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

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 19, 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. Sahara-esque 4
2A 5. Exams for high school jrs. 5
3A 10. Private sleeping accommodations? 4
4A 14. "Didn't you get the ___?" 4
5A 15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak 5
6A 16. Section in a textbook 4
7A 17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit) 4
8A 18. Deceptive move in fencing 5
9A 19. Depend (on) 4
10A 20. Natural pillow filling 13
11A 23. Graffiti, to some 3
12A 24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand 3
13A 25. Quinceañeras, e.g. 5
14A 28. Lifted 5
15A 30. Services for senior citizens 9
16A 34. Hybrid tennis attire 5
17A 36. Word with pan, pump or paint 3
18A 37. ___ Minor 4
19A 38. Unofficial vote 9
20A 41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college 4
21A 44. "___ got it!" 3
22A 45. Cats and dogs, for example 5
23A 48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies 9
24A 51. Excludes 5
25A 53. Mount ___ Health System 5
26A 54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game 3
27A 56. Something to trust 3
28A 57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across 13
29A 62. They offer support 4
30A 64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps 5
31A 65. Field 4
32A 66. Facility 4
33A 67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot 5
34A 68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel 4
35A 69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6 4
36A 70. Fall bloom 5
37A 71. Cave wall hangings? 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sahara-esque"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lacking sufficient water or rainfall
  • Similar words include: waterless, desiccated, desiccate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Exams for high school jrs."

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Private sleeping accommodations?"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. "Didn't you get the ___?""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written proposal or reminder
  • Similar words include: memorandum, memoranda
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Section in a textbook"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
  • Similar words include: whole, building block, unit of measurement
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Deceptive move in fencing"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Depend (on)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Natural pillow filling"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Graffiti, to some"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the products of human creativity; works of art collectively
  • Similar words include: fine art, artwork, graphics
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Quinceañeras, e.g."

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
  • Similar words include: religious rite, ritual, rite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Lifted"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

15A: "30. Services for senior citizens"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Hybrid tennis attire"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Word with pan, pump or paint"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water
  • Similar words include: petroleum, embrocate, crude
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. ___ Minor"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Unofficial vote"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states sculptor (1860-1936)
  • Similar words include: Lorado Taft, William Howard Taft, President Taft
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. "___ got it!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Cats and dogs, for example"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action
  • Similar words include: noun
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Excludes"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prevent from being included or considered or accepted
  • Similar words include: except, take out, leave out
  • Opposite of: include, attend to
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Mount ___ Health System"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain peak in the southern sinai peninsula (7,500 feet high); it is believed to be the peak on which moses received the ten commandments
  • Similar words include: Mount Sinai, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Desert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: prat, tooshie, fundament
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. Something to trust"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus
  • Similar words include: intestine, catgut, bowel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "62. They offer support"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
  • Similar words include: brassiere, bandeau, bra
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Field"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

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, surface area, arena
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Facility"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
  • Similar words include: relieve, still, alleviate
  • Opposite of: difficulty
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
  • Similar words include: dye, dyestuff
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. Fall bloom"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

37A: "71. Cave wall hangings?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
  • Similar words include: kooky, wacky, at-bat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada 6
2D 2. Some vacation destinations 7
3D 3. "My mood is pretty low" 7
4D 4. Top three sights in Fiji? 4
5D 5. Like eyes during an allergy attack 5
6D 6. "Bless you!" elicitor 6
7D 7. ___ Minor 4
8D 8. Something that's pitched 4
9D 9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane 4
10D 10. Set of courses offered 10
11D 11. Miserable rating 7
12D 12. "___ death do us part" 3
13D 13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to 3
14D 21. Put forth 5
15D 22. Drop the ball 3
16D 26. Verbal hesitations 3
17D 27. Neptune's territory 3
18D 29. Situations one might no longer put effort into 10
19D 31. Drop 5
20D 32. Drop 3
21D 33. North Carolina university 4
22D 35. Chicago paper, with "the" 4
23D 39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho" 3
24D 40. Not taut 5
25D 41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer 3
26D 42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith 3
27D 43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g. 7
28D 46. Country bordering Chad and Benin 7
29D 47. Lecture attendee 7
30D 49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail) 3
31D 50. Rat (on) 6
32D 52. They can be well-done 6
33D 55. See-through 5
34D 58. Part of the Corn Belt 4
35D 59. Important stretches 4
36D 60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this 4
37D 61. What a shepherd may shepherd 4
38D 62. Bouncy part of a trampoline 3
39D 63. "A drop of golden sun," in song 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Some vacation destinations"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel located in a resort area
  • Similar words include: resort hotel, recur, recourse
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESORTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "My mood is pretty low""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Top three sights in Fiji?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very small circular shape
  • Similar words include: constellate, sprinkle, dit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Like eyes during an allergy attack"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing
  • Similar words include: turgid, gusty, tumescent
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Bless you!" elicitor"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose
  • Similar words include: sneezing, sternutation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEEZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ Minor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Something that's pitched"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
  • Similar words include: camp, encamp, collapsible shelter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) third son of adam and eve; given by god in place of the murdered abel
  • Similar words include: Set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Set of courses offered"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an integrated course of academic studies
  • Similar words include: course of study, syllabus, program
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURRICULUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Miserable rating"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "___ death do us part""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Put forth"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have and exercise
  • Similar words include: exercise, wield, maintain
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Drop the ball"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Verbal hesitations"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: Er, ER, emergency room
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Neptune's territory"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Situations one might no longer put effort into"

10 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "31. Drop"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lower of two berths
  • Similar words include: lour, humiliated, miserable
  • Opposite of: raise, high
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Drop"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a depression in an otherwise level surface
  • Similar words include: angle of dip, magnetic inclination, drop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. North Carolina university"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Chicago paper, with "the""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "40. Not taut"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grant freedom to; free from confinement
  • Similar words include: liberal, liberate, wanton
  • Opposite of: tight, affixed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metallic element of the rare earth group; used in lasers; occurs in apatite and monazite and xenotime and ytterbite
  • Similar words include: terbium, terabyte, Tb
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
  • Similar words include: Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Muhammad Ali
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g."

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Country bordering Chad and Benin"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in west africa on the gulf of guinea; gained independence from britain in 1960; most populous african country
  • Similar words include: Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGERIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Lecture attendee"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution
  • Similar words include: bookman, pupil, educatee
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUDENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Rat (on)"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that disclosing information or giving evidence about another
  • Similar words include: let the cat out of the bag, blab, peach
  • Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TATTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. They can be well-done"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
  • Similar words include: steak
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. See-through"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: transparent, gauze-like, vapourous
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "58. Part of the Corn Belt"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people formerly living in iowa and minnesota and missouri
  • Similar words include: IA, Hawkeye State, Ioway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOWA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "59. Important stretches"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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: table salt, common salt, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "61. What a shepherd may shepherd"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young sheep
  • Similar words include: Elia, dear, Charles Lamb
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "62. Bouncy part of a trampoline"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
  • Similar words include: make love, kip down, roll in the hay
  • Opposite of: get up, turn out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "63. "A drop of golden sun," in song"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: beam of light, shaft of light, shaft
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

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 19, 2026 at 04:04 AM

Monday, December 22, 2025

XWordHint Crossword Answers December 22, 2025 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Deep sleeps 5
2A 6. High-speed Amtrak train 5
3A 11. Word with punching or sleeping 3
4A 14. One of a battery's poles 5
5A 15. Older but ___ 5
6A 16. Under the weather 3
7A 17. Saxophone, trumpet, piano and bass, perhaps 11
8A 19. Day-___ paint 3
9A 20. "Garfield" dog 4
10A 21. "It's freezing!" 3
11A 22. Typical "Survivor" locales 5
12A 24. Rapper ___ Uzi Vert 3
13A 25. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, for two 11
14A 28. Fish that may have an electric charge 3
15A 29. Stammering sounds 3
16A 30. Indignation 7
17A 31. What each U.S. senator represents 5
18A 33. Raggedy ___ 3
19A 34. Breyers competitor 4
20A 35. Some exams allow them 9
21A 39. Cops, slangily 4
22A 42. Rode the bench 3
23A 43. Yoga pose 5
24A 47. Enjoying great success 7
25A 49. What electric cars don't use 3
26A 51. Like a 49-Across gauge that's near "Empty" 3
27A 52. Overly fussy 11
28A 54. Bit of forensic evidence 3
29A 55. Pink ___ (rock band) 5
30A 56. Singer DiFranco 3
31A 57. Bill 4
32A 58. Mideast export 3
33A 59. Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters 11
34A 63. French "a" 3
35A 64. Hearing-related 5
36A 65. Playwright Chekhov 5
37A 66. Kind of lamp that's energy-efficient 3
38A 67. Easily irritated 5
39A 68. Romeo and Juliet, agewise 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Deep sleeps"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of deep and often prolonged unconsciousness; usually the result of disease or injury
  • Similar words include: coma, comatoseness
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COMAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. High-speed Amtrak train"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Word with punching or sleeping"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flexible container with a single opening
  • Similar words include: suitcase, pocketbook, travelling bag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. One of a battery's poles"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a positively charged electrode by which electrons leave an electrical device
  • Opposite of: cathode
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Older but ___"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
  • Similar words include: saucy, fresh, impudent
  • Opposite of: foolish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WISER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Under the weather"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
  • Similar words include: ailment, poorly, ominous
  • Opposite of: well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Saxophone, trumpet, piano and bass, perhaps"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Day-___ paint"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. "Garfield" dog"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. "It's freezing!""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Typical "Survivor" locales"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island
  • Similar words include: isle, islet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Rapper ___ Uzi Vert"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, for two"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Fish that may have an electric charge"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Stammering sounds"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: emergency room, ER, erbium
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "30. Indignation"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of righteous anger
  • Similar words include: scandalise, appal, desecrate
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTRAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "31. What each U.S. senator represents"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
  • Similar words include: land, say, nation
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Raggedy ___"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. Breyers competitor"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Some exams allow them"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. Cops, slangily"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Rode the bench"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the sabbath by jews and some christians
  • Similar words include: sit around, seat, pose
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Yoga pose"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (hinduism) a posture or manner of sitting (as in the practice of yoga)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Enjoying great success"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. What electric cars don't use"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
  • Similar words include: bluster, petrol, gun
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Like a 49-Across gauge that's near "Empty""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation
  • Similar words include: miserable, lowly, downhearted
  • Opposite of: high
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Overly fussy"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used colloquially) overly conceited or arrogant; -laurent le sage
  • Similar words include: snot-nosed, bigheaded, pernickety
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERSNICKETY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Bit of forensic evidence"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Pink ___ (rock band)"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. Singer 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!

31A: "57. Bill"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
  • Similar words include: pecker, snoot, nib
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "58. Mideast export"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water
  • Similar words include: anele, crude, fossil oil
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "59. Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. French "a""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. Hearing-related"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or pertaining to hearing or the ear
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "65. Playwright Chekhov"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "66. Kind of lamp that's energy-efficient"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
  • Similar words include: light-emitting diode, leave, top
  • Opposite of: follow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "67. Easily irritated"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that easily irritated or annoyed
  • Similar words include: cranky, tetchy, irritable
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "68. Romeo and Juliet, agewise"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time of life between the ages of 12 and 20
  • Similar words include: adolescent, teenager, stripling
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Persuades with flattery 7
2D 2. Doing keto, perhaps 7
3D 3. Creator of Firefox and Thunderbird 7
4D 4. Woodworking tool 4
5D 5. Orderly arrangement: Abbr. 3
6D 6. Oscars and Grammys, e.g. 6
7D 7. Wispy clouds 5
8D 8. Approx. 3
9D 9. Harper ___, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" 3
10D 10. Monet or Manet 6
11D 11. Don't blow it! 7
12D 12. Reaction to pollen, e.g. 7
13D 13. Shiny coatings 7
14D 18. Lyft competitor 4
15D 23. Heart attack risk factor 6
16D 25. Cherokee maker 4
17D 26. "The kissing disease" 4
18D 27. Em, to Dorothy 4
19D 32. Foot, in baby talk 6
20D 33. Word after fire or carpenter 3
21D 36. Actor Morales 4
22D 37. Drug agent, informally 4
23D 38. "No sweat!" 4
24D 39. Ball batted up and behind the catcher, say 7
25D 40. Length of a pithy joke 7
26D 41. Released from jail early 7
27D 44. Pasta preference 7
28D 45. Nine-sided figure 7
29D 46. Stirs from sleep 7
30D 48. Is over by 6
31D 49. With a light touch 6
32D 50. Suffix with problem 4
33D 53. Gold standard 5
34D 57. Scourge 4
35D 60. Shade of color 3
36D 61. Surgery sites, in brief 3
37D 62. Beanie or bowler 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Persuades with flattery"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
  • Similar words include: inveigle, palaver, blarney
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAJOLES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Doing keto, perhaps"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Creator of Firefox and Thunderbird"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Woodworking tool"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edge tool used to cut and shape wood
  • Similar words include: adz
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Orderly arrangement: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Oscars and Grammys, e.g."

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a grant made by a law court
  • Similar words include: prize, honour, award
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWARDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Wispy clouds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually coiled
  • Similar words include: cirrus, cirrus cloud, cirrhus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIRRI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Approx."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 5th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern united states
  • Similar words include: Eastern Time, Eastern Standard Time
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Harper ___, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Monet or Manet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
  • Similar words include: creative person
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARTIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Don't blow it!"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Reaction to pollen, e.g."

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hypersensitivity reaction to a particular allergen; symptoms can vary greatly in intensity
  • Similar words include: allergic reaction
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLERGY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Shiny coatings"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an explanation or definition of an obscure word in a text
  • Similar words include: color, colour, polish
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLOSSES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Lyft competitor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Heart attack risk factor"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
  • Similar words include: tension, accentuate, strain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STRESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Cherokee maker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car suitable for traveling over rough terrain
  • Similar words include: landrover
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. "The kissing disease""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream; not highly contagious; some believe it can be transmitted by kissing
  • Similar words include: glandular fever, monophonic, infectious mononucleosis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Em, to Dorothy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
  • Similar words include: auntie, aunty
  • Opposite of: uncle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AUNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "32. Foot, in baby talk"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "33. Word after fire or carpenter"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
  • Similar words include: emmet, pismire
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "36. Actor Morales"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "37. Drug agent, informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lawman concerned with narcotics violations
  • Similar words include: narcotics agent, nark
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NARC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "38. "No sweat!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
  • Similar words include: well-situated, promiscuous, slowly
  • Opposite of: difficult, quickly
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "39. Ball batted up and behind the catcher, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "40. Length of a pithy joke"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Released from jail early"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that release a criminal from detention and place him on parole
  • Similar words include: parole
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAROLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "44. Pasta preference"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "45. Nine-sided figure"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a nine-sided polygon
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NONAGON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. Stirs from sleep"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to become awake or conscious
  • Similar words include: awake, rouse, wake up
  • Opposite of: cause to sleep, fall asleep
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWAKENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Is over by"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. With a light touch"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a gradual manner
  • Similar words include: mildly, lightly, softly
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GENTLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Suffix with problem"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Gold standard"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the unit of measurement for the proportion of gold in an alloy; 18-karat gold is 75% gold; 24-karat gold is pure gold
  • Similar words include: kt, carat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KARAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "57. Scourge"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something causing misery or death
  • Similar words include: nemesis, scourge, curse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BANE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "60. Shade of color"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
  • Similar words include: chromaticity, imbue
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "61. Surgery sites, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in northwestern united states on the pacific
  • Similar words include: Oregon, operating theatre, operating theater
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "62. Beanie or bowler"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
  • Similar words include: chapeau, lid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAT

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

39 Across Clues
37 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.

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Last updated: December 22, 2025 at 04:27 AM