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Monday, August 31, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 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: Medium

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

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Part of a dance 4
2A 5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper 4
3A 9. Slightly intoxicated 5
4A 14. Fancy 4
5A 15. Worms and such on hooks 4
6A 16. Be of the same mind 5
7A 17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys 4
8A 18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli 4
9A 19. Ransacks 5
10A 20. One who regularly drops things 13
11A 23. The : English :: ___ : French 3
12A 24. Letter after sigma 3
13A 25. One dining on Friskies 3
14A 28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building" 5
15A 31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature 9
16A 34. Director DuVernay 3
17A 35. Pathetic 3
18A 36. Examine at length 6
19A 37. Took shots first, then paid for them later 7
20A 40. Clothing sizes for shorter women 7
21A 41. Ski in zigzags 6
22A 42. "Far out!" 3
23A 43. Tetra- minus one 3
24A 44. Newlyweds' getaway 9
25A 46. Owl sounds 5
26A 48. Actress de Armas 3
27A 49. 401(k) relative 3
28A 50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g. 3
29A 51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across? 13
30A 58. Inuit for "house" 5
31A 60. Italian hello 4
32A 61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.) 4
33A 62. Tennis locale 5
34A 63. Pre-Easter observance 4
35A 64. R-rated, maybe 4
36A 65. A cube has 12 of them 5
37A 66. Petrol brand 4
38A 67. Easter egg decorating supplies 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Part of a dance"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
  • Similar words include: mistreat, stride, ill-treat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Slightly intoxicated"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that slightly intoxicated
  • Similar words include: tiddly, potty
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIPSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Fancy"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegant and sumptuous
  • Similar words include: de luxe, deluxe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Worms and such on hooks"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that anything that serves as an enticement
  • Similar words include: rag, tantalize, twit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Be of the same mind"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be in accord; be in agreement
  • Similar words include: match, consort, tally
  • Opposite of: disagree
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGREE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
  • Similar words include: genus Otis, Elisha Graves Otis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Ransacks"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goods or money obtained illegally
  • Similar words include: cabbage, moolah, strip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. One who regularly drops things"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who drops things (especially one who cannot catch a ball)
  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUTTERFINGERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. The : English :: ___ : French"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
  • Similar words include: LE, lupus erythematosus
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Letter after sigma"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 19th letter of the greek alphabet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. One dining on Friskies"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: kat, sick, khat
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentacles
  • Similar words include: Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JELLYFISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Director DuVernay"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "35. Pathetic"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "36. Examine at length"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that examine or consider with attention and in detail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Took shots first, then paid for them later"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Clothing sizes for shorter women"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for short or slender women
  • Similar words include: petite
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. Ski in zigzags"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a downhill race over a winding course defined by upright poles
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLALOM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. "Far out!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material
  • Similar words include: radian
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "43. Tetra- minus one"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Newlyweds' getaway"

9 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a holiday taken by a newly married couple
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONEYMOON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Owl sounds"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
  • Similar words include: tinker's dam, Bronx cheer, raspberry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Actress de Armas"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. 401(k) relative"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a militant organization of irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive british forces from northern ireland and achieve a united independent ireland
  • Similar words include: wrath, individual retirement account, Irish Republican Army
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a humorous play on words
  • Similar words include: wordplay, punning, paronomasia
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. "Tell everyone!" ... or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "58. Inuit for "house""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
  • Similar words include: iglu
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IGLOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "60. Italian hello"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is hawaiian and ciao is italian)
  • Similar words include: aloha
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CIAO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "62. Tennis locale"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
  • Similar words include: tribunal, courtroom, motor lodge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "63. Pre-Easter observance"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of 40 weekdays from ash wednesday to holy saturday
  • Similar words include: lend, bestow, add
  • Opposite of: borrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "64. R-rated, maybe"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of zest or vigor
  • Similar words include: robust, naughty, gamey
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RACY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "65. A cube has 12 of them"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the boundary of a surface
  • Similar words include: inch, butt, edge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "66. Petrol brand"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "67. Easter egg decorating supplies"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Mess maker 4
2D 2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy 4
3D 3. Off-ramp 4
4D 4. Pulverizing tool 6
5D 5. Alternatives to Lyfts 5
6D 6. Baby whale 4
7D 7. In finite supply 7
8D 8. Lacking a musical key 6
9D 9. A ___ as old as time 4
10D 10. Composer Stravinsky 4
11D 11. Ham on an antipasto platter 10
12D 12. Solidify 3
13D 13. "You called?" 3
14D 21. Sinuous swimmer 3
15D 22. Swallowed hard 6
16D 26. Aver 6
17D 27. Graduate student's project 6
18D 28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist) 6
19D 29. Island of Arthurian legend 6
20D 30. Fruit-resembling mollusk 10
21D 31. The "one" of a one-two 3
22D 32. So far 3
23D 33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr. 3
24D 35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang 6
25D 38. Ginger ___ 3
26D 39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo 3
27D 40. Deep-dish vessel 3
28D 42. Support staff for a rock band 7
29D 45. Soothsayer 6
30D 46. Tint 3
31D 47. "To victory!" 6
32D 50. Part of an Instagram post 5
33D 52. Skin opening 4
34D 53. Goes bad 4
35D 54. Gets bronzed at the beach 4
36D 55. Brand with "anti-aging" products 4
37D 56. Bibimbap base 4
38D 57. Pages on a desk calendar 4
39D 58. "Rocks" at a bar 3
40D 59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Mess maker"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a coarse obnoxious person
  • Similar words include: pig, slovenly person, sloven
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLOB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that south african prelate and leader of the antiapartheid struggle (born in 1931)
  • Similar words include: ballet skirt, Desmond Tutu
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUTU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Off-ramp"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an opening that permits escape or release
  • Similar words include: snuff it, croak, cash in one's chips
  • Opposite of: be born, enter
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pulverizing tool"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores
  • Similar words include: pounder, muller, stamp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PESTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Alternatives to Lyfts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Baby whale"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young of domestic cattle
  • Similar words include: sura, calfskin
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CALF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. In finite supply"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops
  • Similar words include: confine, restrain, express
  • Opposite of: unlimited, local
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIMITED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Lacking a musical key"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that characterized by avoidance of traditional western tonality
  • Similar words include: unkeyed
  • Opposite of: tonal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATONAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. A ___ as old as time"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
  • Similar words include: narrative, narration, tarradiddle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Composer Stravinsky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Ham on an antipasto platter"

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that italian salt-cured ham usually sliced paper thin
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PROSCIUTTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Solidify"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
  • Similar words include: curing, adjust, gear up
  • Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "You called?""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an affirmative
  • Opposite of: no
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Sinuous swimmer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Swallowed hard"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
  • Similar words include: swig, quaff, gulp
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GULPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Aver"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that state categorically
  • Similar words include: verify, asseverate, maintain
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Graduate student's project"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument
  • Similar words include: dissertation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THESIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist)"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Island of Arthurian legend"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Fruit-resembling mollusk"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. The "one" of a one-two"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: stab, thrust, thrusting
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. So far"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
  • Similar words include: Friday
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Ginger ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the united states an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an artifact designed to be played with
  • Similar words include: miniature, fiddle, play
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Deep-dish vessel"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel
  • Similar words include: pan off, tear apart, pan out
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Support staff for a rock band"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Soothsayer"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an authoritative person who divines the future
  • Similar words include: prophet, vaticinator, seer
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORACLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Tint"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. "To victory!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that forward in time or order or degree
  • Similar words include: forth, forrader, ahead
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONWARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Part of an Instagram post"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material
  • Similar words include: pic, picture, photograph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHOTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Skin opening"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)
  • Similar words include: stomate, rivet, centre
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Goes bad"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
  • Similar words include: molder, bunk, rotting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Gets bronzed at the beach"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
  • Similar words include: tangent, suntan, tan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TANS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Brand with "anti-aging" products"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Bibimbap base"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
  • Similar words include: Elmer Leopold Rice, Sir Tim Rice, Elmer Reizenstein
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Pages on a desk calendar"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time during which someone's life continues
  • Similar words include: twenty-four hour period, mean solar day, daylight
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "58. "Rocks" at a bar"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that water frozen in the solid state
  • Similar words include: crank, methamphetamine hydrochloride, chicken feed
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
  • Similar words include: divinity, idol, Supreme Being
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOD

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

38 Across Clues
40 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

Looking for more puzzle solutions? Check out our comprehensive archive of NYT crossword hints and answers. We update daily with expert analysis and solving strategies.

Disclaimer: Crossword clues and grid © The New York Times. This site provides hints and educational content for puzzle enthusiasts. XWordHint is not affiliated with The New York Times.

Last updated: August 31, 2026 at 09:56 AM

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 27, 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. Potpourri piece 5
2A 6. Bit of pandemic attire 4
3A 10. Cry from a crib, perhaps 4
4A 14. Came up 5
5A 15. Et ___ (and others) 4
6A 16. Some stadium shouts 4
7A 17. Give friendly bites, as a puppy might 5
8A 18. Heaps 4
9A 19. Wrangler on the road 4
10A 20. Hosp. hookups 3
11A 21. Far from any urban center, colloquially 11
12A 24. Trickster figure in Native American folklore 6
13A 26. Cousin of a cravat 5
14A 27. Add as an afterthought 5
15A 29. Lacking a conscience 6
16A 33. Potentially at risk, metaphorically 10
17A 36. Spanish gold 3
18A 37. Nashville has a "grand ole" one 4
19A 38. ___ Speed Wagon (old vehicle) 3
20A 39. Air passage 4
21A 40. Title for M.L.K. Jr. 3
22A 41. In a soaring mood, so to speak 10
23A 45. "Moving right along ..." 6
24A 47. Kind of fund 5
25A 48. Jump and shout for joy 5
26A 51. Ragamuffin 6
27A 54. Metaphor for a parent whose youngest has "launched" ... like the little bird whose progress is suggested by 21-, 33- and 41-Across 11
28A 58. Poem of praise 3
29A 59. "Captain" on Mount Ararat 4
30A 60. Chew as a beaver might 4
31A 61. "Yay me!" 5
32A 63. Doofus 4
33A 64. To be, in Toulouse 4
34A 65. Assuaged 5
35A 66. Corset component 4
36A 67. Medical measure 4
37A 68. In poor condition 5

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Potpourri piece"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
  • Similar words include: flower petal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PETAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "6. Bit of pandemic attire"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a covering to disguise or conceal the face
  • Similar words include: cloak, disguise, masque
  • Opposite of: unmask
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Cry from a crib, perhaps"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for a mother
  • Similar words include: mom, mamma, ma
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Came up"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: bob up, come up, get up
  • Opposite of: turn in, go to bed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Et ___ (and others)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Some stadium shouts"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Give friendly bites, as a puppy might"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Heaps"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large number or amount
  • Similar words include: slews, a good deal, lashings
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Wrangler on the road"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Hosp. hookups"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
  • Similar words include: quartet, 4, quaternary
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "21. Far from any urban center, colloquially"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Trickster figure in Native American folklore"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small wolf native to western north america
  • Similar words include: brush wolf, Canis latrans, prairie wolf
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COYOTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Cousin of a cravat"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cravat with wide square ends; secured with an ornamental pin
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASCOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Add as an afterthought"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Lacking a conscience"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. Potentially at risk, metaphorically"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Spanish gold"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Nashville has a "grand ole" one"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. ___ Speed Wagon (old vehicle)"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Air passage"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance
  • Similar words include: channel, epithelial duct, canal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUCT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Title for M.L.K. Jr."

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. In a soaring mood, so to speak"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. "Moving right along ...""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. Kind of fund"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that partially melted snow
  • Similar words include: splash, slosh, splosh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLUSH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "48. Jump and shout for joy"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feel extreme happiness or elation
  • Similar words include: triumph, jump for joy, walk on air
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXULT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Ragamuffin"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that poor and often mischievous city child
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URCHIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "54. Metaphor for a parent whose youngest has "launched" ... like the little bird whose progress is suggested by 21-, 33- and 41-Across"

11 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Poem of praise"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. "Captain" on Mount Ararat"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of noah and the flood is told in the book of genesis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Chew as a beaver might"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bite or chew on with the teeth
  • Similar words include: erode, eat at, wear away
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GNAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. "Yay me!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Doofus"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: weed, gage, skunk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. To be, in Toulouse"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "65. Assuaged"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move gently or carefully
  • Similar words include: ease, alleviate, relieved
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "66. Corset component"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that continuing or remaining in a place or state
  • Similar words include: halt, outride, delay
  • Opposite of: change, depart
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "67. Medical measure"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
  • Similar words include: VD, drug, window pane
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "68. In poor condition"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that full of seeds
  • Similar words include: poorly, sordid, squalid
  • Opposite of: seedless
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Freak out 5
2D 2. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia ___ 5
3D 3. Downside-up 10
4D 4. Happy ___ lark 3
5D 5. "Forgive and forget" 7
6D 6. Barley product 4
7D 7. Hi in HI 5
8D 8. Loci 5
9D 9. Source of some Jumbotron entertainment 7
10D 10. Cuban rum cocktail 6
11D 11. Actor Guinness 4
12D 12. Like the ones who shall inherit the earth, in Matthew 5:5 4
13D 13. Horned vipers 4
14D 22. Like some highlighter colors 4
15D 23. ___ of the Unknown Soldier 4
16D 25. Like some cookies and milk 4
17D 28. Not, colloquially 4
18D 30. Engage in boisterous activity 10
19D 31. St. Louis landmark 4
20D 32. Area to build on 3
21D 33. Request from a dentist 4
22D 34. Floral ring 3
23D 35. Charged particles 4
24D 37. Singer Rita 3
25D 39. Chip shape 4
26D 41. Cunning, like Mr. Tod or Swiper 4
27D 42. Chillaxed, say 7
28D 43. It's binding 4
29D 44. Gets a move on 7
30D 46. Possible pronoun pairing 6
31D 49. Slowly, in scores 5
32D 50. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great 5
33D 52. Did diddly-squat 5
34D 53. Tending to cling 5
35D 54. Winds up 4
36D 55. Debatable 4
37D 56. Cry from a crib, perhaps 4
38D 57. Britishly precious 4
39D 62. Issa of "The Lovebirds" 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Freak out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
  • Similar words include: terror, scare, affright
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PANIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia ___"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Downside-up"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Happy ___ lark"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. "Forgive and forget""

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Barley product"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a milkshake made with malt powder
  • Similar words include: malt liquor, malted milk, malted
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Hi in HI"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is hawaiian and ciao is italian)
  • Similar words include: ciao
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOHA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Loci"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
  • Similar words include: sit, model, ride
  • Opposite of: arise, stand
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Source of some Jumbotron entertainment"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Cuban rum cocktail"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Actor Guinness"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Like the ones who shall inherit the earth, in Matthew 5:5"

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, tame, mild
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEEK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Horned vipers"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "22. Like some highlighter colors"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: atomic number 10, Ne
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. ___ of the Unknown Soldier"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Like some cookies and milk"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "28. Not, colloquially"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used with singular count nouns) colloquial for `not a' or `not one' or `never a'
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "30. Engage in boisterous activity"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that engage in rough or disorderly play
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROUGHHOUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "31. St. Louis landmark"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
  • Similar words include: puckish, arc, patronising
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Area to build on"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: mickle, mass, stack
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Request from a dentist"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
  • Similar words include: exposed, undecided, undetermined
  • Opposite of: unreceptive, covert
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Floral ring"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
  • Similar words include: garland, coronal, leu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Charged particles"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
  • Similar words include: ion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IONS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Singer Rita"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mouth or mouthlike opening
  • Similar words include: Os, operating system, OS
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "39. Chip shape"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove
  • Similar words include: platter, magnetic disk, magnetic disc
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "41. Cunning, like Mr. Tod or Swiper"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by skill in deception
  • Similar words include: tricksy, crafty, tricky
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOXY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Chillaxed, say"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that sit or recline comfortably
  • Similar words include: lollygag, linger, lallygag
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOUNGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. It's binding"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive
  • Similar words include: paste, gum, mucilage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Gets a move on"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
  • Similar words include: hurriedness, rush, hurry
  • Opposite of: delay
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HURRIES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Possible pronoun pairing"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Slowly, in scores"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of tempo) slow
  • Similar words include: slowly
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Did diddly-squat"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that run disconnected or idle
  • Similar words include: stagnate, tick over, idle
  • Opposite of: work, run
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Tending to cling"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that needy people collectively
  • Similar words include: indigent, impoverished, destitute
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Winds up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: cease, terminate, final stage
  • Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Debatable"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise
  • Similar words include: turn over, arguable, debate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Cry from a crib, perhaps"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
  • Similar words include: pop, dada, dad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Britishly precious"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affectedly dainty or refined
  • Similar words include: niminy-piminy, dainty, prim
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TWEE

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39D: "62. Issa of "The Lovebirds""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.

Decode the Clues

Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.

Use Cross-References

Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.

Build Vocabulary

Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: January 27, 2026 at 04:31 AM