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Wednesday, August 26, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 26, 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. Modern lead-in to quit or bait 4
2A 5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents 5
3A 10. Act all teenagerly, say 4
4A 14. [I have something to say ...] 4
5A 15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders 5
6A 16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre 4
7A 17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x) 10
8A 19. Rip apart 4
9A 20. Something to belly up to 3
10A 21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly 4
11A 22. Cautious 4
12A 23. "My guess is ..." 5
13A 25. Teach, playfully (3x) 9
14A 29. Pinocchio's tell 4
15A 31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born 7
16A 32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name) 4
17A 33. PC key 3
18A 34. Wait for it! 3
19A 35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x) 13
20A 39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo 3
21A 40. Call, as a poker bet 3
22A 41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses" 4
23A 42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry 7
24A 45. Tech review site 4
25A 46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x) 9
26A 48. Bundles in a stationery shop 5
27A 52. Pointed remarks 4
28A 53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur 4
29A 55. Church fixture 3
30A 56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief 4
31A 57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise? 10
32A 60. Never Have I ___ (party game) 4
33A 61. April's ___ Day 5
34A 62. Bug on a pug 4
35A 63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" 4
36A 64. Acrimonious, as a breakup 5
37A 65. Units of verse 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Modern lead-in to quit or bait"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: storm, furore, craze
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that molten rock in the earth's crust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAGMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Act all teenagerly, say"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who wastes time
  • Similar words include: dilly-dallier, mope around, moon around
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. [I have something to say ...]"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.
  • Similar words include: hem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) a titan who was forced by zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders
  • Similar words include: telamon, atlas vertebra, book of maps
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATLAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a river in southwestern england rising in gloucestershire and flowing through bristol to empty into the estuary of the severn
  • Similar words include: Upper Avon, River Avon, Upper Avon River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x)"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Rip apart"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tear or be torn violently
  • Similar words include: rip, pull, rive
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Something to belly up to"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
  • Similar words include: streak, cake, Browning automatic rifle
  • Opposite of: unbar
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Cautious"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
  • Similar words include: leery, mistrustful, suspicious
  • Opposite of: unwary
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. "My guess is ...""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Teach, playfully (3x)"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Pinocchio's tell"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: nozzle, intrude, olfactory organ
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of venezuela
  • Similar words include: capital of Venezuela
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARACAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name)"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the second largest of the hawaiian islands
  • Similar words include: Maui Island
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAUI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. PC key"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: EL, elevation, altitude
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Wait for it!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
  • Similar words include: peak, lead, tip off
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x)"

13 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imperial dynasty that ruled china (most of the time from 206 bc to ad 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of chinese civilization
  • Similar words include: Han dynasty
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Call, as a poker bet"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
  • Similar words include: insure, find, go steady
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman poet remembered for his elegiac verses on love (43 bc - ad 17)
  • Similar words include: Publius Ovidius Naso
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Tech review site"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x)"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tree of the genus macadamia
  • Similar words include: macadamia tree
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MACADAMIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Bundles in a stationery shop"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large quantity of written matter
  • Similar words include: ream
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Pointed remarks"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: thrusting, dig, thrust
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
  • Similar words include: Book of Amos
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Church fixture"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long bench with backs; used in church by the congregation
  • Similar words include: church bench
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise?"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "60. Never Have I ___ (party game)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at any time
  • Similar words include: e'er, ever so, always
  • Opposite of: never
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. April's ___ Day"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tree (as opposed to shrub)
  • Similar words include: pergola, spindle, arbour
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARBOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Bug on a pug"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)
  • Similar words include: fuel pod, seedpod, cod
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PODS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Acrimonious, as a breakup"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Units of verse"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
  • Similar words include: base, groundwork, metrical unit
  • Opposite of: head
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Torah scholar 5
2D 2. Bridge Out ___ (sign) 5
3D 3. They have teeth but don't bite 5
4D 4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest 3
5D 5. Chichén Itzá builders 4
6D 6. Taking charge? 6
7D 7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp. 5
8D 8. Scuff up, say 3
9D 9. Set, as a price 3
10D 10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa? 6
11D 11. Was a ham 9
12D 12. Scrunchied hairstyle 8
13D 13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road") 3
14D 18. Audition 6
15D 22. Word that can precede cry or baby 3
16D 24. Picky, picky, picky 4
17D 26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate) 4
18D 27. Housemother 6
19D 28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief 3
20D 30. Day break? 6
21D 32. Got it all off his chest? 9
22D 33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one 3
23D 35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" 8
24D 36. Consider 4
25D 37. Disinclined 6
26D 38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name 4
27D 39. "Well, let me think" 3
28D 43. Herculean tasks 6
29D 44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time 3
30D 45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances 6
31D 47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example 5
32D 49. Gift from a teacher's pet 5
33D 50. Free-for-all 5
34D 51. Result of a hot pursuit? 5
35D 54. Grand Ole ___ 4
36D 56. One leg press, say 3
37D 57. Uncle ___ 3
38D 58. Minecraft resource 3
39D 59. Command to a jumpy dog 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Torah scholar"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spiritual leader of a jewish congregation; qualified to expound and apply jewish law
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RABBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Bridge Out ___ (sign)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having the leading position or higher score in a contest
  • Similar words include: onwards, leading, forward
  • Opposite of: backward, back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. They have teeth but don't bite"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
  • Similar words include: geared wheel, gear wheel, train
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism
  • Similar words include: Dromaius novaehollandiae, electromagnetic unit, Emu novaehollandiae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Chichén Itzá builders"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of an american indian people of yucatan and belize and guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between ad 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy
  • Similar words include: Mayan language, Mayan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAYA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Taking charge?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp."

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Scuff up, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
  • Similar words include: spoil, vitiate, mutilate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Set, as a price"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inquire about
  • Similar words include: inquire, need, involve
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow gourd containing pebbles or beans; often played in pairs
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARACA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Was a ham"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that exaggerate one's acting
  • Similar words include: ham it up, overact, ham
  • Opposite of: underact
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERACTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Scrunchied hairstyle"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hair style that draws the hair back so that it hangs down in back of the head like a pony's tail
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PONYTAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road")"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: remainder, final stage, closing
  • Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: END

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Audition"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that trying something to find out about it
  • Similar words include: audition, trial, trial run
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRYOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Word that can precede cry or baby"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: peace, make peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Picky, picky, picky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or related to the anus
  • Similar words include: anal retentive
  • Opposite of: oral
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Housemother"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
  • Similar words include: second sight, E.S.P., extrasensory perception
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Day break?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a nap in the early afternoon (especially in hot countries)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIESTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Got it all off his chest?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: genius, nail, Allied Command Europe
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans""

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city of bosnia; scene of the assassination of francis ferdinand in 1914 which precipitated world war i
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARAJEVO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Consider"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
  • Similar words include: view as, hold, take for
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Disinclined"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually followed by `to') strongly opposed
  • Similar words include: loath, loth, antipathetic
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVERSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slight but appreciable amount
  • Similar words include: pinch, touch, soupcon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "39. "Well, let me think""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Herculean tasks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: parturiency, trade union movement, drive
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a public promotion of some product or service
  • Similar words include: ad, advertising, advertisement
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that engraving or carving in low relief on a stone (as in a brooch or ring)
  • Similar words include: cameo
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAMEOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables
  • Similar words include: iamb, iambus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IAMBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Gift from a teacher's pet"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
  • Similar words include: Malus pumila, orchard apple tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Free-for-all"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a noisy riotous fight
  • Similar words include: scrimmage, battle royal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MELEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Result of a hot pursuit?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
  • Similar words include: travail, sudate, swither
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Grand Ole ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. One leg press, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal abbreviation of `representative'
  • Similar words include: repp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Uncle ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
  • Similar words include: surface-to-air missile
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Minecraft resource"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Command to a jumpy dog"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that kill intentionally and with premeditation
  • Similar words include: polish off, murder, forth
  • Opposite of: on
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 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: August 26, 2026 at 04:08 AM

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 21, 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: Tricky

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "Chocolate" pets 4
2A 5. Genome component 3
3A 8. Breaks in winter weather 5
4A 13. ___ vera 4
5A 14. Gave a hand 5
6A 16. Greet someone informally 5
7A 17. "Easy-peasy!" 16
8A 20. Attire for an infant 6
9A 21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon 6
10A 22. Severity 5
11A 23. Urban environmental hazard 4
12A 24. Pen tips 4
13A 28. Clean with a rough spray 9
14A 31. Blood ___ 5
15A 32. Acorn producer 3
16A 33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g. 6
17A 34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across? 14
18A 40. 2000-09, with "the" 6
19A 41. ___ and haw 3
20A 42. Jumbo 5
21A 43. Colorful taffy candy brand 9
22A 49. Laptop brand 4
23A 50. Tons 4
24A 51. Not having quite enough money 5
25A 53. "Really?" 6
26A 55. Backside 6
27A 56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record 16
28A 60. Toyota hybrid 5
29A 61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink 5
30A 62. Things assayers assay 4
31A 63. Reactions akin to "OMG!" 5
32A 64. Pigs' digs 3
33A 65. Fill up 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Chocolate" pets"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
  • Similar words include: research laboratory, laboratory, science laboratory
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Genome component"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
  • Similar words include: desoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "8. Breaks in winter weather"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
  • Similar words include: warming, melt, dissolve
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. ___ vera"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Gave a hand"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
  • Similar words include: portion out, share, deal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Greet someone informally"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "Easy-peasy!""

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Attire for an infant"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Awe-inspiring solar phenomenon"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the first light of day
  • Similar words include: morning, dawning, cockcrow
  • Opposite of: sunset
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Severity"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something hard to endure
  • Similar words include: hardness, asperity, rigorousness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIGOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Urban environmental hazard"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

12A: "24. Pen tips"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the writing point of a pen
  • Similar words include: neb, pen nib, bill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Clean with a rough spray"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blast of wind laden with sand
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANDBLAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Blood ___"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
  • Similar words include: blood serum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Acorn producer"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
  • Similar words include: oak tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. The 12 angry men in "12 Angry Men," e.g."

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who serves (or waits to be called to serve) on a jury
  • Similar words include: juryman, jurywoman, juror
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JURORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Finish flamboyantly ... like 17-, 28-, 43- and 56-Across?"

14 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. 2000-09, with "the""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cipher, goose egg, nix
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUGHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. ___ and haw"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
  • Similar words include: ahem
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "42. Jumbo"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for a large person
  • Similar words include: with child, vauntingly, declamatory
  • Opposite of: little, small
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "43. Colorful taffy candy brand"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "49. Laptop brand"

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!

23A: "50. Tons"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Not having quite enough money"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed
  • Similar words include: forgetful, abruptly, poor
  • Opposite of: tall, long
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHORT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. "Really?""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Backside"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. 2023 double-platinum Chappell Roan record"

16 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. Toyota hybrid"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "61. Plumbing fixture found under the sink"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "62. Things assayers assay"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Similar words include: ore
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Reactions akin to "OMG!""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
  • Similar words include: puff, gasp, pant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GASPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Pigs' digs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. Fill up"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill to satisfaction
  • Similar words include: satiate, replete, fill
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Hard work 5
2D 2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic" 6
3D 3. Corner store 6
4D 4. Fall, e.g. 6
5D 5. Reading room 3
6D 6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple 8
7D 7. Subjects of some Billboard charts 6
8D 8. Old Russian ruler 4
9D 9. Cuban dance style 8
10D 10. Actress Edebiri 3
11D 11. "Which person are you referring to?" 3
12D 12. ___ card 3
13D 14. A standard one has 21 pips 3
14D 15. Fortune-telling deck 5
15D 18. Aviary inhabitant 4
16D 19. Hound 3
17D 25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders 4
18D 26. Town 4
19D 27. Texting format, in brief 3
20D 29. Many internet spammers 4
21D 30. Rule 3
22D 31. Teacher for a day 3
23D 33. Part of a doorframe 4
24D 34. Tortilla chip dip, informally 4
25D 35. Shrek, e.g. 4
26D 36. "Wow, real mature" 8
27D 37. Sport-___ 3
28D 38. "Ow! Watch it!" 8
29D 39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke) 3
30D 40. In the manner of 3
31D 43. Power-saving computer mode 5
32D 44. They're often made at weddings 6
33D 45. One may accept the terms and conditions 4
34D 46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly 6
35D 47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua 6
36D 48. Hot pot holder 6
37D 50. Novelist Rand 3
38D 52. Backcomb 5
39D 54. Cat's warning 4
40D 55. Old-school term for "cool" 3
41D 56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief 3
42D 57. Long period 3
43D 58. Put down 3
44D 59. Salary 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Hard work"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: fag, toil, DoL
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Morissette with the 1996 hit "Ironic""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Corner store"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small hispanic shop selling wine and groceries
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BODEGA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Fall, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
  • Similar words include: flavor, harden, flavour
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEASON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Reading room"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
  • Similar words include: hideout, hideaway, lair
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Japanese city that's home to the Chinese Sofukuji Temple"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a city in southern japan on kyushu; a leading port and shipbuilding center; on august 9, 1945 nagasaki became the second populated area to receive an atomic bomb
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAGASAKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Subjects of some Billboard charts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one or more recordings issued together; originally released on 12-inch phonograph records (usually with attractive record covers) and later on cassette audiotape and compact disc
  • Similar words include: album, record album
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBUMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Old Russian ruler"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male monarch or emperor (especially of russia prior to 1917)
  • Similar words include: tzar, czar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Cuban dance style"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that music composed in duple time for dancing the habanera
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HABANERA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Actress Edebiri"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "Which person are you referring to?""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a united nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
  • Similar words include: World Health Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ card"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. A standard one has 21 pips"

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: give-up the ghost, drop dead, buy the farm
  • Opposite of: be born
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. Fortune-telling deck"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
  • Similar words include: tarot card
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "18. Aviary inhabitant"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
  • Similar words include: birdwatch, hiss, snort
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIRD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Hound"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the genus canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
  • Similar words include: go after, cad, chase after
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. It's "pumped" by bodybuilders"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
  • Similar words include: atomic number 26, iron out, Fe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Town"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that colloquial american term for a town
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BURG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Texting format, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
  • Similar words include: Sm, MS, Master of Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Many internet spammers"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Similar words include: bot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Rule"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the collection of rules imposed by authority
  • Similar words include: legal philosophy, police, natural law
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. Teacher for a day"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the united states
  • Similar words include: substitute, Cuban sandwich, submarine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of a doorframe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that upright consisting of a vertical side member of a door or window frame
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Tortilla chip dip, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "35. Shrek, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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!

26D: "36. "Wow, real mature""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "37. Sport-___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the shoshonean people of utah and colorado and new mexico
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. "Ow! Watch it!""

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "39. "___/she" (chocolate bar's pronouns in a corny joke)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "40. In the manner of"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "43. Power-saving computer mode"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
  • Similar words include: eternal sleep, nap, kip
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "44. They're often made at weddings"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slices of bread that have been toasted
  • Similar words include: toast, drink, salute
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOASTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "45. One may accept the terms and conditions"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something
  • Similar words include: substance abuser, drug user, exploiter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "46. Heavyweight beasts, familiarly"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that massive powerful herbivorous odd-toed ungulate of southeast asia and africa having very thick skin and one or two horns on the snout
  • Similar words include: rhino, rhinoceros
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RHINOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "47. Mexican state bordering Chihuahua"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ground snakes
  • Similar words include: genus Sonora
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "48. Hot pot holder"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRIVET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "50. Novelist Rand"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "52. Backcomb"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
  • Similar words include: minx, twit, ribbing
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEASE

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39D: "54. Cat's warning"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
  • Similar words include: snort, whoosh, bird
  • Opposite of: applaud
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HISS

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40D: "55. Old-school term for "cool""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informed about the latest trends
  • Similar words include: hip, hip to
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEP

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41D: "56. World of Warcraft, e.g., in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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42D: "57. Long period"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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43D: "58. Put down"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that god of the underworld; counterpart of greek pluto
  • Similar words include: Orcus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIS

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44D: "59. Salary"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that remunerates
  • Similar words include: make up, earnings, yield
  • Opposite of: default
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAY

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

33 Across Clues
44 Down Clues
77 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 21, 2026 at 06:09 AM