomography, true cat
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATS

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27D: "37. Villainous chortle"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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28D: "38. "Can I go now?""

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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29D: "39. Await settlement, as a payment"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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30D: "40. Partner of Parks, informally"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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31D: "41. Goes well with"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a display of bad temper
  • Similar words include: equip, paroxysm, tantrum
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FITS

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32D: "43. California's Big ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a port in southern lebanon on the mediterranean sea; formerly a major phoenician seaport famous for silks
  • Similar words include: Tyre
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUR

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33D: "46. Band with the 1995 hit "Wonderwall""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface)
  • Similar words include: haven
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OASIS

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34D: "47. Clorox competitor"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear oily brown solution of cresols in soap; used as an antiseptic and disinfectant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYSOL

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35D: "49. Individualist"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who avoids the company or assistance of others
  • Similar words include: lone hand, lone wolf
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LONER

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36D: "50. Drink from a tub?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the light of the moon
  • Similar words include: corn liquor, moonlight, bootleg
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOONSHINE

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37D: "51. Concert broadcast that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, with "the""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "55. The Who's "Love, Reign ___ Me""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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39D: "56. Makeup of some face masks"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water soaked soil; soft wet earth
  • Similar words include: mire, clay, muck up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUD

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40D: "58. Vast amount"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
  • Similar words include: ocean
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEA

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41D: "60. Italian city known for its cheese"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "61. Vapes"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "62. Georgia airport, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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44D: "63. ___ dish"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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45D: "65. Annual reason for lost sleep: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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46D: "66. Fighting"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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47D: "68. Pi follower"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 17th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHO

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48D: "69. "Uhh ...," to Brits"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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49D: "70. Come back in"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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50D: "73. Alternatives to gyro platters"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables
  • Similar words include: kabob, shish kebab, kebab
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEBABS

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51D: "76. Variety of rabbit or goat"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital of turkey; located in west-central turkey; it was formerly known as angora and is the home of angora goats
  • Similar words include: Angora cat, Angora goat, Angora rabbit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGORA

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52D: "78. What a tall collar covers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the back side of the neck
  • Similar words include: scruff, nucha
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAPE

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53D: "80. Read quickly"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region
  • Similar words include: glance over, skim, rake
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54D: "81. Gives the green light"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in south central united states
  • Similar words include: OK, okey, O.K.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKS

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55D: "83. "I've got this""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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56D: "84. Barely scrapes (by)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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57D: "86. Social blunder"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a socially awkward or tactless act
  • Similar words include: gaucherie, slip, solecism
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAFFE

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58D: "88. Amateur radio devotees"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
  • Similar words include: Ham, jambon, overact
  • Opposite of: underact
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59D: "89. Greeting in Brazil"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in india for writing paper
  • Similar words include: olla
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLA

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60D: "90. Easily moved"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small light typewriter; usually with a case in which it can be carried
  • Opposite of: unportable
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORTABLE

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61D: "92. Arrive by car"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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62D: "93. Gym staff member"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one who trains other persons or animals
  • Similar words include: flight simulator
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAINER

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63D: "96. Set of nine dancing in "The 12 Days of Christmas""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a polite name for any woman
  • Similar words include: dame, peeress, noblewoman
  • Opposite of: Lord, nobleman
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64D: "97. 2017 figure skating biopic"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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65D: "98. Compels"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a powerful effect or influence
  • Similar words include: force play, storm, personnel
  • Opposite of: pull, push
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FORCES

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66D: "99. Things that typically build up during vacation"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (computer science) a system of world-wide electronic communication in which a computer user can compose a message at one terminal that can be regenerated at the recipient's terminal when the recipient logs in
  • Similar words include: netmail, e-mail, electronic mail
  • Opposite of: snail mail
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMAILS

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67D: "100. Easter purchase"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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68D: "101. Social media tribute to a celeb, say"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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69D: "104. Tech company exec"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a federation of north american industrial unions that merged with the american federation of labor in 1955
  • Similar words include: Congress of Industrial Organizations
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIO

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70D: "106. Hollywood workplaces"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
  • Similar words include: band, position, lay
  • Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETS

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71D: "107. Major-leaguers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an athlete who plays for pay
  • Similar words include: pro, professional
  • Opposite of: amateur, con
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

72D: "108. Something hard to face?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

73D: "110. Small bug?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
  • Similar words include: common cold, cold-blooded, low temperature
  • Opposite of: hotness, hot
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

74D: "111. ___ Minor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

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75D: "112. Stevie Wonder's "___ She Lovely""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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76D: "114. Vex, with "off""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

77D: "116. Summer on the Riviera"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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78D: "117. Onetime parent co. of Virgin Records"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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79D: "118. Led"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
  • Similar words include: operate, work, lam
  • Opposite of: idle, malfunction
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN

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

61 Across Clues
79 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 08, 2026 at 05:12 AM