Search Clues

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

Monday, July 6, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 06, 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: Moderate

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. Long, detailed tales 5
2A 6. Binds together 4
3A 10. Russia's Peter the Great, e.g. 4
4A 14. Hertz competitor 5
5A 15. Muppet with a noted feud with a pet rock 4
6A 16. Jane Austen title character 4
7A 17. Event that might include juggling, singing and magic tricks 10
8A 19. ___ wave (summer phenomenon) 4
9A 20. Northern neighbor of Namibia 6
10A 21. Eat, as cattle might 5
11A 22. Serpent seen on a sarcophagus 3
12A 24. Looks of total confusion 11
13A 27. Calm, as a lake 6
14A 29. Bard of ___, nickname for Shakespeare 4
15A 30. Intellectual thoroughness 5
16A 31. Olden days 4
17A 33. Texter's "If you ask me ..." 3
18A 36. Three-part fire safety technique 15
19A 40. Opposite of NNW 3
20A 41. Give the boot 4
21A 42. When farmers typically wake up 5
22A 43. Flatbread with a palindromic name 4
23A 45. Steve ___, 2003 N.F.L. M.V.P.-winning quarterback 6
24A 46. 2009 comedy about a bachelor party and its aftermath 11
25A 51. Golf ball holder 3
26A 52. Colorful glows 5
27A 53. Grapefruit relative 6
28A 55. Some urban pollution 4
29A 56. Sections of a choir .... as hinted at by this puzzle's circled letters 10
30A 60. It comes and goes each day 4
31A 61. "Frozen" princess 4
32A 62. Hall-of-Fame hoopster Thomas 5
33A 63. Where Eve reached for the forbidden fruit 4
34A 64. Grammy-winning singer Lisa 4
35A 65. Like the crying face emoji 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Long, detailed tales"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account
  • Similar words include: saga
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Binds together"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
  • Similar words include: tie-up, attach, wed
  • Opposite of: disconnect, untie
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Russia's Peter the Great, e.g."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Hertz competitor"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a siege and massacre at a mission in san antonio in 1836; mexican forces under santa anna besieged and massacred american rebels who were fighting to make texas independent of mexico
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALAMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Muppet with a noted feud with a pet rock"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Jane Austen title character"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Event that might include juggling, singing and magic tricks"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. ___ wave (summer phenomenon)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
  • Similar words include: oestrus, heating system, estrus
  • Opposite of: anestrus, coldness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Northern neighbor of Namibia"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in southwestern africa on the atlantic ocean; achieved independence from portugal in 1975 and was the scene of civil war until 1990
  • Similar words include: Republic of Angola
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGOLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Eat, as cattle might"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a superficial abrasion
  • Similar words include: browse, crease, rake
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Serpent seen on a sarcophagus"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
  • Similar words include: Naja haje, asp viper, Egyptian cobra
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Looks of total confusion"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Calm, as a lake"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves
  • Similar words include: tranquil, smooth, good-tempered
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLACID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Bard of ___, nickname for Shakespeare"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Intellectual thoroughness"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Olden days"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that time long past
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. Texter's "If you ask me ...""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the united nations agency concerned with international maritime activities
  • Similar words include: International Maritime Organization
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Three-part fire safety technique"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOPDROPANDROLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Opposite of NNW"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the compass point midway between south and southeast
  • Similar words include: south southeast, sou'-sou'-east
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Give the boot"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from a position or office
  • Similar words include: expel, boot out, kick out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. When farmers typically wake up"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
  • Similar words include: other, former, too soon
  • Opposite of: late, middle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Flatbread with a palindromic name"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that leavened bread baked in a clay oven in india; usually shaped like a teardrop
  • Similar words include: nan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Steve ___, 2003 N.F.L. M.V.P.-winning quarterback"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. 2009 comedy about a bachelor party and its aftermath"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "51. Golf ball holder"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the starting place for each hole on a golf course
  • Similar words include: teeing ground, golf tee, tee up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "52. Colorful glows"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: nimbus, aura, aureole
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Grapefruit relative"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that southeastern asian tree producing large fruits resembling grapefruits
  • Similar words include: pomelo tree, pummelo, Citrus decumana
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POMELO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Some urban pollution"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
  • Similar words include: smogginess
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "56. Sections of a choir .... as hinted at by this puzzle's circled letters"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. It comes and goes each day"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

31A: "61. "Frozen" princess"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a former copper coin of pakistan and india
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Hall-of-Fame hoopster Thomas"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Where Eve reached for the forbidden fruit"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
  • Similar words include: paradise, nirvana, promised land
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Grammy-winning singer Lisa"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states physiologist (born in germany) who did research on parthenogenesis (1859-1924)
  • Similar words include: Jacques Loeb
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. Like the crying face emoji"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that with eyes full of tears
  • Similar words include: teary-eyed, watery-eyed
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Used a chair 3
2D 2. In the manner of 3
3D 3. Archipelago that helped shape Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" 9
4D 4. Prayer ender 4
5D 5. Nuthatch or nightingale 8
6D 6. Cybertruck maker 5
7D 7. ___ Omar, first Somali American in Congress 5
8D 8. Angsty subculture 3
9D 9. Piglet's mother 3
10D 10. Capital city between Baghdad, Iraq, and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 10
11D 11. Negative attack on a political opponent 5
12D 12. Knock the socks off 5
13D 13. Parking garage listing 5
14D 18. Relayed, as a story 4
15D 21. 1960s Pontiac muscle car 3
16D 22. Auto loan figs. 4
17D 23. Cuts open, as an envelope 5
18D 25. 24-___ gold 5
19D 26. "Frozen" reindeer 4
20D 28. European capital that's home to the Little Mermaid statue 10
21D 31. Offspring 5
22D 32. Word after black or special 3
23D 34. Temporary suspensions 9
24D 35. Basic skateboarding jump 5
25D 37. Singer Chappell with the double-platinum album "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" 4
26D 38. Dilapidated 8
27D 39. Instrument played by a Muse 4
28D 44. Some small batteries 3
29D 45. Modern lead-in to coin or stock 4
30D 46. One of the five senses 5
31D 47. Like sticky summer weather 5
32D 48. Wash away 5
33D 49. Express one's thoughts 5
34D 50. Words of interest to a language learner, informally 5
35D 54. Operate on using a beam 4
36D 56. Actor Kilmer 3
37D 57. The Yoko of "Dear Yoko" 3
38D 58. Paver's goop 3
39D 59. Like a shrinking violet 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Used a chair"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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, sit down, sit around
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. In the manner of"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Archipelago that helped shape Darwin's "On the Origin of Species""

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of islands in the pacific off south america; owned by ecuador; known for unusual animal life
  • Similar words include: Galapagos Islands
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALAPAGOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Prayer ender"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a primeval egyptian personification of air and breath; worshipped especially at thebes
  • Similar words include: Amun, Amon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Nuthatch or nightingale"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any bird having a musical call
  • Similar words include: songster
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SONGBIRD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Cybertruck maker"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ Omar, first Somali American in Congress"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Angsty subculture"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Piglet's mother"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult female hog
  • Similar words include: sow in, inseminate, seed
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Capital city between Baghdad, Iraq, and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Negative attack on a political opponent"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slanderous defamation
  • Similar words include: blot, denigrate, besmirch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SMEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Knock the socks off"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affect with wonder
  • Similar words include: get, vex, astound
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Parking garage listing"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a local tax on property (usually used in the plural)
  • Similar words include: scab, stag, shit
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Relayed, as a story"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that express in words
  • Similar words include: secernate, recite, say
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. 1960s Pontiac muscle car"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Auto loan figs."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following march and preceding may
  • Similar words include: April, Apr
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "23. Cuts open, as an envelope"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long narrow opening
  • Similar words include: prick, twat, scratch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. 24-___ gold"

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: carat, kt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KARAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. "Frozen" reindeer"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. European capital that's home to the Little Mermaid statue"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of denmark; located on the island of zealand
  • Similar words include: Kobenhavn, Danish capital
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COPENHAGEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Offspring"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any immature animal
  • Similar words include: Whitney Young, untested, Pres Young
  • Opposite of: aged, old
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YOUNG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Word after black or special"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (roman mythology) goddess of abundance and fertility; wife of saturn; counterpart of greek rhea and cybele of ancient asia minor
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "34. Temporary suspensions"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged
  • Similar words include: moratorium
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORATORIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Basic skateboarding jump"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Singer Chappell with the double-platinum album "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft sheepskin leather that is colored and finished to resemble morocco; used in bookbinding
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Dilapidated"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that worn and broken down by hard use
  • Similar words include: creaky, sapless, weakly
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECREPIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "39. Instrument played by a Muse"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a harp used by ancient greeks for accompaniment
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. Some small batteries"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an associate degree in applied science
  • Similar words include: Associate in Arts, AA, Associate in Applied Science
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Modern lead-in to coin or stock"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. One of the five senses"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus
  • Similar words include: savour, sample, try out
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TASTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Like sticky summer weather"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that containing or characterized by a great deal of water vapor
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUMID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. Wash away"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "49. Express one's thoughts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that express one's opinion openly and without fear or hesitation
  • Similar words include: speak out, suppose, guess
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPINE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "50. Words of interest to a language learner, informally"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Operate on using a beam"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Actor Kilmer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. The Yoko of "Dear Yoko""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states musician (born in japan) who married john lennon and collaborated with him on recordings (born in 1933)
  • Similar words include: Yoko Ono
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Paver's goop"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue
  • Similar words include: mariner, seafarer, gob
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Like a shrinking violet"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quick throw
  • Similar words include: unsure, diffident, timid
  • Opposite of: confident
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHY

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
39 Down Clues
74 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: July 06, 2026 at 07:59 AM

Sunday, May 31, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 31, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Tricky

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Sacsayhuamán fortress builders 5
2A 6. Literary forerunner of Captain Hook 4
3A 10. Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds" 4
4A 14. Help-wanted letters 3
5A 17. Fermented vegan protein 6
6A 19. Wrestler/actor John 4
7A 20. Coin with 12 stars around the border 4
8A 21. Align 4
9A 22. Home of the legendary folk hero at 116-Across 11
10A 24. One involved with checks and balances 9
11A 26. Without 4
12A 27. Green spaces 8
13A 29. Hero of Arabian tales 7
14A 30. In the past 3
15A 31. ___ Mahal 3
16A 32. Expertise demonstrated by 116-Across in a fabled feat of precision 12
17A 34. Home Run ___ (annual M.L.B. event) 5
18A 36. D.O.J. agency 3
19A 39. Fuel-efficient Toyota 5
20A 40. Main ideas 5
21A 41. Athletic skill mastered by 116-Across 7
22A 44. W-9 fig. 3
23A 45. Banned substance, in sports lingo 3
24A 46. Diego Rivera project 5
25A 48. Apt name for a lawyer 3
26A 49. Laughed loudly 6
27A 52. N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse 3
28A 53. Like the Statue of Liberty at night 5
29A 55. Beatle who sang "Yellow Submarine" 5
30A 57. Sailor's septet 4
31A 60. Go-getter's opposite 8
32A 62. Through 3
33A 63. "Drat!," in Dortmund 3
34A 65. "The Situation Room" airer 3
35A 66. Chirruping bird 7
36A 67. Pat down 5
37A 69. City sobriquet that might describe the target for 116-Across, as depicted in this puzzle 11
38A 71. Stuff in a puff 3
39A 72. She-ep? 3
40A 73. Home to the Burj Khalifa, in brief 3
41A 74. Appointments that may lead to better contacts 8
42A 76. Dampens 4
43A 78. "Whoa, ___!" 5
44A 80. Bel ___ cheese 5
45A 81. Instinctive 3
46A 82. Religious dissent 6
47A 84. $5 bill, slangily 3
48A 85. Actress Spacek 5
49A 87. Negative logic gate in electrical engineering 3
50A 88. Cartesian conclusion 3
51A 91. Composer of an overture dedicated to 116-Across 7
52A 93. Gets lost 5
53A 96. Came to a conclusion 5
54A 98. "Doctor ___" 3
55A 99. Start of an encrypted URL 5
56A 103. Streaker in the night sky ... or a punny description of 116-Across 12
57A 106. Acid 3
58A 108. Unprocessed, as data 3
59A 109. Inspiration for many seasonal festivals 7
60A 110. Oscar-winning 2019 film directed by Bong Joon Ho 8
61A 113. Smoke, perhaps 4
62A 114. What may begin at the end 9
63A 116. Legendary figure who's the subject of this puzzle 11
64A 118. Orchard selection 4
65A 119. Lot calculation 4
66A 120. "All's well with me" 4
67A 121. Human 6
68A 122. Masthead figs. 3
69A 123. Timid 4
70A 124. Quibbles 4
71A 125. Ruses 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sacsayhuamán fortress builders"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Literary forerunner of Captain Hook"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that according to the old testament he was a pagan king of israel and husband of jezebel (9th century bc)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person trained to compete in sports
  • Similar words include: jockstrap, supporter, athlete
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JOCK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Help-wanted letters"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an internationally recognized distress signal in radio code
  • Similar words include: soh, sol, so
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "17. Fermented vegan protein"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "19. Wrestler/actor John"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "20. Coin with 12 stars around the border"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit of most members of the european union (introduced in 1999); in 2002 twelve european nations (germany, france, belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, italy, spain, portugal, ireland, greece, austria, finland) adopted the euro as their basic unit of money and abandoned their traditional currencies
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EURO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "21. Align"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make synchronous and adjust in time or manner
  • Similar words include: synchronize, synchronise
  • Opposite of: desynchronize, desynchronise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYNC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "22. Home of the legendary folk hero at 116-Across"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a landlocked federal republic in central europe
  • Similar words include: Svizzera, Swiss Confederation, Schweiz
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWITZERLAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "24. One involved with checks and balances"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an officer charged with receiving and disbursing funds
  • Similar words include: financial officer
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREASURER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Without"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Green spaces"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
  • Similar words include: browse, grazing land, range
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTURES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. Hero of Arabian tales"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. In the past"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gone by; or in the past
  • Similar words include: agone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. ___ Mahal"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Expertise demonstrated by 116-Across in a fabled feat of precision"

12 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that skill in shooting
  • Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARKSMANSHIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Home Run ___ (annual M.L.B. event)"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
  • Similar words include: plug hat, bowler hat, bowler
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DERBY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. D.O.J. agency"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the law enforcement and tax collection agency of the treasury department that enforces federal laws concerning alcohol and tobacco products and firearms and explosives and arson
  • Similar words include: Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Fuel-efficient Toyota"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Main ideas"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
  • Similar words include: heart, meat, sum
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GISTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Athletic skill mastered by 116-Across"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sport of shooting arrows with a bow
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCHERY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. W-9 fig."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Banned substance, in sports lingo"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Diego Rivera project"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a painting that is applied to a wall surface
  • Similar words include: wall painting
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MURAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Apt name for a lawyer"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french writer whose novels described the sordid side of city life (1804-1857)
  • Similar words include: action, Eugene Sue, process
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "49. Laughed loudly"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
  • Similar words include: howl, yawl, bellow
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROARED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Like the Statue of Liberty at night"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Beatle who sang "Yellow Submarine""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rock star and drummer for the beatles (born in 1940)
  • Similar words include: Richard Starkey, Starkey, Ringo Starr
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STARR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "57. Sailor's septet"

4 letters Category: Common Word

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: sea, ocean
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Go-getter's opposite"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who fails to meet a financial obligation
  • Similar words include: defaulter
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEADBEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Through"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. "Drat!," in Dortmund"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. "The Situation Room" airer"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Chirruping bird"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
  • Similar words include: Prunella modularis, dunnock, hedge sparrow
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPARROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Pat down"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of searching someone for concealed weapons or illegal drugs
  • Similar words include: rollick, run around, frisking
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRISK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. City sobriquet that might describe the target for 116-Across, as depicted in this puzzle"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "71. Stuff in a puff"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
  • Similar words include: send, air travel, melody
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "72. She-ep?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "73. Home to the Burj Khalifa, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "74. Appointments that may lead to better contacts"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "76. Dampens"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wetness caused by water
  • Similar words include: moisture, wet
  • Opposite of: dry
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "78. "Whoa, ___!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "80. Bel ___ cheese"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "81. Instinctive"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "82. Religious dissent"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position
  • Similar words include: heterodoxy, unorthodoxy
  • Opposite of: orthodoxy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERESY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "84. $5 bill, slangily"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "85. Actress Spacek"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
  • Similar words include: sissyish, cissy, emasculate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SISSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "87. Negative logic gate in electrical engineering"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "88. Cartesian conclusion"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "91. Composer of an overture dedicated to 116-Across"

7 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian composer remembered for his operas (1792-1868)
  • Similar words include: Giloacchino Antonio Rossini
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSSINI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "93. Gets lost"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument
  • Similar words include: scat, bunk, scarper
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "96. Came to a conclusion"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
  • Similar words include: terminate, over, terminated
  • Opposite of: begin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "98. "Doctor ___""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "99. Start of an encrypted URL"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protocol (utilizing tcp) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • Similar words include: HTTP, hypertext transfer protocol
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HTTPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "103. Streaker in the night sky ... or a punny description of 116-Across"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "106. Acid"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a powerful hallucinogenic drug manufactured from lysergic acid
  • Similar words include: lysergic acid diethylamide
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "108. Unprocessed, as data"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for nakedness
  • Similar words include: in the raw, bleak, crude
  • Opposite of: cooked
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "109. Inspiration for many seasonal festivals"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the yield from plants in a single growing season
  • Similar words include: harvest time, harvesting, crop
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARVEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "110. Oscar-winning 2019 film directed by Bong Joon Ho"

8 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host
  • Similar words include: sponge, leech, sponger
  • Opposite of: host
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARASITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "113. Smoke, perhaps"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieve pain
  • Similar words include: heal, curative, therapeutic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62A: "114. What may begin at the end"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that life after death
  • Similar words include: hereafter
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFTERLIFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63A: "116. Legendary figure who's the subject of this puzzle"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64A: "118. Orchard selection"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
  • Similar words include: Pyrus communis, pear tree
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

65A: "119. Lot calculation"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

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: country, expanse, orbit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66A: "120. "All's well with me""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67A: "121. Human"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human being
  • Similar words include: somebody, person, deadly
  • Opposite of: immortal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORTAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68A: "122. Masthead figs."

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid automatic system to detect plastic explosives in passengers' luggage using x-ray technology and computers; designed for use in airports
  • Similar words include: male erecticle dysfunction, ED, explosive detection system
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69A: "123. Timid"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
  • Similar words include: spiritless, mild, modest
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

70A: "124. Quibbles"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a luminance unit equal to 1 candle per square meter measured perpendicular to the rays from the source
  • Similar words include: nit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

71A: "125. Ruses"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker
  • Similar words include: ploy, stratagem, gambit
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. "What a bummer" 6
2D 2. À la Enya 6
3D 3. Key with three flats 6
4D 4. Studios and penthouses: Abbr. 4
5D 5. "___ me!" 3
6D 6. Knee parts, for short 4
7D 7. Part of a track meet 4
8D 8. Per ___ (accounting term) 5
9D 9. Undeserved condemnation 6
10D 10. Watercraft that leave "rooster tails" in their wakes 7
11D 11. "___ home and native land!" 3
12D 12. Absolutely whomps, in sports lingo 6
13D 13. "Bear" that's not a bear 5
14D 14. Some red wines 6
15D 15. Smallest quantity of digital data 6
16D 16. Abandons, as a project 6
17D 18. Purifying filter acronym 4
18D 21. Eases 8
19D 23. Jasmine's tiger companion in "Aladdin" 5
20D 25. Big name in sewing machines 6
21D 28. Messes up 4
22D 31. TV host Banks 4
23D 33. Longtime jazz bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name 5
24D 35. Where Cary Grant orders a Gibson in a classic scene from "North by Northwest" 6
25D 37. Magnetic unit named for an inventor 5
26D 38. Productive ... or a punny description of the feat performed by 116-Across? 8
27D 42. Many a liquor license applicant 9
28D 43. As of now 3
29D 45. Board game with ancient origins 9
30D 46. Gooey chocolate dessert 6
31D 47. Discover 7
32D 50. Holds forth 6
33D 51. Tenth, in Latin 7
34D 54. Small flycatchers named for their call, not their size 6
35D 55. Bro kin 3
36D 56. What 116-Across did before and after this puzzle's feat? 8
37D 58. Dread-full? 6
38D 59. Popular beverage brand 7
39D 61. Dr. ___ 3
40D 62. Compete 3
41D 64. Bad spelling? 3
42D 66. Lead-in to bones or bucks 3
43D 68. Sunbeam 3
44D 70. Abandons a project, slangily 6
45D 75. "Oy!" 5
46D 77. Forwarded 8
47D 79. Full of tall tales 5
48D 80. It's better than a bogey 3
49D 83. Team lineup 6
50D 86. Like most modern TV broadcasts 4
51D 89. "Money-back guarantee" and "Limited-time offer" 7
52D 90. Self-referential 4
53D 92. Conductor Georg 5
54D 93. Snaky double curve 6
55D 94. Really irritated 6
56D 95. Main lines 6
57D 96. Full 6
58D 97. Australian city named for a scientist 6
59D 100. Closely following 6
60D 101. Gambler's combo bet 6
61D 102. Waves sought by surfers 6
62D 104. Five Pillars religion 5
63D 105. "Spider-Man" director Sam 5
64D 107. Stitcher's line 4
65D 111. Tee time or airtime, e.g. 4
66D 112. Sorts 4
67D 113. Corner key 4
68D 115. Toll 3
69D 117. Bucket list item? 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. "What a bummer""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. À la Enya"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Key with three flats"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Studios and penthouses: Abbr."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "___ me!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Knee parts, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Part of a track meet"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
  • Similar words include: oestrus, heating, rut
  • Opposite of: coldness, cool
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Per ___ (accounting term)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (latin) year
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Undeserved condemnation"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Watercraft that leave "rooster tails" in their wakes"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "___ home and native land!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Absolutely whomps, in sports lingo"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the best people or things in a group
  • Similar words include: clobber, drub, lick
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "Bear" that's not a bear"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sluggish tailless australian arboreal marsupial with grey furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark
  • Similar words include: kangaroo bear, koala bear, native bear
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KOALA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Some red wines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Smallest quantity of digital data"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "16. Abandons, as a project"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
  • Similar words include: fighting, combat, altercate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCRAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "18. Purifying filter acronym"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "21. Eases"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wear off or die down
  • Similar words include: subside, lessen, sink
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUBSIDES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "23. Jasmine's tiger companion in "Aladdin""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prince or king in india
  • Similar words include: raja
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAJAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "25. Big name in sewing machines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who sings
  • Similar words include: Isaac Merrit Singer, Isaac M. Singer, vocalizer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINGER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Messes up"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. TV host Banks"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Longtime jazz bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Where Cary Grant orders a Gibson in a classic scene from "North by Northwest""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Magnetic unit named for an inventor"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter
  • Similar words include: Nikola Tesla
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TESLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Productive ... or a punny description of the feat performed by 116-Across?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that productive or conducive to producing in abundance
  • Opposite of: unfruitful
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRUITFUL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Many a liquor license applicant"

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. As of now"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that up to the present time
  • Similar words include: notwithstanding, even so, nonetheless
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Board game with ancient origins"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a modern board game based on pachisi
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARCHEESI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Gooey chocolate dessert"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Discover"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bring to light
  • Similar words include: excavate
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNEARTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Holds forth"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Similar words include: orate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "51. Tenth, in Latin"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "54. Small flycatchers named for their call, not their size"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small olive-colored woodland flycatchers of eastern north america
  • Similar words include: pewit, wood pewee, peewit
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEWEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "55. Bro kin"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a female person who has the same parents as another person
  • Similar words include: International System, SI, sister
  • Opposite of: brother
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. What 116-Across did before and after this puzzle's feat?"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "58. Dread-full?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Popular beverage brand"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Dr. ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. Compete"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
  • Similar words include: contend, compete
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "64. Bad spelling?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an evil spell
  • Similar words include: enchant, glamour, curse
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "66. Lead-in to bones or bucks"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
  • Similar words include: get wind, view, fancy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "68. Sunbeam"

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, irradiate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "70. Abandons a project, slangily"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45D: "75. "Oy!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46D: "77. Forwarded"

8 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47D: "79. Full of tall tales"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
  • Similar words include: fabrication, lie, lie down
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LYING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48D: "80. It's better than a bogey"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (golf) the standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course
  • Similar words include: equivalence, equality, equation
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49D: "83. Team lineup"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a list of names
  • Similar words include: roll
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50D: "86. Like most modern TV broadcasts"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51D: "89. "Money-back guarantee" and "Limited-time offer""

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52D: "90. Self-referential"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53D: "92. Conductor Georg"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54D: "93. Snaky double curve"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55D: "94. Really irritated"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
  • Similar words include: annoy, galled, get at
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHAFED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56D: "95. Main lines"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the large trunk artery that carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to branch arteries
  • Similar words include: aorta
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AORTAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57D: "96. Full"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uncastrated adult male horse
  • Similar words include: total, full, intact
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58D: "97. Australian city named for a scientist"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that english natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
  • Similar words include: Charles Robert Darwin, Charles Darwin
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DARWIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59D: "100. Closely following"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60D: "101. Gambler's combo bet"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a series of wagers in which the winnings from one wager are used as a stake for the subsequent wagers
  • Similar words include: double up
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARLAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61D: "102. Waves sought by surfers"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
  • Similar words include: dude, fop, crestless wave
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWELLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62D: "104. Five Pillars religion"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the civilization of muslims collectively which is governed by the muslim religion
  • Similar words include: Muhammadanism, Muslimism, Mohammedanism
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63D: "105. "Spider-Man" director Sam"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

64D: "107. Stitcher's line"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
  • Similar words include: wrinkle, furrow, crinkle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

65D: "111. Tee time or airtime, e.g."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a position in a grammatical linguistic construction in which a variety of alternative units are interchangeable
  • Similar words include: expansion slot, time slot, one-armed bandit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

66D: "112. Sorts"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a kind of person
  • Similar words include: ilk, like
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ILKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67D: "113. Corner key"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68D: "115. Toll"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
  • Similar words include: tip, bung
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69D: "117. Bucket list item?"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
  • Similar words include: swob, pout, mop up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOP

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

71 Across Clues
69 Down Clues
140 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: May 31, 2026 at 07:09 AM