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

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 08, 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. Cartographers' concerns 4
2A 5. Go by 6
3A 11. Helpful skill for guessers 3
4A 14. Working obediently 4
5A 15. Mickey with an Oscar nomination for "The Wrestler" 6
6A 16. Champiñones ___ plancha (Spanish dish) 3
7A 17. [C/P]ause 11
8A 19. Droop 3
9A 20. Food mentioned in the Lord's Prayer 5
10A 21. What "Eat" stands for in the mnemonic "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" 4
11A 22. Buzz before a release 4
12A 23. Low-quality synthetic images, informally 6
13A 25. Prepare to drive, in golf 5
14A 27. [L/C]ure 12
15A 32. Result of touching poison ivy 4
16A 35. "The Deer Hunter" setting, in brief 3
17A 36. Old, as a joke 5
18A 37. Casual refusal 3
19A 38. "Way to go, kid!" 7
20A 41. Heir to the throne, maybe 3
21A 42. Like a good explanation, say 5
22A 44. Brain ___ 3
23A 45. Prominent features of tarsiers 4
24A 46. [M/H]inds 12
25A 50. Fitness fad popularized by Billy Blanks 5
26A 51. "Animal Farm" or "The Simpsons" 6
27A 55. Soccer great Mia 4
28A 57. Apartment with a high ceiling 4
29A 60. New beginning 5
30A 61. Pub order 3
31A 62. [Z/R]est 11
32A 64. Magic setting, in brief 3
33A 65. List of things to discuss 6
34A 66. Mother of a stable family? 4
35A 67. ___ pal 3
36A 68. Individual 6
37A 69. Hershey toffee bar 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Cartographers' concerns"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface (or part of it)
  • Similar words include: single-valued function, represent, map
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Go by"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Similar words include: slip by, go along, pass
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAPSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Helpful skill for guessers"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Working obediently"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Mickey with an Oscar nomination for "The Wrestler""

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Champiñones ___ plancha (Spanish dish)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. [C/P]ause"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Droop"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a shape that sags
  • Similar words include: droop, sag down, flag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Food mentioned in the Lord's Prayer"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
  • Similar words include: clams, staff of life, shekels
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BREAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. What "Eat" stands for in the mnemonic "Never Eat Soggy Waffles""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
  • Similar words include: Orient, due east, E
  • Opposite of: west
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Buzz before a release"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that blatant or sensational promotion
  • Similar words include: ballyhoo, hoopla, plug
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HYPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Low-quality synthetic images, informally"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Prepare to drive, in golf"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. [L/C]ure"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "32. Result of touching poison ivy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation
  • Similar words include: scratch, itchiness, urge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. "The Deer Hunter" setting, in brief"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Old, as a joke"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that urinate, of cattle and horses
  • Similar words include: cold, moth-eaten, dusty
  • Opposite of: fresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Casual refusal"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. "Way to go, kid!""

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Heir to the throne, maybe"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male human offspring
  • Similar words include: Word, Logos, boy
  • Opposite of: daughter, girl
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Like a good explanation, say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of being free of suspicion
  • Similar words include: clear up, sack, elucidate
  • Opposite of: overcast, unclear
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "44. Brain ___"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
  • Similar words include: putrefaction, molder, hogwash
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Prominent features of tarsiers"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that opinion or judgment
  • Similar words include: eye, center, heart
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. [M/H]inds"

12 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Fitness fad popularized by Billy Blanks"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. "Animal Farm" or "The Simpsons""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that witty language used to convey insults or scorn; ; ; --jonathan swift
  • Similar words include: caustic remark, sarcasm, irony
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "55. Soccer great Mia"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Apartment with a high ceiling"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that floor consisting of a large unpartitioned space over a factory or warehouse or other commercial space
  • Similar words include: garret, pigeon loft, attic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "60. New beginning"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that device for resetting instruments or controls
  • Similar words include: readjust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Pub order"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

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!

31A: "62. [Z/R]est"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "64. Magic setting, in brief"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "65. List of things to discuss"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
  • Similar words include: docket, agendum, schedule
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGENDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "66. Mother of a stable family?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that female equine animal
  • Similar words include: maria, female horse
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "67. ___ pal"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
  • Similar words include: gallon
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "68. Individual"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human being
  • Similar words include: mortal, somebody, individual
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERSON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "69. Hershey toffee bar"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Black ___, nickname for Kobe Bryant 5
2D 2. Company that created Pong 5
3D 3. Fish, roads or weapons that are long and thin 5
4D 4. Sneakiness 7
5D 5. Goof 3
6D 6. Brain or ear part 4
7D 7. Coolness, of a sort 4
8D 8. Magician's cry 6
9D 9. Many a Winter Olympian 6
10D 10. "Holy moley!" 3
11D 11. "No sweat!" 9
12D 12. ___ on the wrist 4
13D 13. Word with home or half 4
14D 18. What cologne may mask 4
15D 22. Injured 4
16D 24. Pub order 4
17D 26. Site for "unique and creative" items 4
18D 28. "Sleep is like a ___: It only comes to you if you ignore it": Gillian Flynn 3
19D 29. Big box store that merged with Sears in 2005 5
20D 30. Sunburn remedy 4
21D 31. X's, sometimes 4
22D 32. Ruler division 4
23D 33. Tall story 4
24D 34. Weekly reward for a strict dieter, maybe 9
25D 38. Keister, in Leicester 4
26D 39. Feathered accessory that won't constrict you 3
27D 40. Singer Redding 4
28D 43. First in a race? 4
29D 45. Regards highly 7
30D 47. Do a favor 6
31D 48. Worker overhead 6
32D 49. Cooking fat 4
33D 52. Chris with the 1991 hit "Wicked Game" 5
34D 53. Cool again, maybe 5
35D 54. Heavens 5
36D 55. Rest like a bat 4
37D 56. Jessica of "Fantastic Four" 4
38D 58. Marshy areas 4
39D 59. Task on a list 4
40D 62. Greatly surpass, as competitors in a race 3
41D 63. Raced 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Black ___, nickname for Kobe Bryant"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that arboreal snake of central and southern africa whose bite is often fatal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAMBA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Company that created Pong"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Fish, roads or weapons that are long and thin"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
  • Similar words include: freeway, thruway, motorway
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIKES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Sneakiness"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that avoiding detection by moving carefully
  • Similar words include: stealing
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEALTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Goof"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

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!

6D: "6. Brain or ear part"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (anatomy) a somewhat rounded subdivision of a bodily organ or part
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOBE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Coolness, of a sort"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • Similar words include: gloriole, halo, atmosphere
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AURA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Magician's cry"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (of tempo) very fast
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRESTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Many a Winter Olympian"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Holy moley!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. "No sweat!""

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. ___ on the wrist"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)
  • Similar words include: bang, smack, smacking
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Word with home or half"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
  • Similar words include: Thomas Nelson Page, Sir Frederick Handley Page, varlet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. What cologne may mask"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any property detected by the olfactory system
  • Similar words include: olfactory perception, smell, olfactory sensation
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Injured"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
  • Similar words include: injury, ache, smart
  • Opposite of: be well
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HURT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Pub order"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a british imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
  • Similar words include: dry pint
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Site for "unique and creative" items"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. "Sleep is like a ___: It only comes to you if you ignore it": Gillian Flynn"

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: Caterpillar, cast, honk
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Big box store that merged with Sears in 2005"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Sunburn remedy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with fiber like hemp and spikes of showy flowers; found chiefly in africa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALOE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. X's, sometimes"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Ruler division"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
  • Similar words include: in, column inch, edge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Tall story"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: fib, tarradiddle, narration
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Weekly reward for a strict dieter, maybe"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. Keister, in Leicester"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: rear end, buns, prat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Feathered accessory that won't constrict you"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur
  • Similar words include: feather boa
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Singer Redding"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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!

28D: "43. First in a race?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) in judeo-christian mythology; the first man and the husband of eve and the progenitor of the human race
  • Similar words include: XTC, X, cristal
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Regards highly"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the condition of being honored (esteemed or respected or well regarded)
  • Similar words include: look upon, repute, think of
  • Opposite of: disrespect, disesteem
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTEEMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Do a favor"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that force somebody to do something
  • Similar words include: bind, accommodate, obligate
  • Opposite of: disoblige
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBLIGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Worker overhead"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a craftsman who lays or repairs roofs
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROOFER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Cooking fat"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog
  • Similar words include: dramatize, pad, embroider
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Chris with the 1991 hit "Wicked Game""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Cool again, maybe"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fashion reminiscent of the past
  • Similar words include: retroactive, ex post facto
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RETRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Heavens"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies
  • Similar words include: aether, vinyl ether, divinyl ether
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Rest like a bat"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a special way of doing something
  • Similar words include: bent, fall, cling
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Jessica of "Fantastic Four""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Marshy areas"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 100 fen equal 1 yuan in china
  • Similar words include: marshland, fenland, fen
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Task on a list"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "62. Greatly surpass, as competitors in a race"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
  • Similar words include: overlap, wash, swosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "63. Raced"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
  • Similar words include: incline, hightail it, pass
  • Opposite of: idle, malfunction
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAN

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
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: July 08, 2026 at 06:10 AM

Monday, December 29, 2025

XWordHint Crossword Answers December 29, 2025 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: 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. Life story, in brief 3
2A 4. The "S" of NASA 5
3A 9. Where Shrek lives 5
4A 14. Kerfuffle 3
5A 15. Outer limits 5
6A 16. They're contained within books 5
7A 17. Is severely underpaid 15
8A 20. Andean animal with a long neck 5
9A 21. Earth goddess 4
10A 22. Condé ___ (magazine publisher) 4
11A 23. "Tsk! Tsk!" 5
12A 25. Humorist Bombeck 4
13A 27. Motown or RCA 11
14A 32. Particular place 4
15A 35. Stephen of "V for Vendetta" 3
16A 36. Country that contains the southern slope of Mount Everest 5
17A 38. Chicago trains 3
18A 39. Seating area for 12 peers 7
19A 42. Piece of Grubhub info, for short 3
20A 43. Stringed instrument that rests on the ground 5
21A 45. Tin Man's need 3
22A 46. Like the Mariana Trench 4
23A 47. Works that are heard rather than read 11
24A 51. Sister of Meg, Jo and Amy in "Little Women" 4
25A 52. Gives the ax 5
26A 55. Soaks (up) 4
27A 58. Puppy sounds 4
28A 61. Fundamental belief 5
29A 63. Description for an ideal partner ... or what the ends of 17-, 27-, 39- and 47-Across create? 15
30A 66. Put on TV 5
31A 67. Molars and canines 5
32A 68. Signal for an actor to go onstage 3
33A 69. Pumpkin, e.g. 5
34A 70. "Alas ..." 5
35A 71. TV's "___ Lasso" 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Life story, in brief"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. The "S" of NASA"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
  • Similar words include: place, blank, outer space
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Where Shrek lives"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that low land that is seasonally flooded; has more woody plants than a marsh and better drainage than a bog
  • Similar words include: swampland, flood, deluge
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWAMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Kerfuffle"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a rapid active commotion
  • Similar words include: flurry, stir, bustle
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Outer limits"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. They're contained within books"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
  • Similar words include: paginate, foliate, Page
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Is severely underpaid"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Andean animal with a long neck"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Earth goddess"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of cronus and the titans in ancient mythology
  • Similar words include: Gaea, Ge
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Condé ___ (magazine publisher)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states political cartoonist (1840-1902)
  • Similar words include: Thomas Nast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "Tsk! Tsk!""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
  • Similar words include: ignominy, dishonor, pity
  • Opposite of: honor
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "25. Humorist Bombeck"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "27. Motown or RCA"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "32. Particular place"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a point located with respect to surface features of some region
  • Similar words include: descry, smear, bit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "35. Stephen of "V for Vendetta""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "36. Country that contains the southern slope of Mount Everest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small landlocked asian country high in the himalayas between india and china
  • Similar words include: Kingdom of Nepal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEPAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "38. Chicago trains"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
  • Similar words include: elevated railway, elevated railroad, ALT
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "39. Seating area for 12 peers"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. Piece of Grubhub info, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
  • Similar words include: Basque Homeland and Freedom, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Euskadi ta Askatasuna
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Stringed instrument that rests on the ground"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large stringed instrument; seated player holds it upright while playing
  • Similar words include: violoncello
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CELLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "45. Tin Man's need"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "46. Like the Mariana Trench"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the central and most intense or profound part
  • Similar words include: oceanic abyss, bass, deeply
  • Opposite of: shallow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Works that are heard rather than read"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Sister of Meg, Jo and Amy in "Little Women""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the 2nd letter of the hebrew alphabet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "52. Gives the ax"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something burning (often destructive)
  • Similar words include: go off, flak, elicit
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "55. Soaks (up)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that piece of solid food for dipping in a liquid
  • Similar words include: sop, SOP, standard procedure
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "58. Puppy sounds"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "61. Fundamental belief"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof
  • Similar words include: dogma
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "63. Description for an ideal partner ... or what the ends of 17-, 27-, 39- and 47-Across create?"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "66. Put on TV"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expose to fresh air
  • Similar words include: air out, broadcast, publicise
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "67. Molars and canines"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
  • Similar words include: tooth, dentition
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "68. Signal for an actor to go onstage"

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: cue stick, clue, remind
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "69. Pumpkin, e.g."

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bottle made from the dried shell of a bottle gourd
  • Similar words include: gourd vine, calabash
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOURD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "70. "Alas ...""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in an unfortunate way
  • Similar words include: woefully, deplorably, lamentably
  • Opposite of: happily
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SADLY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "71. TV's "___ Lasso""

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing edwardian style clothes
  • Similar words include: Teddy boy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Cry like a baby 4
2D 2. Admired figures 5
3D 3. Battle cry of the U.S. Marine Corps 5
4D 4. Kind of bagel 6
5D 5. Many a PC file 3
6D 6. Really eager 4
7D 7. Actor Michael of "Arrested Development" 4
8D 8. Caught sight of 6
9D 9. Place to be pampered 3
10D 10. 1996 #1 hit for the Spice Girls 7
11D 11. Water, in Colombia 4
12D 12. Team that plays at Citi Field 4
13D 13. "Over here!" 4
14D 18. Onetime retail chain giant 5
15D 19. ___ Grey tea 4
16D 24. Very light brown 4
17D 26. Tail-less cat 4
18D 28. Above, in poetry 3
19D 29. Synthetic fiber 5
20D 30. Fencing sword 4
21D 31. Not on time 4
22D 32. "Gimme a ___!" 3
23D 33. Commoner 4
24D 34. Norway's capital 4
25D 37. Two lengths of a pool 3
26D 39. What a punch line may end 4
27D 40. Part of a drill assembly or comedy routine 3
28D 41. "Frozen" snowman 4
29D 44. Seafood with claws 7
30D 46. Jeter in the Baseball Hall of Fame 5
31D 48. Rushing yards, e.g., informally 4
32D 49. "Well, dang it!" 6
33D 50. Slightly out of tune 6
34D 53. Put into law 5
35D 54. Move smoothly to another topic 5
36D 55. Without a date 4
37D 56. River past Cincinnati 4
38D 57. Lima's land 4
39D 59. Tiny canine pest 4
40D 60. Drove over the legal limit 4
41D 62. Ticked (off) 4
42D 64. Peculiar 3
43D 65. The Falcons, on a scoreboard 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Cry like a baby"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that shout loudly and without restraint
  • Similar words include: bellow, yawp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Admired figures"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a material effigy that is worshipped
  • Similar words include: paragon, idol, matinee idol
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDOLS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Battle cry of the U.S. Marine Corps"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Kind of bagel"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that east indian annual erect herb; source of sesame seed or benniseed and sesame oil
  • Similar words include: benny, benni, benne
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SESAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Many a PC file"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Really eager"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that highly excited
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Actor Michael of "Arrested Development""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Caught sight of"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that catch sight of
  • Similar words include: descry, spot, spy
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESPIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Place to be pampered"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
  • Similar words include: watering place, resort hotel, watering hole
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. 1996 #1 hit for the Spice Girls"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ambitious and aspiring young person
  • Similar words include: aspirant, hopeful, wannabee
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WANNABE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Water, in Colombia"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that largest known toad species; native to central america; valuable destroyer of insect pests
  • Similar words include: agua toad, Bufo marinus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGUA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Team that plays at Citi Field"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "Over here!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Onetime retail chain giant"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. ___ Grey tea"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a british peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EARL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Very light brown"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very light brown
  • Similar words include: beige
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ECRU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Tail-less cat"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the ancient gaelic formerly spoken on the isle of man; the language is sometimes used on ceremonial occasions
  • Similar words include: Manx cat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Above, in poetry"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Synthetic fiber"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a synthetic silklike fabric
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAYON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Fencing sword"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EPEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. Not on time"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
  • Similar words include: belatedly, recently, belated
  • Opposite of: early
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. "Gimme a ___!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: secant, s, Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "33. Commoner"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of the common people
  • Similar words include: plebeian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLEB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "34. Norway's capital"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of norway; the country's main port; located at the head of a fjord on norway's southern coast
  • Similar words include: capital of Norway, Christiania
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Two lengths of a pool"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
  • Similar words include: lick, overlap, swosh
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. What a punch line may end"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
  • Similar words include: jocularity, caper, trick
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JOKE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "40. Part of a drill assembly or comedy routine"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece or quantity of something
  • Similar words include: routine, mo, moment
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "41. "Frozen" snowman"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Seafood with claws"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that flesh of a lobster
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOBSTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Jeter in the Baseball Hall of Fame"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Rushing yards, e.g., informally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. "Well, dang it!""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Slightly out of tune"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal
  • Similar words include: resiny, sooty, coal-black
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITCHY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Put into law"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that order by virtue of superior authority; decree
  • Similar words include: ordain, act out, reenact
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Move smoothly to another topic"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of changing smoothly from one state or situation to another
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEGUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Without a date"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male deer, especially an adult male red deer
  • Similar words include: rat, denounce, spy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. River past Cincinnati"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a midwestern state in north central united states in the great lakes region
  • Similar words include: Ohio River, OH, Buckeye State
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "57. Lima's land"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in western south america; achieved independence from spain in 1821; was the heart of the inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries
  • Similar words include: Republic of Peru
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PERU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Tiny canine pest"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLEA

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40D: "60. Drove over the legal limit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move faster
  • Similar words include: zip, speed, accelerate
  • Opposite of: linger, decelerate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPED

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41D: "62. Ticked (off)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that place on a tee
  • Similar words include: tee up, tee
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEED

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42D: "64. Peculiar"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not divisible by two
  • Similar words include: unmated, left, peculiar
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODD

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43D: "65. The Falcons, on a scoreboard"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

35 Across Clues
43 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

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Last updated: December 29, 2025 at 04:35 AM