Search Clues

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

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 12, 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. Appropriate answer for 1-Across 5
2A 6. Have the sense of 4
3A 10. Females shepherded by shepherds 4
4A 14. Fuel-bearing ship 5
5A 15. Leer at 4
6A 16. One piece of a three-piece suit 4
7A 17. Listing at an ice cream shop in Ipswich 15
8A 20. Lou Gehrig's disease, in brief 3
9A 21. "___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel song) 3
10A 22. Happen afterward 5
11A 23. Some limb-moving muscles 9
12A 27. Kids' items at a day care in Derby 14
13A 32. Pack tightly 5
14A 33. Spanish for "this" 4
15A 34. Pod tidbit 3
16A 35. Spoke to a convention, say 6
17A 37. Members of the aristocracy 6
18A 40. Establishment that might offer free breakfast 3
19A 41. Quaint lead-in to while 4
20A 45. Leads off 5
21A 46. Areas on a map of Manchester 14
22A 50. Sudden, widespread appearances of illness 9
23A 51. Live (in) 5
24A 54. "Thanks a ___!" (informal appreciation) 3
25A 55. Butcher's discard 3
26A 58. "Hmm, why use the spellings of 17-, 27- and 46-Across?" 15
27A 63. Laura of "Jurassic Park" 4
28A 64. A pelican can hold more water in this than in its belly 4
29A 65. Franz ___, Prague-born writer of dark fiction 5
30A 66. Force holding us onto Earth, informally 4
31A 67. Pepsi alternative 4
32A 68. Be present 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Appropriate answer for 1-Across"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the beginning of anything
  • Similar words include: originate, bug out, pop
  • Opposite of: finish, end
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: START

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Have the sense of"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an intuitive awareness; or
  • Similar words include: look, finger, flavour
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Females shepherded by shepherds"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Similar words include: ewe, Ewe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Fuel-bearing ship"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a worker who oils engines or machinery
  • Similar words include: tanker, oil well, tank ship
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OILER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Leer at"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that look at with amorous intentions
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. One piece of a three-piece suit"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man's sleeveless garment worn underneath a coat
  • Similar words include: robe, undershirt, invest
  • Opposite of: divest
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Listing at an ice cream shop in Ipswich"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Lou Gehrig's disease, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord; results in progressive muscle atrophy that starts in the limbs
  • Similar words include: Heart of Dixie, Camellia State, Al
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. "___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel song)"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a form of address for a married woman
  • Similar words include: Mrs., Mr., Mister
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Happen afterward"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end
  • Similar words include: result
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Some limb-moving muscles"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who unlawfully seizes and detains a victim (usually for ransom)
  • Similar words include: kidnapper, abductor muscle, snatcher
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABDUCTORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Kids' items at a day care in Derby"

14 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "32. Pack tightly"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "33. Spanish for "this""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "34. Pod tidbit"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seed of a pea plant used for food
  • Similar words include: pea plant
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. Spoke to a convention, say"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "37. Members of the aristocracy"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "40. Establishment that might offer free breakfast"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
  • Similar words include: auberge, lodge, hostelry
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "41. Quaint lead-in to while"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at a previous time
  • Similar words include: erstwhile, once, formerly
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "45. Leads off"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: unfold, give, clear
  • Opposite of: fold, close
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "46. Areas on a map of Manchester"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a surrounding or nearby region
  • Similar words include: neck of the woods, vicinity, locality
  • Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEIGHBOURHOODS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "50. Sudden, widespread appearances of illness"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sudden violent spontaneous occurrence (usually of some undesirable condition)
  • Similar words include: irruption, outbreak, eruption
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUTBREAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "51. Live (in)"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that think moodily or anxiously about something
  • Similar words include: brood, inhabit, harp
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DWELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "54. "Thanks a ___!" (informal appreciation)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cypriot monetary unit equal to one thousandth of a pound
  • Similar words include: ml, Swedish mile, cc
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "55. Butcher's discard"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a soft greasy substance occurring in organic tissue and consisting of a mixture of lipids (mostly triglycerides)
  • Similar words include: rich, adipose tissue, blubber
  • Opposite of: thin, leanness
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "58. "Hmm, why use the spellings of 17-, 27- and 46-Across?""

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "63. Laura of "Jurassic Park""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "64. A pelican can hold more water in this than in its belly"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statute in draft before it becomes law
  • Similar words include: card, account, circular
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "65. Franz ___, Prague-born writer of dark fiction"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that czech novelist who wrote in german about a nightmarish world of isolated and troubled individuals (1883-1924)
  • Similar words include: Franz Kafka
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAFKA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "66. Force holding us onto Earth, informally"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "67. Pepsi alternative"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that carbon fuel produced by distillation of coal
  • Similar words include: snow, C, Coca Cola
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "68. Be present"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have an existence, be extant
  • Similar words include: live, be, survive
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Divan 4
2D 2. Tens or ones place? 4
3D 3. Lead-in to "poor Yorick!" 4
4D 4. Al Sharpton's title, for short 3
5D 5. Instrument with a Renaissance-era ancestor called a sackbut 8
6D 6. "Absolutely!" 7
7D 7. Sense of self 3
8D 8. Hermey is one, in TV's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" 3
9D 9. Do-over at serving 3
10D 10. "Nevertheless ..." 6
11D 11. Marries 4
12D 12. One son of Isaac and Rebekah 4
13D 13. Bacterial eye malady 4
14D 18. Pakistani language 4
15D 19. Chervil or chive 4
16D 23. Touched down 4
17D 24. Stool pigeons, in police shorthand 3
18D 25. Explosive inits. 3
19D 26. Kind of arch in architecture 4
20D 27. ___ asada 5
21D 28. Resident of a Mideast sultanate 5
22D 29. Chose, with "for" 5
23D 30. Wails 5
24D 31. Give some lip to 4
25D 32. Sign up for 4
26D 36. Some are said to be "swimming" in this 4
27D 38. Resemble 8
28D 39. Ways to raise capital, in brief 4
29D 42. Lowe on TV 3
30D 43. Big ___, West Coast tourist destination 3
31D 44. Shake with fear 7
32D 47. Sandlot QB's order to a receiver 6
33D 48. Streaming service owned by Disney 4
34D 49. Cause of a shower drain clog, maybe 4
35D 51. Birdbrain 4
36D 52. "At what time?" 4
37D 53. BrontΓ« heroine 4
38D 55. Popular female poodle name 4
39D 56. Inquires 4
40D 57. Word after "Copy" or "Fancy" 4
41D 59. Airer of "The View" 3
42D 60. Site of the world's largest Carnival celebration 3
43D 61. Wapiti, by another name 3
44D 62. Put a burden on 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Divan"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upholstered seat for more than one person
  • Similar words include: lounge, couch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Tens or ones place?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together
  • Similar words include: cashbox, public treasury, trough
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Lead-in to "poor Yorick!""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
  • Similar words include: regrettably, unluckily, ala
  • Opposite of: fortunately, luckily
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Al Sharpton's title, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that rate of revolution of a motor
  • Similar words include: rpm, revolutions per minute, rev up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REV

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Instrument with a Renaissance-era ancestor called a sackbut"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brass instrument consisting of a long tube whose length can be varied by a u-shaped slide
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TROMBONE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Absolutely!""

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sense of self"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
  • Similar words include: self-importance, self, egotism
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Hermey is one, in TV's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
  • Similar words include: pixy, gremlin, extremely low frequency
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Do-over at serving"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Nevertheless ...""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Marries"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fourth day of the week; the third working day
  • Similar words include: splice, Midweek, hook up with
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. One son of Isaac and Rebekah"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) the eldest son of isaac who would have inherited the covenant that god made with abraham and that abraham passed on to isaac; he traded his birthright to his twin brother jacob for a mess of pottage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Bacterial eye malady"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Pakistani language"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the official literary language of pakistan, closely related to hindi; widely used in india (mostly by moslems); written in arabic script
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URDU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Chervil or chive"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
  • Similar words include: herbaceous plant
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Touched down"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Stool pigeons, in police shorthand"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alliance made up of states that had been soviet socialist republics in the soviet union prior to its dissolution in dec 1991
  • Similar words include: Commonwealth of Independent States, curie, Ci
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Explosive inits."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Kind of arch in architecture"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a molding that (in section) has the shape of an s with the convex part above and the concave part below
  • Similar words include: cyma reversa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OGEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "27. ___ asada"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "28. Resident of a Mideast sultanate"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of oman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMANI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "29. Chose, with "for""

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that select as an alternative over another
  • Similar words include: choose, opt, prefer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "30. Wails"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a funeral lament sung with loud wailing
  • Similar words include: keen, lament
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "31. Give some lip to"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an impudent or insolent rejoinder
  • Similar words include: lip, back talk, Special Air Service
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "32. Sign up for"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made
  • Similar words include: articulation, joint, junction
  • Opposite of: disjoin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JOIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "36. Some are said to be "swimming" in this"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of owing something (especially money)
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEBT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "38. Resemble"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "39. Ways to raise capital, in brief"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a corporation's first offer to sell stock to the public
  • Similar words include: initial offering, initial public offering, IPO
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IPOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. Lowe on TV"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
  • Similar words include: overcharge, gazump, soak
  • Opposite of: undercharge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. Big ___, West Coast tourist destination"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a port in southern lebanon on the mediterranean sea; formerly a major phoenician seaport famous for silks
  • Similar words include: Tyre
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Shake with fear"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reflex motion caused by cold or fear or excitement
  • Similar words include: shake, shiver
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREMBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "47. Sandlot QB's order to a receiver"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Streaming service owned by Disney"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Cause of a shower drain clog, maybe"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
  • Similar words include: hairsbreadth, pilus, hair's-breadth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "51. Birdbrain"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone whose style is out of fashion
  • Similar words include: fogy, fogey, Raphus cucullatus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DODO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. "At what time?""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "53. BrontΓ« heroine"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shallow salt lake in south central australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent
  • Similar words include: Lake Eyre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "55. Popular female poodle name"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "56. Inquires"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inquire about
  • Similar words include: expect, demand, ask
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "57. Word after "Copy" or "Fancy""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "59. Airer of "The View""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
  • Similar words include: alphabet, ABC's, rudiment
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "60. Site of the world's largest Carnival celebration"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the former capital and 2nd largest city of brazil; chief brazilian port; famous as a tourist attraction
  • Similar words include: Rio de Janeiro
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "61. Wapiti, by another name"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in europe and `moose' in north america
  • Similar words include: Alces alces, wapiti, red deer
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "62. Put a burden on"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
  • Similar words include: revenue enhancement, assess, taxation
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAX

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

32 Across Clues
44 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: May 12, 2026 at 06:25 AM

Saturday, April 11, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 11, 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. "How telling" 12
2A 13. Rued remark? 13
3A 14. Question to one who's down 14
4A 15. There's a Black, White and Red one 3
5A 16. "Such a blast!" 5
6A 17. Buff bros 5
7A 18. Maintained, as a position 4
8A 20. Part of E.S.T.: Abbr. 3
9A 21. Downed 3
10A 22. They have sticking points in competition 5
11A 24. Some gaming centers, in brief 3
12A 25. "Darn it!" 3
13A 28. Arboreal symbol in Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" 10
14A 32. Fulfill ... or fill 4
15A 33. Give a very wide berth 15
16A 35. Heading in a wine list 4
17A 36. A significant accomplishment 10
18A 37. House and Howser: Abbr. 3
19A 38. ___-eared 3
20A 39. Figures in a speed trap? 5
21A 40. Something most people have memorized 3
22A 41. Iowa college 3
23A 44. Writer of "EsmΓ©" and "The Open Window" 4
24A 45. Not a good way to run? 5
25A 48. Old Syrian political party whose name means "resurrection" 5
26A 50. X 3
27A 51. Flip remark? 14
28A 54. "Saturday Night Live" features that aren't live 13
29A 55. Term for an ambiguously worded news headline 12

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "How telling""

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "13. Rued remark?"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "14. Question to one who's down"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. There's a Black, White and Red one"

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!

5A: "16. "Such a blast!""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Buff bros"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. Maintained, as a position"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,
  • Similar words include: check, make, keep
  • Opposite of: let go of, disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HELD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Part of E.S.T.: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact
  • Similar words include: venereal disease, Doctor of Sacred Theology, Cupid's itch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Downed"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: deplete, feed, eat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. They have sticking points in competition"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Similar words include: epee
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "24. Some gaming centers, in brief"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. "Darn it!""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
  • Similar words include: military man, world, adult male
  • Opposite of: civilian, woman
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Arboreal symbol in Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit""

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "32. Fulfill ... or fill"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill to satisfaction
  • Similar words include: fill, replete, satiate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Give a very wide berth"

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. Heading in a wine list"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
  • Similar words include: loss, redness, bolshie
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. A significant accomplishment"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. House and Howser: Abbr."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. ___-eared"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cut off from a whole
  • Similar words include: dress, cut back, snip
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Figures in a speed trap?"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Something most people have memorized"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment
  • Similar words include: peg, rowlock, oarlock
  • Opposite of: unpin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Iowa college"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. Writer of "EsmΓ©" and "The Open Window""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that british writer of short stories (1870-1916)
  • Similar words include: rice beer, Munro, H. H. Munro
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAKI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Not a good way to run?"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that especially of a ship's lines etc
  • Similar words include: fouled, foul
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFOUL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Old Syrian political party whose name means "resurrection""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "50. X"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
  • Similar words include: decade, ten-spot, 10
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "51. Flip remark?"

14 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. "Saturday Night Live" features that aren't live"

13 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Term for an ambiguously worded news headline"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Your of yore 3
2D 2. They're tipped out of respect 4
3D 3. Alexandre Dumas's Count de la Fère 5
4D 4. It's a steal! 5
5D 5. Spanish blessing 5
6D 6. Big publisher of romance novels 4
7D 7. Hunger 3
8D 8. Aiming mechanisms on bows 6
9D 9. Plug amount 5
10D 10. Moldable soil 4
11D 11. At some time 4
12D 12. ___ idol 4
13D 13. Groups studied by cetologists 9
14D 14. Become inconsolable about 8
15D 15. "True West" playwright Sam 7
16D 19. Providers of chops and chips 5
17D 21. Line running roughly parallel to Interstate 95 5
18D 23. Disconsolate 3
19D 24. "The King of Football" 4
20D 25. Cars with a trident logo 9
21D 26. Person playing forward 8
22D 27. Calls home, as a bird might 7
23D 29. Gabbed, gabbed, gabbed 5
24D 30. Car roof with removable panels 4
25D 31. Farm male 3
26D 32. Remote locations 5
27D 34. TV channel that has received a Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Speech 3
28D 38. Adam's first wife, in Jewish myth 6
29D 40. Hungarian sheepdogs 5
30D 41. Schoolyard retort 5
31D 42. Vows you may stand for 5
32D 43. Spirit of an era 5
33D 45. Down Under band with 10 multiplatinum albums 4
34D 46. All right 4
35D 47. ___ Tokarczuk, 2018 Literature Nobelist 4
36D 48. Unwanted bit of mail 4
37D 49. "Show me a ___ and I'll write you a tragedy": F. Scott Fitzgerald 4
38D 52. Something you owe 3
39D 53. Producer of notes 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Your of yore"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. They're tipped out of respect"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

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, hat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Alexandre Dumas's Count de la Fère"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an autonomous area in northeastern greece that is the site of several greek orthodox monasteries founded in the tenth century
  • Similar words include: Mount Athos
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. It's a steal!"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
  • Similar words include: larceny, thieving, stealing
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THEFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Spanish blessing"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big publisher of romance novels"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

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, River Avon, Upper Avon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Hunger"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a yearning for something or to do something
  • Similar words include: yearn, hankering, pine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Aiming mechanisms on bows"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an optical instrument for aiding the eye in aiming, as on a firearm or surveying instrument
  • Similar words include: pile, good deal, wad
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIGHTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Plug amount"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Moldable soil"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay and decaying organic materials
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. At some time"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that on one occasion
  • Similar words include: erst, one time, formerly
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ idol"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity
  • Similar words include: teenager, stripling, teenage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Groups studied by cetologists"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Become inconsolable about"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. "True West" playwright Sam"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states author of surrealistic allegorical plays (born in 1943)
  • Similar words include: Alan Shepard, Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., Sam Shepard
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEPARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "19. Providers of chops and chips"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shop selling ready-to-eat food products
  • Similar words include: food shop, delicatessen, deli
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DELIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "21. Line running roughly parallel to Interstate 95"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "23. Disconsolate"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; ; - christina rossetti
  • Similar words include: lamentable, pitiful, distressing
  • Opposite of: glad
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "24. "The King of Football""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "25. Cars with a trident logo"

9 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "26. Person playing forward"

8 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who attacks
  • Similar words include: aggressor, assaulter, assailant
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATTACKER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "27. Calls home, as a bird might"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "29. Gabbed, gabbed, gabbed"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "30. Car roof with removable panels"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "31. Farm male"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible
  • Similar words include: chock up, crash, tup
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "32. Remote locations"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upholstered seat for more than one person
  • Similar words include: lounge, sofa, couch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "34. TV channel that has received a Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Speech"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "38. Adam's first wife, in Jewish myth"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in ancient semitic folklore: a female demon who attacks children
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LILITH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Hungarian sheepdogs"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "41. Schoolyard retort"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "42. Vows you may stand for"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
  • Similar words include: curse, expletive, swearword
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OATHS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "43. Spirit of an era"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (anthropology) the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "45. Down Under band with 10 multiplatinum albums"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "46. All right"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.
  • Similar words include: bonnie, carnival, comely
  • Opposite of: foul, unfair
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "47. ___ Tokarczuk, 2018 Literature Nobelist"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "48. Unwanted bit of mail"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a statute in draft before it becomes law
  • Similar words include: placard, handbill, broadsheet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "49. "Show me a ___ and I'll write you a tragedy": F. Scott Fitzgerald"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
  • Similar words include: submarine sandwich, Hero of Alexandria, wedge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HERO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "52. Something you owe"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the bill in a restaurant
  • Similar words include: check, tabloid, lozenge
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "53. Producer of notes"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigrade
  • Similar words include: atmosphere, standard atmosphere, cash machine
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATM

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

29 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
68 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: April 11, 2026 at 05:12 AM