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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

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Last updated: August 03, 2026 at 06:41 AM

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers June 17, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Like Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, some say 7
2A 8. App brought back by Microsoft in 2024 3
3A 11. Swear 4
4A 15. Disney film set in a fictional Colombian village 7
5A 16. BEFORE (Deck 1): Slackers 8
6A 18. Celebrity 7
7A 19. Fast-paced scam, such as the shell game 8
8A 20. BEFORE (Deck 2): PlayStation and Switch 8
9A 22. Laterite, for example 3
10A 23. Folkie DiFranco 3
11A 24. Chills 5
12A 26. "___ Recall" (1990 sci-fi film) 5
13A 31. Jay who hosted the 2020s revival of "You Bet Your Life" 4
14A 33. Wild European rabbit in Australia, e.g. 4
15A 36. Beer buy 4
16A 37. Join tightly 4
17A 41. BEFORE (Deck 3): Quarry 8
18A 43. Casino maneuvers carried out three times in this puzzle? 14
19A 46. AFTER (Deck 3): Crucial moment in a tennis match 8
20A 47. Osso ___ (veal dish) 4
21A 48. "The Emperor's New Groove" setting 4
22A 49. Blond, but not really 4
23A 51. Many a discovery in the Valley of the Kings 4
24A 55. Visit by plane 5
25A 57. ___ With Friends 5
26A 61. Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" 3
27A 62. Telepathy, e.g. 3
28A 65. AFTER (Deck 2): Noted quality of the Fonz 8
29A 67. Geraldo Rivera uncovered his "vaults" on live TV 8
30A 72. "___ the Day" (Thomas Pynchon's longest novel) 7
31A 73. AFTER (Deck 1): Slackers 8
32A 74. Was up the river 7
33A 75. Awards achievement reached in 2026 by Steven Spielberg 4
34A 76. Outdo 3
35A 77. Rival of a Raven 7

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Like Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, some say"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cast an actor, singer, or dancer in an unsuitable role
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MISCAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "8. App brought back by Microsoft in 2024"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Swear"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a persistently annoying person
  • Similar words include: pest, feller, swearword
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUSS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Disney film set in a fictional Colombian village"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. BEFORE (Deck 1): Slackers"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "18. Celebrity"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the status of being acknowledged as a star
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STARDOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "19. Fast-paced scam, such as the shell game"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. BEFORE (Deck 2): PlayStation and Switch"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small table fixed to a wall or designed to stand against a wall
  • Similar words include: cabinet, solace, console table
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CONSOLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Laterite, for example"

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!

10A: "23. Folkie DiFranco"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Chills"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something left after other parts have been taken away
  • Similar words include: roost, residue, stay
  • Opposite of: change, be active
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "26. "___ Recall" (1990 sci-fi film)"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the whole amount
  • Similar words include: summate, add together, tot
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "31. Jay who hosted the 2020s revival of "You Bet Your Life""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "33. Wild European rabbit in Australia, e.g."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "36. Beer buy"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an occurrence of something
  • Similar words include: compositor's case, type, pillowcase
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "37. Join tightly"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an electrical device that can interrupt the flow of electrical current when it is overloaded
  • Similar words include: commingle, flux, fuze
  • Opposite of: defuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "41. BEFORE (Deck 3): Quarry"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "43. Casino maneuvers carried out three times in this puzzle?"

14 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "46. AFTER (Deck 3): Crucial moment in a tennis match"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "47. Osso ___ (veal dish)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "48. "The Emperor's New Groove" setting"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in western south america; achieved independence from spain in 1821; was the heart of the inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries
  • Similar words include: Republic of Peru
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "49. Blond, but not really"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that color with dye
  • Similar words include: bleached, colored, dye
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "51. Many a discovery in the Valley of the Kings"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
  • Similar words include: grave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "55. Visit by plane"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "57. ___ With Friends"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the words that are spoken
  • Similar words include: quarrel, password, give-and-take
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WORDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "61. Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "62. Telepathy, e.g."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "65. AFTER (Deck 2): Noted quality of the Fonz"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that calm and unruffled self-assurance
  • Similar words include: iciness, imperturbableness, chilliness
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COOLNESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "67. Geraldo Rivera uncovered his "vaults" on live TV"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "72. "___ the Day" (Thomas Pynchon's longest novel)"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "73. AFTER (Deck 1): Slackers"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "74. Was up the river"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "75. Awards achievement reached in 2026 by Steven Spielberg"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "76. Outdo"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper part of anything
  • Similar words include: summit, meridian, spinning top
  • Opposite of: bottom
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "77. Rival of a Raven"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Paul who played William Shakespeare in "Hamnet" 6
2D 2. Vocalize 6
3D 3. Digitize, as a document 6
4D 4. "Just What I Needed" band, with "the" 4
5D 5. Disney+ series whose name sounds like a compound conjunction 5
6D 6. Got via the "five-finger discount" 5
7D 7. "The Complete Works of ..." books, say 5
8D 8. Booker T.'s backing band 3
9D 9. Neighborhood mentioned in "Werewolves of London" 4
10D 10. Former queen of Jordan 4
11D 11. Portable bed 3
12D 12. Mixed martial arts org. 3
13D 13. Bay Area airport code 3
14D 14. ID thief's target: Abbr. 3
15D 17. Instrument ridge 4
16D 21. Valvoline rival 3
17D 25. Gathering, informally 4
18D 27. Cat that's spotted in South America 6
19D 28. It's on a roll 4
20D 29. Sale caveat 4
21D 30. Permitted to 3
22D 32. Repelled 6
23D 34. Scrapbook keepsake 4
24D 35. Popcorn ___ (fried vegan treat) 4
25D 38. Subject of a declassified Pentagon document, in brief 3
26D 39. Averted a tag, maybe 4
27D 40. Start of a counting-out rhyme 4
28D 42. Lions and Bears are in it, in brief 3
29D 43. Stagger 4
30D 44. "Hey, doing my best" 4
31D 45. Goulash, e.g. 4
32D 46. UV blockage fig. 3
33D 50. Medical moniker 3
34D 52. Final score of at least 10% of professional soccer matches 6
35D 53. "Glad I'm back?" 6
36D 54. Thanksgiving kitchen tool 6
37D 56. Research for a political hit, slangily 4
38D 58. Map lines 5
39D 59. Give minimum effort 5
40D 60. British glam rock band of the 1970s 5
41D 63. Lenient 4
42D 64. 411 4
43D 66. TV's Nick at ___ 4
44D 67. Gray, say 3
45D 68. Record 3
46D 69. Bill's partner 3
47D 70. Back at sea 3
48D 71. "Ability" that's hard to believe, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Paul who played William Shakespeare in "Hamnet""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small spineless globe-shaped cactus; source of mescal buttons
  • Similar words include: peyote, mezcal, Lophophora williamsii
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MESCAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Vocalize"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
  • Similar words include: cantillate, intonate, chant
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Digitize, as a document"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "Just What I Needed" band, with "the""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
  • Similar words include: motorcar, elevator car, railcar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Disney+ series whose name sounds like a compound conjunction"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Got via the "five-finger discount""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
  • Similar words include: steal, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "The Complete Works of ..." books, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a (usually) large and scholarly book
  • Similar words include: tome
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOMES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Booker T.'s backing band"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one thousandth (1/1,000) gram
  • Similar words include: milligram, magnesium, Mg
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Neighborhood mentioned in "Werewolves of London""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a district in southwestern manhattan noted for its shops and restaurants and galleries and artist's lofts
  • Similar words include: South of Houston
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOHO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Former queen of Jordan"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Portable bed"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: fingerstall, camp bed, crib
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Mixed martial arts org."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Bay Area airport code"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. ID thief's target: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "17. Instrument ridge"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that agitation resulting from active worry
  • Similar words include: Greek key, stew, choke
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "21. Valvoline rival"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard temperature and pressure
  • Similar words include: s.t.p.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Gathering, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Cat that's spotted in South America"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal wildcat of central america and south america having a dark-spotted buff-brown coat
  • Similar words include: Felis pardalis, panther cat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OCELOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. It's on a roll"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin piece of cloth or paper as used for binding or fastening
  • Similar words include: videotape, tapeline, taping
  • Opposite of: erase
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Sale caveat"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Permitted to"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brutal terrorist group active in kashmir; fights against india with the goal of restoring islamic rule of india
  • Similar words include: allow, countenance, get
  • Opposite of: disallow, prevent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Repelled"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Scrapbook keepsake"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short piece remaining on a trunk or stem where a branch is lost
  • Similar words include: ticket stub, nub, check stub
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Popcorn ___ (fried vegan treat)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cheeselike food made of curdled soybean milk
  • Similar words include: bean curd
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOFU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Subject of a declassified Pentagon document, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown; especially those considered to have extraterrestrial origins
  • Similar words include: flying saucer, unidentified flying object
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UFO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Averted a tag, maybe"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
  • Similar words include: slew, slue, slither
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Start of a counting-out rhyme"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Lions and Bears are in it, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "43. Stagger"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector
  • Similar words include: stagger, whirl, swag
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "44. "Hey, doing my best""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Goulash, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that agitation resulting from active worry
  • Similar words include: swither, fret, sweat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. UV blockage fig."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the degree to which a sunscreen protects the skin from the direct rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: sun protection factor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Medical moniker"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a licensed medical practitioner
  • Similar words include: MD, Commerce, medico
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Final score of at least 10% of professional soccer matches"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "53. "Glad I'm back?""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "54. Thanksgiving kitchen tool"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cook who bastes roasting meat with melted fat or gravy
  • Similar words include: tacker
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BASTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Research for a political hit, slangily"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Map lines"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a partly sheltered anchorage
  • Similar words include: road, route, roadstead
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROADS

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39D: "59. Give minimum effort"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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40D: "60. British glam rock band of the 1970s"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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41D: "63. Lenient"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that yielding readily to pressure or weight
  • Similar words include: diffused, easy, gentle
  • Opposite of: hard, forte
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFT

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42D: "64. 411"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a message received and understood
  • Similar words include: information
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INFO

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43D: "66. TV's Nick at ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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44D: "67. Gray, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that how long something has existed
  • Similar words include: historic period, years, maturate
  • Opposite of: rejuvenate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGE

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45D: "68. Record"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches
  • Similar words include: lumber, logarithm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOG

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46D: "69. Bill's partner"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by a pigeon
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COO

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47D: "70. Back at sea"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail
  • Similar words include: abaft, astern
  • Opposite of: fore
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFT

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48D: "71. "Ability" that's hard to believe, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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

35 Across Clues
48 Down Clues
83 Total Clues

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Last updated: June 17, 2026 at 08:40 AM