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Showing posts sorted by date for query mate. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 03, 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: Medium

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. What's paid 4
2A 5. Slowpoke in a "mobile home" 5
3A 10. Figure that might be measured in acres 4
4A 14. What a diaper pail helps minimize 4
5A 15. ___ bear (cuddly toy) 5
6A 16. Device used in a lactation room 4
7A 17. Size between mini and maxi 4
8A 18. Humiliate 5
9A 19. Ancient Peruvian society 4
10A 20. Idler along the seashore 8
11A 22. "Pumpkin eater" in a nursery rhyme 5
12A 23. Speak at the top of one's lungs 4
13A 24. Needle-working craft 7
14A 26. Kitchen appliance for desserts 13
15A 30. Division in a supermarket 5
16A 31. Travel like slime 4
17A 32. One lacking refinement 3
18A 35. Chess game's end 4
19A 36. Children's author A.A. ___ 5
20A 38. Throw with force 4
21A 39. ___ constrictor 3
22A 40. Phase in which users help catch bugs 4
23A 41. Instrument on which reveille is played 5
24A 42. Series that may feature forensics experts 13
25A 46. Ninja's quality 7
26A 48. ___ whiskey 4
27A 49. Surgery that leaves the patient looking better? 5
28A 50. Adjective describing 20-, 26- and 42-Across 8
29A 54. Guesstimates for when planes are due, for short 4
30A 55. Donation at some Red Cross events 5
31A 57. "Best Dad ___" (message on a mug) 4
32A 58. "The King" in soccer 4
33A 59. Competitive thing to "bring" 5
34A 60. Still red, as steak 4
35A 61. Uno + dos 4
36A 62. All gone from the dinner plate 5
37A 63. Winter forecast 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. What's paid"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
  • Similar words include: price, monetary value, be
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Slowpoke in a "mobile home""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk usually having an external enclosing spiral shell
  • Similar words include: escargot
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Figure that might be measured in acres"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: domain, field, surface area
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. What a diaper pail helps minimize"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: olfactory perception, olfactory property, scent
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. ___ bear (cuddly toy)"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plaything consisting of a child's toy bear (usually plush and stuffed with soft materials)
  • Similar words include: chemise, shift, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEDDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Device used in a lactation room"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction
  • Similar words include: heart, ticker
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Size between mini and maxi"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the southern part of france
  • Similar words include: musical instrument digital interface
  • Opposite of: maxi
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIDI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Humiliate"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
  • Similar words include: chagrin, mortify, humiliate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Ancient Peruvian society"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Idler along the seashore"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "Pumpkin eater" in a nursery rhyme"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that disciple of jesus and leader of the apostles; regarded by catholics as the vicar of christ on earth and first pope
  • Similar words include: shaft, dick, prick
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Speak at the top of one's lungs"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: vociferation, squall, holler
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "24. Needle-working craft"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that needlework done by interlocking looped stitches with a hooked needle
  • Similar words include: hook, crocheting
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROCHET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. Kitchen appliance for desserts"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Division in a supermarket"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
  • Similar words include: gangway
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AISLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Travel like slime"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. One lacking refinement"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an awkward stupid person
  • Similar words include: lubber, clod, lump
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Chess game's end"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the officer below the master on a commercial ship
  • Similar words include: partner, married person, twin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Children's author A.A. ___"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english writer of stories for children (1882-1956)
  • Similar words include: Alan Alexander Milne, A. A. Milne
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MILNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Throw with force"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a violent throw
  • Similar words include: hurtle, lunge, cast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HURL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. ___ constrictor"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur
  • Similar words include: feather boa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Phase in which users help catch bugs"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 2nd letter of the greek alphabet
  • Similar words include: genus Beta
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Instrument on which reveille is played"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brass instrument without valves; used for military calls and fanfares
  • Similar words include: bugleweed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUGLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Series that may feature forensics experts"

13 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Ninja's quality"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that avoiding detection by moving carefully
  • Similar words include: stealing
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEALTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. ___ whiskey"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a milkshake made with malt powder
  • Similar words include: malt liquor, malted milk, malted
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. Surgery that leaves the patient looking better?"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a refractive surgery procedure that reshapes the cornea
  • Similar words include: laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASIK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. Adjective describing 20-, 26- and 42-Across"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature
  • Similar words include: scarey, temperature reduction, scary
  • Opposite of: heat
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHILLING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Guesstimates for when planes are due, for short"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: ETA, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, eta
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Donation at some Red Cross events"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets
  • Similar words include: parentage, lineage, blood line
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. "Best Dad ___" (message on a mug)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. "The King" in soccer"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. Competitive thing to "bring""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "60. Still red, as steak"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "61. Uno + dos"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "62. All gone from the dinner plate"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "63. Winter forecast"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
  • Similar words include: pull the wool over someone's eyes, Baron Snow of Leicester, bamboozle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Head-scratcher? 4
2D 2. Garfield's perky-eared canine buddy 4
3D 3. Coke or Pepsi 4
4D 4. Toddler's wheels 8
5D 5. Horses' hangout 6
6D 6. Cosmic cloud 6
7D 7. Eve's man 4
8D 8. Passports and driver's licenses, for short 3
9D 9. Aid in making soap 3
10D 10. Per individual 6
11D 11. Rehearsal 10
12D 12. Host with a mic 5
13D 13. A world ___ 5
14D 21. "Present!" 4
15D 22. Hawaiian seafood dish 4
16D 24. "Let's go, man!" 4
17D 25. Demolish 4
18D 26. First two syllables of "I am what I am," aptly 4
19D 27. Farewell in Florence 4
20D 28. Opportunity to buy some antiques 10
21D 29. Back tooth 5
22D 33. Guthrie who sang "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant" 4
23D 34. Went by plane 4
24D 36. Convene 4
25D 37. What a mosquito bite causes 4
26D 38. Swindling sorts 8
27D 40. Swoleness 4
28D 41. Taco ___ 4
29D 43. Rewards for excellent employees 6
30D 44. Stereotypical cry after "Honey ..." 6
31D 45. ___ voyage (first trip) 6
32D 46. Caught some Z's 5
33D 47. Product of Maine or Idaho, informally 5
34D 50. Jacket 4
35D 51. Pavlov known for canine experiments 4
36D 52. Roman emperor who competed in the Olympics (and "won" every event he was in) 4
37D 53. Got bigger 4
38D 55. Snookums 3
39D 56. Alternative to JFK and EWR 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Head-scratcher?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
  • Similar words include: disentangle, cockscomb, ransack
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Garfield's perky-eared canine buddy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Coke or Pepsi"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sodium salt of carbonic acid; used in making soap powders and glass and paper
  • Similar words include: soda ash, sal soda, sodium carbonate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SODA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Toddler's wheels"

8 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle with three wheels that is moved by foot pedals
  • Similar words include: trike, velocipede
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRICYCLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Horses' hangout"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a farm building for housing horses or other livestock
  • Similar words include: static, horse barn, unchanging
  • Opposite of: unstable
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STABLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Cosmic cloud"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a medicinal liquid preparation intended for use in an atomizer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEBULA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Eve's man"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) in judeo-christian mythology; the first man and the husband of eve and the progenitor of the human race
  • Similar words include: disco biscuit, cristal, X
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Passports and driver's licenses, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in the rocky mountains
  • Similar words include: Idaho, id, I.D.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Aid in making soap"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Per individual"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to or from every one of two or more (considered individually)
  • Similar words include: for each one, each, to each one
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APIECE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Rehearsal"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Host with a mic"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. A world ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. "Present!""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the present location; this place
  • Similar words include: Hera, hither
  • Opposite of: there
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Hawaiian seafood dish"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tall coarse perennial american herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous
  • Similar words include: lagger, slug, poking
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. "Let's go, man!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Demolish"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tear down so as to make flat with the ground
  • Similar words include: tear down, rase, level
  • Opposite of: raise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. First two syllables of "I am what I am," aptly"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Farewell in Florence"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is hawaiian and ciao is italian)
  • Similar words include: aloha
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Opportunity to buy some antiques"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Back tooth"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars
  • Similar words include: grinder
  • Opposite of: molecular
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOLAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Guthrie who sang "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Went by plane"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that travel through the air; be airborne
  • Similar words include: vanish, vaporize, aviate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Convene"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
  • Similar words include: play, foregather, cope with
  • Opposite of: diverge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. What a mosquito bite causes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation
  • Similar words include: itchiness, spoil, rub
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Swindling sorts"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets
  • Similar words include: hooker, floozie, wheeler dealer
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUSTLERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Swoleness"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
  • Similar words include: mass, majority, bulge
  • Opposite of: minority
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BULK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. Taco ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
  • Similar words include: Vanessa Stephen, campana, ship's bell
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Rewards for excellent employees"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the amount a salary is increased
  • Similar words include: climb, ascent, salary increase
  • Opposite of: lower, descent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAISES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. Stereotypical cry after "Honey ...""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. ___ voyage (first trip)"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
  • Similar words include: initiatory, maid, inaugural
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAIDEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Caught some Z's"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be able to accommodate for sleeping
  • Similar words include: slumber, log Z's, kip
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. Product of Maine or Idaho, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "50. Jacket"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
  • Similar words include: coating, cake, pelage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "51. Pavlov known for canine experiments"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Roman emperor who competed in the Olympics (and "won" every event he was in)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of rome in 64) but the roman empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68)
  • Similar words include: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "53. Got bigger"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
  • Similar words include: grow, spring up, maturate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "55. Snookums"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Alternative to JFK and EWR"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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 03, 2026 at 06:41 AM

Monday, July 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 20, 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. Scarecrow stuffing 5
2A 6. Ralph who ran for president four times 5
3A 11. Some HP products 3
4A 14. Ebb 5
5A 15. Top-tier group 5
6A 16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi 3
7A 17. On/off device 11
8A 19. Empty space between things 3
9A 20. Something at either end of a hammock, often 4
10A 21. Brain tests, for short 4
11A 22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout) 5
12A 24. Golf club for teeing off 6
13A 26. Small orchard 5
14A 27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points 12
15A 31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short 4
16A 33. Regret 3
17A 34. Pursue 4
18A 35. Young Yorkie, e.g. 3
19A 36. Better halves 7
20A 40. Blue state? 3
21A 41. GPS guesses 4
22A 43. April 15 deadline org. 3
23A 44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. 4
24A 46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport 12
25A 50. Like many English bogs 5
26A 51. Begin to grow choppers 6
27A 54. Measure around the middle 5
28A 55. Norse god of thunder 4
29A 57. Agricultural locale 4
30A 59. Chicken ___ king 3
31A 60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across 11
32A 63. Rapper Tone ___ 3
33A 64. Reef material 5
34A 65. Winning Monopoly player's collection 5
35A 66. Had dinner, say 3
36A 67. Transmits 5
37A 68. Hockey feints 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Scarecrow stuffing"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
  • Similar words include: drinking straw, pale yellow, stalk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STRAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Ralph who ran for president four times"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Some HP products"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time
  • Similar words include: microcomputer, personal computer, PC
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PCS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Ebb"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make less active or intense
  • Similar words include: let up, slack, slack off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Top-tier group"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
  • Similar words include: elect, elite group
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Tuna variety often used in sashimi"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. On/off device"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Empty space between things"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: opening, crack, breach
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Something at either end of a hammock, often"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
  • Similar words include: tree diagram, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, corner
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Brain tests, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a graphical record of electrical activity of the brain; produced by an electroencephalograph
  • Similar words include: electroencephalogram, encephalogram, EEG
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. "10 ___ or less" (sign at checkout)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
  • Similar words include: particular, token, detail
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Golf club for teeing off"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the operator of a motor vehicle
  • Similar words include: device driver, number one wood
  • Opposite of: nondriver
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRIVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Small orchard"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small growth of trees without underbrush
  • Similar words include: plantation, woodlet, orchard
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. One with Q or Z is worth 10 points"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Audio genre designed to trigger tingling, for short"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Regret"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: sorrow, regret, ruefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Pursue"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
  • Similar words include: assay, search, look for
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Young Yorkie, e.g."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf
  • Similar words include: puppy, whelp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Better halves"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's partner in marriage
  • Similar words include: partner, mate, better half
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOUSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Blue state?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that misery resulting from affliction
  • Similar words include: suffering, woefulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. GPS guesses"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. April 15 deadline org."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
  • Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. The last "A" in N.C.A.A.: Abbr."

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Cause of some rescreenings in an airport"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Like many English bogs"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or pertaining to or of the nature of peat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEATY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Begin to grow choppers"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grow teeth; cut the baby teeth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEETHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Measure around the middle"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the distance around a person's body
  • Similar words include: cinch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIRTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Norse god of thunder"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (norse mythology) god of thunder and rain and farming; pictured as wielding a hammer emblematic of the thunderbolt; identified with teutonic donar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "57. Agricultural locale"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
  • Similar words include: produce, grow, raise
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "59. Chicken ___ king"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

31A: "60. "My sympathies" ... or what could be said of 17-, 27- and 46-Across"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Rapper Tone ___"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Reef material"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a variable color averaging a deep pink
  • Similar words include: precious coral, red coral
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CORAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Winning Monopoly player's collection"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that performance of moral or religious acts
  • Similar words include: human activity, title, works
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Had dinner, say"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: consume, run through, use up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Transmits"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to go somewhere
  • Similar words include: station, transport, get off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. Hockey feints"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Add some seasoning to 4
2D 2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally 5
3D 3. Wild party 5
4D 4. Faith no more? 7
5D 5. More than damp 3
6D 6. Big name in baseball caps 6
7D 7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona 4
8D 8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code 4
9D 9. And more like that: Abbr. 3
10D 10. Put back on the payroll 6
11D 11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase 9
12D 12. Creature that blends into its surroundings 9
13D 13. Drinks daintily 4
14D 18. Prognosticator 4
15D 23. Young 'uns 4
16D 25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally 4
17D 26. Utter delight 4
18D 28. Item for a painter or hairstylist 5
19D 29. Vehicle to and from school 3
20D 30. Barely get, with "out" 3
21D 31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this 9
22D 32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s 9
23D 35. Get-up-and-go 3
24D 37. "It's a shame, really!" 4
25D 38. Monster of Tolkiendom 3
26D 39. Very wise 4
27D 42. 32-card card game 4
28D 45. Liberate 7
29D 47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers 6
30D 48. Bikini and others 6
31D 49. Spongy ball material 4
32D 52. "Frida" star Salma 5
33D 53. Slowly chip away at 5
34D 54. Fancy party 4
35D 55. Gull relative 4
36D 56. Lettuce unit 4
37D 58. "No ___, no fuss!" 4
38D 61. Opponent 3
39D 62. Unfamiliar 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Add some seasoning to"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
  • Similar words include: saltiness, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, common salt
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Car in "Thelma & Louise," informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Wild party"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Faith no more?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the doctrine or belief that there is no god
  • Similar words include: godlessness
  • Opposite of: theism
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHEISM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. More than damp"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: pissed, loaded, soaked
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big name in baseball caps"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sacha Baron Cohen persona"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Counterpart of dahs, in Morse code"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shorter of the two telegraphic signals used in morse code
  • Similar words include: dit, dot
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. And more like that: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Put back on the payroll"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. What search engine optimization hopes to increase"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Creature that blends into its surroundings"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a changeable or inconstant person
  • Similar words include: chamaeleon, Chamaeleon
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAMELEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Drinks daintily"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small drink
  • Similar words include: sip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Prognosticator"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person with unusual powers of foresight
  • Similar words include: oracle, prophet, prophesier
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Young 'uns"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small amount (especially of a drink)
  • Similar words include: summate, total, tote up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Bygone staples of home theaters, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a magnetic tape recorder for recording (and playing back) tv programs
  • Similar words include: VCR, videocassette recorder
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VCRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Utter delight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that great merriment
  • Similar words include: mirth, hilarity, gleefulness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Item for a painter or hairstylist"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dense growth of bushes
  • Similar words include: coppice, copse, clash
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Vehicle to and from school"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
  • Similar words include: motorbus, autobus, busbar
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Barely get, with "out""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Someone who's not thinking may be on this"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness
  • Similar words include: automatic pilot, robot pilot
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUTOPILOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. U.S./Soviet competition of the 1950s-'60s"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Get-up-and-go"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liveliness and energy
  • Similar words include: ginger, peppiness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. "It's a shame, really!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
  • Similar words include: pathos, feel for, ruth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Monster of Tolkiendom"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Very wise"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom
  • Similar words include: salvia, sage-green
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. 32-card card game"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Liberate"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Important consideration for A.I. programmers"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • Similar words include: moral philosophy, ethical code, morals
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHICS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Bikini and others"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
  • Similar words include: atoll
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATOLLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Spongy ball material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. "Frida" star Salma"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english economist (born in austria) noted for work on the optimum allocation of resources (1899-1992)
  • Similar words include: Friedrich August von Hayek
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAYEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Slowly chip away at"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
  • Similar words include: gnaw, fret, gnaw at
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Fancy party"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a gay festivity
  • Similar words include: gala affair, jamboree, blowout
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Gull relative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small slender gull having narrow wings and a forked tail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TERN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Lettuce unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
  • Similar words include: maneuver, headway, manoeuvre
  • Opposite of: tail, foot
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAD

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37D: "58. "No ___, no fuss!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of confusion and disorderliness
  • Similar words include: Mus, messiness, mess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MUSS

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38D: "61. Opponent"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
  • Similar words include: enemy, foeman, opposition
  • Opposite of: friend
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOE

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39D: "62. Unfamiliar"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not divisible by two
  • Similar words include: funny, unmated, rummy
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODD

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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

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 20, 2026 at 06:29 AM