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Tuesday, April 7, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 07, 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. Red, white and blue land: Abbr. 4
2A 5. El ___, mythical city of gold 6
3A 11. Initials often seen next to THC 3
4A 14. Quotes 5
5A 16. Gave out, as charm 6
6A 17. Reply to a ship's captain 3
7A 18. It has wheels but doesn't go anywhere 12
8A 20. ___ fly, play that results in a run and an out 3
9A 21. Dog's reward after a trick 5
10A 22. Connection point 4
11A 23. "How can this be?!" 4
12A 24. Decided to pay later, say 7
13A 26. Combo meal, usually 8
14A 28. Apple tablet 4
15A 29. Idles, with "around" 5
16A 31. Handy 5
17A 32. Hair goo 3
18A 33. ___ track, song that insults another artist 4
19A 34. One who shouldn't proceed on thin ice 6
20A 35. Resort with a signature piña colada, perhaps 10
21A 38. Economic improvement 6
22A 41. Japanese noodle 4
23A 42. Most common word in English 3
24A 45. Communication method with dits and dahs 5
25A 46. Martial art whose name means "way of the sword" 5
26A 48. So-called "Land of a Million Elephants" 4
27A 49. Sharp or flat location on a piano, usually 8
28A 51. "I can't hear you!" 7
29A 53. Rolling in it 4
30A 54. Done 4
31A 56. Alleviated 5
32A 57. Lawyer: Abbr. 3
33A 58. Old-time restraint for a prisoner ... or what can go after the respective halves of 18-, 26-, 35- and 49-Across 12
34A 61. Prefix with physical or politics 3
35A 62. Marie ___, women's magazine 6
36A 63. Dye for body art 5
37A 64. Use salt instead of sugar, say 3
38A 65. What an underage person usually gets at a bar? 6
39A 66. Lose one's footing 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Red, white and blue land: Abbr."

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. El ___, mythical city of gold"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a constellation in the southern hemisphere near reticulum and pictor; contains most of the large magellanic cloud
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DORADO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Initials often seen next to THC"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Quotes"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
  • Similar words include: bring up, adduce, acknowledgment
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. Gave out, as charm"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that release (a liquid) in drops or small quantities
  • Similar words include: ooze out, ooze, exudate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXUDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Reply to a ship's captain"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. It has wheels but doesn't go anywhere"

12 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. ___ fly, play that results in a run and an out"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an enclosed space
  • Similar words include: pocket, sack, theca
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Dog's reward after a trick"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something considered choice to eat
  • Similar words include: cover, delicacy, kickshaw
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Connection point"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a connecting point at which several lines come together
  • Similar words include: leaf node, lymph node, guest
  • Opposite of: antinode
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "How can this be?!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Decided to pay later, say"

7 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Combo meal, usually"

8 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Apple tablet"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Idles, with "around""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
  • Similar words include: waste one's time, bum, tarry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOAFS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Handy"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Hair goo"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colloid in a more solid form than a sol
  • Similar words include: colloidal gel, gelatin, mousse
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. ___ track, song that insults another artist"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that god of the underworld; counterpart of greek pluto
  • Similar words include: Orcus, insult, affront
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DISS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. One who shouldn't proceed on thin ice"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who skates
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKATER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Resort with a signature piña colada, perhaps"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. Economic improvement"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an upward movement or trend as in business activity
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UPTURN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Japanese noodle"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Most common word in English"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Communication method with dits and dahs"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a telegraph code in which letters and numbers are represented by strings of dots and dashes (short and long signals)
  • Similar words include: Morse code, Samuel Morse, Samuel F. B. Morse
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Martial art whose name means "way of the sword""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. So-called "Land of a Million Elephants""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern asia; achieved independence from france in 1949
  • Similar words include: Lao, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Laotian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. Sharp or flat location on a piano, usually"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. "I can't hear you!""

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Rolling in it"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)
  • Similar words include: ample, rich people, racy
  • Opposite of: poor people, lean
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RICH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Done"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (cricket) the division of play during which six balls are bowled at the batsman by one player from the other team from the same end of the pitch
  • Similar words include: all over, concluded, terminated
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "56. Alleviated"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "57. Lawyer: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Old-time restraint for a prisoner ... or what can go after the respective halves of 18-, 26-, 35- and 49-Across"

12 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "61. Prefix with physical or politics"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. Marie ___, women's magazine"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Dye for body art"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reddish brown dye used especially on hair
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HENNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. Use salt instead of sugar, say"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "65. What an underage person usually gets at a bar?"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that separate the fibers of
  • Similar words include: tease, card
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARDED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "66. Lose one's footing"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a socially awkward or tactless act
  • Similar words include: slick, shimmy, elusion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Star pitcher 3
2D 2. Casual musical project 7
3D 3. Everlasting 7
4D 4. Try to make sense of a passage one didn't understand the first time 6
5D 5. ___ Moines, Iowa 3
6D 6. Big bovines 4
7D 7. Remove, as heavy grime 6
8D 8. Longtime shoe sponsor for Lionel Messi 6
9D 9. Feints, in hockey 5
10D 10. Dedicated lines 3
11D 11. Turn in one's chips 7
12D 12. Narrow way to win 7
13D 13. Toy cipher ring 7
14D 15. Improvisational vocal style 4
15D 19. Language of "amore" 7
16D 23. Organ meats 5
17D 24. Arrange, as a match's outcome 3
18D 25. Pear variety 4
19D 27. Unit of arcade currency 5
20D 30. Cigar residue 3
21D 33. Jeter whose #2 was retired by the Yankees 5
22D 34. Bent down 7
23D 35. ___ Gardens, Tampa amusement park 5
24D 36. One under Attila's rule 3
25D 37. 3 to 1 are good ones 4
26D 38. Resentment 7
27D 39. Better mannered 7
28D 40. John Deere product 7
29D 42. Blow the match 7
30D 43. Famous figure known for off-the-cuff performances? 7
31D 44. Supernatural ability, for short 3
32D 46. Bulletproof material 6
33D 47. What you blink with 6
34D 48. Mascara makes them stand out 6
35D 50. Marsupial that sleeps up to 20 hours a day 5
36D 52. Every's partner 4
37D 55. Still reddish, as a steak 4
38D 58. Secretly loop in on an email 3
39D 59. Flanders of "The Simpsons" 3
40D 60. Siesta 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Star pitcher"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: wizard, mavin, unity
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Casual musical project"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Everlasting"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that continuing forever or indefinitely
  • Similar words include: unending, perpetual, everlasting
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETERNAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Try to make sense of a passage one didn't understand the first time"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that read anew; read again
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REREAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. ___ Moines, Iowa"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry
  • Similar words include: DE, diethylstilbestrol, Diamond State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Big bovines"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age; ; ; - bible
  • Similar words include: wild ox, ox, cattle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OXEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Remove, as heavy grime"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Longtime shoe sponsor for Lionel Messi"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Feints, in hockey"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Dedicated lines"

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!

11D: "11. Turn in one's chips"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Narrow way to win"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Toy cipher ring"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the kind of intellectual who converts messages from a code to plain text
  • Similar words include: decipherer
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DECODER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "15. Improvisational vocal style"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Language of "amore""

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of italy
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITALIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Organ meats"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal often considered inedible by humans
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFFAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Arrange, as a match's outcome"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that gear (including necessary machinery) for a particular enterprise
  • Similar words include: swindle, set up, carriage
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Pear variety"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that greenish-yellow pear
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOSC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. Unit of arcade currency"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an individual instance of a type of symbol
  • Similar words include: souvenir, keepsake, tokenish
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOKEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Cigar residue"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the residue that remains when something is burned
  • Similar words include: ash tree
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Jeter whose #2 was retired by the Yankees"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Bent down"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bend one's back forward from the waist on down
  • Similar words include: round-shouldered, bow, stoop
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOOPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. ___ Gardens, Tampa amusement park"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. One under Attila's rule"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a nomadic people who invaded europe in the 4th century
  • Similar words include: Krauthead, Boche, Kraut
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. 3 to 1 are good ones"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
  • Similar words include: betting odds
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Resentment"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of anger caused by being offended
  • Similar words include: offense, offence
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UMBRAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "39. Better mannered"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.
  • Similar words include: cultured, genteel, civilised
  • Opposite of: uncivil, impolite
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POLITER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "40. John Deere product"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wheeled vehicle with large wheels; used in farming and other applications
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRACTOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "42. Blow the match"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. Famous figure known for off-the-cuff performances?"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states magician (born in hungary) famous for his ability to escape from chains or handcuffs or straitjackets or padlocked containers (1874-1926)
  • Similar words include: Erik Weisz, Harry Houdini
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOUDINI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Supernatural ability, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
  • Similar words include: second sight, extrasensory perception, clairvoyance
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Bulletproof material"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "47. What you blink with"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
  • Similar words include: lid, palpebra
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYELID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. Mascara makes them stand out"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
  • Similar words include: whip, strap, thong
  • Opposite of: unlash
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASHES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Marsupial that sleeps up to 20 hours a day"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Every's partner"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (used of count nouns) every one considered individually
  • Similar words include: apiece, for each one, from each one
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EACH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "55. Still reddish, as a steak"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
  • Similar words include: rarified, rarefied, uncommon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Secretly loop in on an email"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Flanders of "The Simpsons""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "60. Siesta"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period of time spent sleeping
  • Similar words include: pile, catnap, Napoleon
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
40 Down Clues
79 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: April 07, 2026 at 05:26 AM

Monday, February 9, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 09, 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. The slightest bit 4
2A 5. Mariner's septet 4
3A 9. Picket line crosser 4
4A 13. Like a situation with only bad outcomes 5
5A 15. St. Louis's Gateway ___ National Park 4
6A 16. Voice above tenor 4
7A 17. Thanksgiving boatful 5
8A 18. Spanish cat 4
9A 19. Nutritionist's plan 4
10A 20. Main drag through Sin City 13
11A 23. "Fancy meeting you here!" 4
12A 24. Apply, as a new skill 3
13A 25. Indigenous Southwestern people 6
14A 28. Body part that can serve as a pencil holder 3
15A 30. "Delicious!" 3
16A 31. Trireme implement 3
17A 32. Valuable bit in a prospector's pan 10
18A 37. Like sudokus with very few given digits, generally 4
19A 38. "Nope, not for me" 5
20A 39. Online "haha" 3
21A 40. Steep-walled canyon 5
22A 41. Hoarse voice 4
23A 42. Hockey player who typically plays the entire game 10
24A 44. Explosive-sounding TV channel 3
25A 45. Crow's call 3
26A 46. Punk-inspired music genre 3
27A 47. Minor disruption in the proceedings 6
28A 49. [Their typo, not mine!] 3
29A 51. Be a passenger 4
30A 55. Question to a scaredy-cat ... to which the final parts of 20-, 32- and 42-Across would answer "Yes!" 13
31A 58. "You have a point there" 4
32A 60. Lake on Ohio's northern border 4
33A 61. Nine-member musical group 5
34A 62. Lack of difficulty 4
35A 63. Pimples 4
36A 64. Like a lot 5
37A 65. Amazed 4
38A 66. From ___ to riches 4
39A 67. Water pitcher 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. The slightest bit"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Mariner's septet"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Picket line crosser"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
  • Similar words include: fink, blackleg, strikebreaker
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Like a situation with only bad outcomes"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. St. Louis's Gateway ___ National Park"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Voice above tenor"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
  • Similar words include: contralto, countertenor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Thanksgiving boatful"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sauce made by adding stock, flour, or other ingredients to the juice and fat that drips from cooking meats
  • Similar words include: boom, manna from heaven, godsend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRAVY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Spanish cat"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Nutritionist's plan"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prescribed selection of foods
  • Similar words include: dieting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Main drag through Sin City"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "Fancy meeting you here!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Apply, as a new skill"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: utilization, practice, employ
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Indigenous Southwestern people"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of any of about two dozen native american peoples called `pueblos' by the spanish because they live in pueblos (villages built of adobe and rock)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUEBLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Body part that can serve as a pencil holder"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: pinna, auricle, spike
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. "Delicious!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Trireme implement"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement used to propel or steer a boat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Valuable bit in a prospector's pan"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Like sudokus with very few given digits, generally"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: operose, severe, concentrated
  • Opposite of: easy, voiced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. "Nope, not for me""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Online "haha""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Steep-walled canyon"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep ravine (usually with a river running through it)
  • Similar words include: stuff, overindulge, gormandize
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GORGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Hoarse voice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uttering in an irritated tone
  • Similar words include: wood file, rasping
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Hockey player who typically plays the entire game"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal
  • Similar words include: netminder, goalie, goalkeeper
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOALTENDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Explosive-sounding TV channel"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

25A: "45. Crow's call"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by corvine birds
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "46. Punk-inspired music genre"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Minor disruption in the proceedings"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually plural) the state of having reflex spasms of the diaphragm accompanied by a rapid closure of the glottis producing an audible sound; sometimes a symptom of indigestion
  • Similar words include: singultus, hiccough
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HICCUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "49. [Their typo, not mine!]"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that urge to attack someone
  • Similar words include: set
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Be a passenger"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile)
  • Similar words include: sit, mount, hinge upon
  • Opposite of: walk
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Question to a scaredy-cat ... to which the final parts of 20-, 32- and 42-Across would answer "Yes!""

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "58. "You have a point there""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
  • Similar words include: true up, truthful, honest
  • Opposite of: untruthful, false
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "60. Lake on Ohio's northern border"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of an iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of lake erie in northern ohio and northwest pennsylvania and western new york
  • Similar words include: Lake Erie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. Nine-member musical group"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Lack of difficulty"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Pimples"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Like a lot"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that love intensely
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Amazed"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inspire awe in
  • Similar words include: awe, awful, awestricken
  • Opposite of: unawed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. From ___ to riches"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece of cloth or paper
  • Similar words include: rile, sheet, crucify
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Water pitcher"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
  • Similar words include: pitcher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. ___-Saxon 5
2D 2. Scroll read during a bat mitzvah ceremony 5
3D 3. Overflowing (with) 5
4D 4. Apportioned 9
5D 5. Long stories 5
6D 6. Wipe clean 5
7D 7. "America's Got Talent" segments 4
8D 8. Track-and-field event with a 16-pound ball 7
9D 9. British novelist Jones 5
10D 10. Portable writing surface 9
11D 11. Devoured 3
12D 12. Spam spewer 3
13D 14. Bill who says "Science rules!" in the intro to his TV show 3
14D 21. Sanskrit word for "teacher" 4
15D 22. "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of ___" 3
16D 26. Massive 5
17D 27. Pick from the menu 5
18D 29. Tiny hill dweller 3
19D 30. Bellow 4
20D 32. Measurement around the waist 5
21D 33. Resident of Muscat 5
22D 34. Something that's beyond help 9
23D 35. Luminesce 4
24D 36. India's smallest state by area 3
25D 37. What students abide by when they don't cheat 9
26D 40. Precious stone 3
27D 42. Period before starting more school 7
28D 43. Georgia ___ (Atlanta school) 4
29D 45. Pool player's stick 3
30D 48. Words to live by 5
31D 49. Taking to court 5
32D 50. Some frozen drinks 5
33D 52. "No need to remind me!" 5
34D 53. Outdoor John? 5
35D 54. "Come in" 5
36D 56. Oceanic predator 4
37D 57. All ___ day's work 3
38D 58. Drink served by the Mad Hatter 3
39D 59. Like the fish in poke 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. ___-Saxon"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Scroll read during a bat mitzvah ceremony"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the whole body of the jewish sacred writings and tradition including the oral tradition
  • Similar words include: Laws, Pentateuch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TORAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Overflowing (with)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that covered with water
  • Similar words include: afloat, flooded, inundated
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Apportioned"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Long stories"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Wipe clean"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from memory or existence
  • Similar words include: wipe off, wipe out, score out
  • Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "America's Got Talent" segments"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
  • Similar words include: playact, do, human activity
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Track-and-field event with a 16-pound ball"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. British novelist Jones"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Portable writing surface"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small writing board with a clip at the top for holding papers
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIPBOARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Devoured"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Spam spewer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Bill who says "Science rules!" in the intro to his TV show"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Sanskrit word for "teacher""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hindu or buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GURU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of ___""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liquor distilled from fermented molasses
  • Similar words include: singular, queer, odd
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Massive"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for a large person
  • Similar words include: prominent, with child, great
  • Opposite of: small, little
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Pick from the menu"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
  • Similar words include: regularise, social club, put
  • Opposite of: disorder, deregulate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Tiny hill dweller"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Bellow"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: squall, call, shout out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Measurement around the waist"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the distance around a person's body
  • Similar words include: cinch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIRTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Resident of Muscat"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: "34. Something that's beyond help"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Luminesce"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alert and refreshed state
  • Similar words include: burn, freshness, gleam
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. India's smallest state by area"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of southwestern india; a former portuguese colony
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. What students abide by when they don't cheat"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. Precious stone"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
  • Similar words include: muffin, stone, precious stone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Period before starting more school"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Georgia ___ (Atlanta school)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a school teaching mechanical and industrial arts and the applied sciences
  • Similar words include: technical school
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TECH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Pool player's stick"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech
  • Similar words include: pool cue, prompt, cue stick
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Words to live by"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any system of principles or beliefs
  • Similar words include: religious doctrine, church doctrine, gospel
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Taking to court"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
  • Similar words include: litigate, process, sue
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Some frozen drinks"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that decorate with frosting
  • Similar words include: frost, ice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. "No need to remind me!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Outdoor John?"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states industrialist who manufactured plows suitable for working the prairie soil (1804-1886)
  • Similar words include: John Deere
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. "Come in""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to come or go into
  • Similar words include: go in, get into, accede
  • Opposite of: drop out, exit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Oceanic predator"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
  • Similar words include: grampus, sea wolf, killer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. All ___ day's work"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Drink served by the Mad Hatter"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
  • Similar words include: Camellia sinensis, tea leaf, afternoon tea
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Like the fish in poke"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

39 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: February 09, 2026 at 05:15 AM