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
- Across Clues Table (37 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (39 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
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. [Taps casino table] | 5 |
| 2A | 6. Signs of treble? | 5 |
| 3A | 11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend) | 3 |
| 4A | 14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley | 5 |
| 5A | 15. Deck in divination | 5 |
| 6A | 16. Mil. authority | 3 |
| 7A | 17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this | 11 |
| 8A | 19. Possessed | 3 |
| 9A | 20. Lotto-like casino game | 4 |
| 10A | 21. Summer treats in small cups | 4 |
| 11A | 22. Sounds of sudden vanishing | 5 |
| 12A | 24. Zero | 4 |
| 13A | 26. Inverse of kilo- | 5 |
| 14A | 27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889 | 14 |
| 15A | 32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit | 5 |
| 16A | 33. Tribal home, maybe, informally | 3 |
| 17A | 34. Reason to take a painkiller | 4 |
| 18A | 35. So-called "melting pot," in brief | 3 |
| 19A | 36. E-bike alternative | 7 |
| 20A | 40. One ___ time | 3 |
| 21A | 41. Bubbles in a bubble bath | 4 |
| 22A | 43. A QR code might access one | 3 |
| 23A | 44. Purplish perennial | 5 |
| 24A | 46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list | 14 |
| 25A | 50. Ransacks | 5 |
| 26A | 51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products | 4 |
| 27A | 52. Stays in line, say | 5 |
| 28A | 53. Hawaiian goose | 4 |
| 29A | 55. Thumbs-down votes | 4 |
| 30A | 59. Buried | 3 |
| 31A | 60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across? | 11 |
| 32A | 63. Fruit drink | 3 |
| 33A | 64. On a higher level | 5 |
| 34A | 65. Second-chance show | 5 |
| 35A | 66. Org. with metal detectors | 3 |
| 36A | 67. Supped | 5 |
| 37A | 68. Paradises | 5 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. [Taps casino table]"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HITME
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "6. Signs of treble?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it
- Similar words include: clef
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLEFS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "11. ___ hair (edgy 2000s trend)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "14. Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONEAL
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5A: "15. Deck in divination"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
- Similar words include: tarot card
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAROT
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6A: "16. Mil. authority"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CMD
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7A: "17. Failing to pay bills on time may affect this"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREDITSCORE
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8A: "19. Possessed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense
- Similar words include: ingest, receive, sustain
- Opposite of: refuse, abstain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "20. Lotto-like casino game"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
- Similar words include: bingo, lotto, beano
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KENO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "21. Summer treats in small cups"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
- Similar words include: ice, frost, deoxyephedrine
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "22. Sounds of sudden vanishing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that offensive term for an openly homosexual man
- Similar words include: pouf, poof, pansy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POOFS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "24. Zero"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a quantity of no importance
- Similar words include: cipher, zip, zippo
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NADA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "26. Inverse of kilo-"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MILLI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "27. "Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VINCENTVANGOGH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "32. Pair of cymbals in a drum kit"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIHAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "33. Tribal home, maybe, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REZ
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "34. Reason to take a painkiller"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain
- Similar words include: languish, smart, hurt
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACHE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "35. So-called "melting pot," in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that north american republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in north america plus alaska in northwest north america and the hawaiian islands in the pacific ocean; achieved independence in 1776
- Similar words include: U.S., US, U. S. Army
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "36. E-bike alternative"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a motorboat resembling a motor scooter
- Similar words include: motor scooter, sea scooter, water scooter
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCOOTER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "40. One ___ time"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "41. Bubbles in a bubble bath"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the froth produced by soaps or detergents
- Similar words include: spume, froth, lather
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "43. A QR code might access one"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the address of a web page on the world wide web
- Similar words include: universal resource locator, uniform resource locator
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "44. Purplish perennial"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus aster with showy daisylike flowers
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "46. Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains" list"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANNIBALLECTER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "50. Ransacks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that goods or money obtained illegally
- Similar words include: sugar, swag, despoil
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "51. Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IKEA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "52. Stays in line, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that time during which some action is awaited
- Similar words include: await, waiting, hold off
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAITS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "53. Hawaiian goose"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NENE
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29A: "55. Thumbs-down votes"
Solving Hints:
- Similar words include: nay
- Opposite of: yea
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAYS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "59. Buried"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that prevent from being seen or discovered
- Similar words include: hide out, obliterate, obscure
- Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "60. Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREAKDANCES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "63. Fruit drink"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice
- Similar words include: fruit drink
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "64. On a higher level"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an earlier section of a written text
- Similar words include: supra, higher up, to a higher place
- Opposite of: below
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABOVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "65. Second-chance show"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a program that is broadcast again
- Similar words include: rebroadcast
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RERUN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "66. Org. with metal detectors"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an agency established in 2001 to safeguard united states transportation systems and insure safe air travel
- Similar words include: Transportation Security Administration
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36A: "67. Supped"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that have supper; eat dinner
- Similar words include: boom, din, dine
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DINED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37A: "68. Paradises"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
- Similar words include: Garden of Eden, Shangri-la, promised land
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDENS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Pawn | 4 |
| 2D | 2. Concerning | 4 |
| 3D | 3. One subject to a curfew, maybe | 4 |
| 4D | 4. So-called "Queen of Pop" | 7 |
| 5D | 5. Former Giant Manning | 3 |
| 6D | 6. Healthy self-image? | 6 |
| 7D | 7. Tie up | 4 |
| 8D | 8. God depicted with a bow | 4 |
| 9D | 9. Word between "word" and "word" | 3 |
| 10D | 10. Intervene | 6 |
| 11D | 11. Sound-track? | 10 |
| 12D | 12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage | 10 |
| 13D | 13. Calculated ratios | 4 |
| 14D | 18. Era competitor | 4 |
| 15D | 23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk" | 4 |
| 16D | 25. Behaves | 4 |
| 17D | 26. Where you might lose your way | 4 |
| 18D | 27. Demo graphics, maybe | 10 |
| 19D | 28. "This is news to me!" | 10 |
| 20D | 29. Cyber punk? | 5 |
| 21D | 30. Tick doc | 3 |
| 22D | 31. When repeated, "Preach!" | 4 |
| 23D | 32. When repeated, secret | 4 |
| 24D | 37. Bear's heirs? | 4 |
| 25D | 38. 60 minuti | 3 |
| 26D | 39. Pulse quickly, as the heart | 4 |
| 27D | 42. Bratty kid | 4 |
| 28D | 45. Was a fangirl of, say | 7 |
| 29D | 47. "Really awful" | 6 |
| 30D | 48. Connected | 6 |
| 31D | 49. Scraped (by) | 4 |
| 32D | 52. "Huh?" | 4 |
| 33D | 53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall | 4 |
| 34D | 54. Roof projection | 4 |
| 35D | 56. Farming area | 4 |
| 36D | 57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope" | 4 |
| 37D | 58. Tax IDs | 4 |
| 38D | 61. Result of a solo homer, for short | 3 |
| 39D | 62. "There you ___!" | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Pawn"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of several white wines from the rhine river valley in germany (`hock' is british usage)
- Similar words include: Rhine wine, pawn, hock-joint
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOCK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Concerning"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. One subject to a curfew, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity
- Similar words include: teenage, adolescent, teenaged
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. So-called "Queen of Pop""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the mother of jesus; christians refer to her as the virgin mary; she is especially honored by roman catholics
- Similar words include: Madonna Louise Ciccone, Blessed Virgin, Mary
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADONNA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Former Giant Manning"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Healthy self-image?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CTSCAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Tie up"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)
- Similar words include: entwine, braid, interlace
- Opposite of: untwine
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LACE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. God depicted with a bow"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) god of love; son of aphrodite; identified with roman cupid
- Similar words include: physical attraction, concupiscence, sexual desire
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EROS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Word between "word" and "word""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Intervene"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEPIN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Sound-track?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECHOLOCATE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MMAFIGHTER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Calculated ratios"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
- Similar words include: betting odds
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "18. Era competitor"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
- Similar words include: surge, lunar time period
- Opposite of: ebb
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIDE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "23. Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLGA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "25. Behaves"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
- Similar words include: dissemble, play, routine
- Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "26. Where you might lose your way"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
- Similar words include: labyrinth, tangle, snarl
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAZE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "27. Demo graphics, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISUALAIDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "28. "This is news to me!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IHADNOIDEA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "29. Cyber punk?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
- Similar words include: round, trolling
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROLL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "30. Tick doc"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a doctor who practices veterinary medicine
- Similar words include: veteran, veterinary surgeon, veterinarian
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "31. When repeated, "Preach!""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
- Similar words include: try, see, find out
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "32. When repeated, secret"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (poetic) tranquil silence
- Similar words include: shut up, quieten, quiet down
- Opposite of: louden
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUSH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "37. Bear's heirs?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an awkward and inexperienced youth
- Similar words include: sonny boy, sonny, rookie
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUBS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "38. 60 minuti"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
- Similar words include: os, bone, oculus sinister
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "39. Pulse quickly, as the heart"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any competition
- Similar words include: hasten, cannonball along, hotfoot
- Opposite of: linger
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "42. Bratty kid"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
- Similar words include: snob, snoot, prig
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "45. Was a fangirl of, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STANNED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "47. "Really awful""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITSBAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "48. Connected"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make a logical or causal connection
- Similar words include: colligate, joined, link up
- Opposite of: disconnect, dissociate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LINKED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "49. Scraped (by)"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EKED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "52. "Huh?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "53. Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
- Similar words include: Ne, atomic number 10
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "54. Roof projection"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "56. Farming area"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
- Similar words include: Accho, Akko, Akka
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "57. Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEUN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "58. Tax IDs"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SSNS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
38D: "61. Result of a solo homer, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a run that is the result of the batter's performance
- Similar words include: run batted in
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RBI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
39D: "62. "There you ___!""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters
- Similar words include: equal, comprise, follow
- Opposite of: differ
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARE
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
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