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Thursday, May 21, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 21, 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. Gossiped-about duo 4
2A 5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi 4
3A 9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting 5
4A 14. Curbside call 4
5A 15. Egg's outline 4
6A 16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" 5
7A 17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" 4
8A 18. St. Benedict, for one 4
9A 19. Central meeting points 5
10A 20. timiL 12
11A 23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr. 3
12A 24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph 3
13A 25. Capital of Portugal, to natives 6
14A 29. Crown of jewels 6
15A 31. Penultimate Greek letter 3
16A 33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" 3
17A 34. Goat's cry 3
18A 35. Golfer's suppor- 9
19A 38. Move like a fox 5
20A 40. Get a lode of this! 3
21A 41. John from Britain 5
22A 42. Evade 9
23A 44. "Bad" beginning 3
24A 45. Like news that everyone already knows 3
25A 46. Legal boundaries? 3
26A 47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat 6
27A 50. More melted, as a marshmallow 6
28A 53. Tree alongside a ski run 3
29A 54. Bro, e.g. 3
30A 55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s 12
31A 59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot 5
32A 62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden 4
33A 63. Ordered 4
34A 64. Increase, as interest 5
35A 65. German Ms. 4
36A 66. Pupil's surroundings 4
37A 67. Environmentalist Adams 5
38A 68. Site for many stars? 4
39A 69. Sounds of disapproval 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Gossiped-about duo"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
  • Similar words include: point, particular, detail
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern africa into the mediterranean; the nile river valley in egypt was the site of the world's first great civilization
  • Similar words include: Nile River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NILE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Animal that expresses anger by spitting"

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!

4A: "14. Curbside call"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
  • Similar words include: cab, hack, taxicab
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Egg's outline"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • Similar words include: ovoid, elliptical, ovate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. 2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. St. Benedict, for one"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
  • Similar words include: Thelonious Sphere Monk, Thelonious Monk, monastic
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Central meeting points"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. timiL"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. 50¢ or $1: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Fish more formally known as a batomorph"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a column of light (as from a beacon)
  • Similar words include: shaft of light, irradiation, light beam
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Capital of Portugal, to natives"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city and economic and cultural center of portugal; a major port in western portugal on tagus river where it broadens and empties into the atlantic
  • Similar words include: Lisbon, capital of Portugal
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LISBOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Crown of jewels"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  • Similar words include: crown
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIADEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Penultimate Greek letter"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of pressure
  • Similar words include: pounds per square inch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "33. One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
  • Similar words include: build up, sleeve, gird
  • Opposite of: disarm
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Goat's cry"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Golfer's suppor-"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Move like a fox"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
  • Similar words include: malinger, lurk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKULK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Get a lode of this!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. John from Britain"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "42. Evade"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very short skirt
  • Similar words include: mini
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINISKIRT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "44. "Bad" beginning"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Like news that everyone already knows"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
  • Similar words include: sometime, former, one-time
  • Opposite of: young, new
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OLD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Legal boundaries?"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "47. Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that semiformal evening dress for men
  • Similar words include: dinner jacket, black tie, tux
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUXEDO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "50. More melted, as a marshmallow"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that soft and sticky
  • Similar words include: icky, gooey
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOOIER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. Tree alongside a ski run"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nonresinous wood of a fir tree
  • Similar words include: fir tree, true fir
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "54. Bro, e.g."

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person's brother or sister
  • Similar words include: blood relation, blood relative, cognate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. P | u | n | c | h | e | s"

12 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "59. Sound of a perfect basketball shot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a brushing or rustling sound
  • Similar words include: lap, swoosh, posh
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWISH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. "Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: fierceness, madness, hysteria
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FURY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Ordered"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a chadic language spoken in northern nigeria
  • Similar words include: bid, entreat, press
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Increase, as interest"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tightly woven fabric with raised cords
  • Similar words include: temper, irritation, offend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIQUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "65. German Ms."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a german courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "66. Pupil's surroundings"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  • Similar words include: fleur-de-lis, sword lily, iris diaphragm
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "67. Environmentalist Adams"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "68. Site for many stars?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp high-pitched cry (especially by a dog)
  • Similar words include: yelping, yap, yip
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "69. Sounds of disapproval"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
  • Similar words include: tut, tut-tut, tsk
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Short negative review 6
2D 2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom 6
3D 3. "Bingo!" 11
4D 4. Stole material 4
5D 5. Southern denial 6
6D 6. Something tickled on a piano 5
7D 7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying) 4
8D 8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo 4
9D 9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle" 5
10D 10. Goes around and around 5
11D 11. Make sense, with "up" 3
12D 12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles 3
13D 13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc. 3
14D 21. Inflicts 6
15D 22. Muse of history 4
16D 26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically 11
17D 27. Milkshake flavor 4
18D 28. Gospel shout 4
19D 30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945 4
20D 31. Contented sounds 5
21D 32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation 4
22D 35. Curl 4
23D 36. Hip-knee connectors 6
24D 37. Source of linseed oil 4
25D 38. It's all a haze 4
26D 39. Drug bust unit 4
27D 43. Model Miranda 4
28D 47. Make neat 6
29D 48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name 6
30D 49. Fixate 6
31D 51. Give out 5
32D 52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV 5
33D 53. Far from house-trained 5
34D 56. Dodgy 4
35D 57. 100% 4
36D 58. End piece? 4
37D 59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus" 3
38D 60. Prevail 3
39D 61. Some test figs. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Short negative review"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Bingo!""

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Stole material"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the expensive fur of a mink
  • Similar words include: mink coat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MINK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Southern denial"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Something tickled on a piano"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  • Similar words include: pearl, tusk, bone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IVORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the land on which real estate is located
  • Similar words include: realm, down, commonwealth
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. The so-called "Pineapple Isle""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an island of central hawaii; a pineapple-growing area
  • Similar words include: Lanai Island
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LANAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Goes around and around"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
  • Similar words include: iteration, intertwine, loop topology
  • Opposite of: open circuit, uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Make sense, with "up""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: minimal brain damage, append, sum
  • Opposite of: subtract, take away
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. ChatGPT, Claude, etc."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agency of the united states army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
  • Similar words include: Army Intelligence, three-toed sloth, artificial insemination
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Inflicts"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
  • Similar words include: wreak, work, play
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WREAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Muse of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the muse of history
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically"

11 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Milkshake flavor"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that chocolate cookie with white cream filling
  • Similar words include: oreo cookie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OREO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Gospel shout"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. "Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that surrealist spanish painter (1904-1989)
  • Similar words include: Salvador Dali
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Contented sounds"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a low vibrating sound typical of a contented cat
  • Similar words include: birr, whir, whiz
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. "Changed my mind," in editing notation"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that printing: cancel, as of a correction or deletion
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Curl"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
  • Similar words include: scroll, curlicue, gyre
  • Opposite of: uncoil
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "36. Hip-knee connectors"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the longest and thickest bone of the human skeleton; extends from the pelvis to the knee
  • Similar words include: thighbone, femoris, femur
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEMURS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "37. Source of linseed oil"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLAX

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. It's all a haze"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Drug bust unit"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the systeme international d'unites
  • Similar words include: kg, kilogram
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KILO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Model Miranda"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "47. Make neat"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "48. Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Fixate"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that haunt like a ghost; pursue
  • Similar words include: haunt, ghost
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBSESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "51. Give out"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an important question that is in dispute and must be settled
  • Similar words include: topic, egress, subject
  • Opposite of: recall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISSUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "53. Far from house-trained"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild and menacing
  • Similar words include: ferine, savage
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FERAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. Dodgy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that subject to accident or chance or change
  • Similar words include: fluky, flukey, chancy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. 100%"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that free of extraneous elements of any kind
  • Similar words include: everlasting, thoroughgoing, sodding
  • Opposite of: unsaturated, impure
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PURE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. End piece?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a notice of someone's death; usually includes a short biography
  • Similar words include: necrology, obituary
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OBIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "59. Belinda's business on "The White Lotus""

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Prevail"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a victory (as in a race or other competition)
  • Similar words include: bring home the bacon, acquire, advance
  • Opposite of: fall back, losings
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "61. Some test figs."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test; the ratio of a person's mental age to their chronological age (multiplied by 100)
  • Similar words include: IQ, intelligence quotient, I.Q.
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IQS

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

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: May 21, 2026 at 07:05 AM

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

July 15, 2021 NYT Clues Solutions | XWordHint

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Puzzle Overview & Difficulty Analysis

Date: Thursday, July 15, 2021

Difficulty Level: Moderate Wednesday Puzzle

Total Clues: 77 (37 Across, 40 Down)

Average Word Length: 5.3 letters

July 15, 2021 Across Hints: NYT Thursday Crossword Answers

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. "Delish!" 6
2A 5. "___ Sexy" (1991 dance hit) 5
3A 10. Single at a bar, perhaps 3
4A 13. Brown powder 5
5A 15. Brown powder 5
6A 16. Costa ___ 4
7A 17. Popular pops 5
8A 18. Point a finger at 5
9A 19. Fan fave 4
10A 20. Kennel sound 3
11A 21. Southern newspaper that William Faulkner once contributed to, with "The" 13
12A 24. Prefix with beat or futurism 4
13A 26. Toy dog from Tibet 9
14A 27. Sport with Native American origins 8
15A 30. Melodramatist 3
16A 31. Kind of saxophone 4
17A 32. Rapper for whom Harvard's Hip-Hop Fellowship is named 3
18A 34. Get cozy 6
19A 39. Cultivars known for their yellow flesh 17
20A 43. "Excuse me" 6
21A 44. Do some patching, say 3
22A 45. Book after Joel 4
23A 46. Compadre 3
24A 48. Quantity that's tied to one's carbon footprint 9
25A 51. Second way of viewing things, figuratively 9
26A 56. Appear 4
27A 57. What a solver might growl after catching on to this puzzle's theme? 12
28A 59. Genre for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones 3
29A 62. Mine find 4
30A 63. Mother-of-pearl 5
31A 64. Motorola smartphone 5
32A 66. Flubs it 4
33A 67. Not using profanity, as a comedian 5
34A 68. "___ is easily deceived, because it is quick to hope": Aristotle 5
35A 69. Central concept of philosopher Zhuangzi's teachings 3
36A 70. Repeatedly comments (on) 5
37A 71. The first one in The New York Times appeared in 1970 4

Let's Solve the Across Clues Together!

Here are helpful hints to solve each clue. Remember, crossword puzzles are like word games - have fun with them!

Clue 1 Across: "1. "Delish!""

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: YUMYUM

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Across: "5. "___ Sexy" (1991 dance hit)"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: IMTOO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Across: "10. Single at a bar, perhaps"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a hard clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
  • Words that mean the same thing: angle, hint, tap
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TIP

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Across: "13. Brown powder"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot
  • Words that mean the same thing: chocolate, drinking chocolate, hot chocolate
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: COCOA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Across: "15. Brown powder"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that long pod containing small beans and sweetish edible pulp; used as animal feed and source of a chocolate substitute
  • Words that mean the same thing: algarroba, carob bean, locust pod
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: CAROB

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Across: "16. Costa ___"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: RICA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Across: "17. Popular pops"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that carbon fuel produced by distillation of coal
  • Words that mean the same thing: Coke, blow, coke
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: COKES

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Across: "18. Point a finger at"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that an accusation that you are responsible for some lapse or misdeed
  • Words that mean the same thing: charge, incrimination, blamed
  • The opposite would be: absolve
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: BLAME

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Across: "19. Fan fave"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a material effigy that is worshipped
  • Words that mean the same thing: beau ideal, paragon, graven image
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: IDOL

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Across: "20. Kennel sound"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ARF

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Across: "21. Southern newspaper that William Faulkner once contributed to, with "The""

Quick Info: This answer has 13 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TIMESPICAYUNE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Across: "24. Prefix with beat or futurism"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a rounded thickly curled hairdo
  • Words that mean the same thing: Afro hairdo
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: AFRO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Across: "26. Toy dog from Tibet"

Quick Info: This answer has 9 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LHASAAPSO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Across: "27. Sport with Native American origins"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a game invented by american indians; now played by two teams who use long-handled rackets to catch and carry and throw the ball toward the opponents' goal
  • The word looks like this: ________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LACROSSE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Across: "30. Melodramatist"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
  • Words that mean the same thing: overact, ham actor, ham it up
  • The opposite would be: underact
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: HAM

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Across: "31. Kind of saxophone"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
  • Words that mean the same thing: contralto, countertenor
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ALTO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Across: "32. Rapper for whom Harvard's Hip-Hop Fellowship is named"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt)
  • Words that mean the same thing: Na, sodium, atomic number 11
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: NAS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Across: "34. Get cozy"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace
  • Words that mean the same thing: cuddle, snuggle, draw close
  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: NESTLE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Across: "39. Cultivars known for their yellow flesh"

Quick Info: This answer has 17 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: YUKONGOLDPOTATOES

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Across: "43. "Excuse me""

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that the act of excusing a mistake or offense
  • Words that mean the same thing: free pardon, forgiveness, amnesty
  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: PARDON

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Across: "44. Do some patching, say"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that fasten by sewing; do needlework
  • Words that mean the same thing: tailor, run up, stitch
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: SEW

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Across: "45. Book after Joel"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about literature.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
  • Words that mean the same thing: Book of Amos
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: AMOS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Across: "46. Compadre"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Words that mean the same thing: sidekick, pal up, chum
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: PAL

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Across: "48. Quantity that's tied to one's carbon footprint"

Quick Info: This answer has 9 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ENERGYUSE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Across: "51. Second way of viewing things, figuratively"

Quick Info: This answer has 9 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OTHERHAND

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Across: "56. Appear"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
  • Words that mean the same thing: appear, look
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: SEEM

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Across: "57. What a solver might growl after catching on to this puzzle's theme?"

Quick Info: This answer has 12 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: WHYYOULITTLE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Across: "59. Genre for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: SKA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Across: "62. Mine find"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
  • Words that mean the same thing: load
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LODE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 30 Across: "63. Mother-of-pearl"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that the iridescent internal layer of a mollusk shell
  • Words that mean the same thing: mother-of-pearl
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: NACRE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 31 Across: "64. Motorola smartphone"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: DROID

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 32 Across: "66. Flubs it"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
  • Words that mean the same thing: slip, drift, stray
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ERRS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 33 Across: "67. Not using profanity, as a comedian"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead
  • Words that mean the same thing: sporty, plumb, clean and jerk
  • The opposite would be: unfairly, unclean
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: CLEAN

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 34 Across: "68. "___ is easily deceived, because it is quick to hope": Aristotle"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a young person (especially a young man or boy)
  • Words that mean the same thing: youthfulness, young, younker
  • The opposite would be: aged
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: YOUTH

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 35 Across: "69. Central concept of philosopher Zhuangzi's teachings"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that an adherent of any branch of taoism
  • Words that mean the same thing: Taoist
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TAO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 36 Across: "70. Repeatedly comments (on)"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers
  • Words that mean the same thing: mouth organ, mouth harp, harp
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: HARPS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 37 Across: "71. The first one in The New York Times appeared in 1970"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OPED

    Great job if you got it right!

July 15, 2021 Thursday NYT - All Down Answers

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Southwest desert plant 5
2D 2. Dock 4
3D 3. Metric of grossness 10
4D 4. Classic comedy figure who sported a bowl cut 3
5D 5. Certain warhead transport, in brief 4
6D 6. Phoenix and Washington, e.g. 9
7D 7. Low culture, disparagingly 5
8D 8. Brass band sound 6
9D 9. Showily deferential 8
10D 10. Neaten 6
11D 11. Clickable things 5
12D 12. Prefix with -lithic 5
13D 14. Lone Star State athlete 5
14D 16. Certifier of music sales, for short 4
15D 22. Apple devices run on it 3
16D 23. "Along ___ spider ..." 5
17D 25. Palm part 5
18D 27. Easy two-pointer 5
19D 28. ___-Seltzer 4
20D 29. Not Ready for Prime Time Players show, for short 3
21D 33. Where a zipper gets caught? 9
22D 35. Put on 5
23D 36. Popular hot-and-sour Thai dish 10
24D 37. Some summer babies 4
25D 38. To be: Lat. 4
26D 40. Headgear for many an extreme athlete 5
27D 41. Using intuition 8
28D 42. Have 3
29D 47. Syllables said with fingers in one's ears 6
30D 49. Night sch. class 3
31D 50. Thin, as a voice 5
32D 51. Small screech, for example 5
33D 52. Actress Birch 5
34D 53. Green power option, informally 5
35D 54. A scallop has up to 200 of these 4
36D 55. Not so cold 5
37D 58. Second place at a math competition? 4
38D 60. Symbol of highness 4
39D 61. Focus problem, for short 4
40D 65. Joey of children's fiction 3

Now Let's Solve the Down Clues!

Down clues go from top to bottom. Use the letters from your across answers to help!

Clue 1 Down: "1. Southwest desert plant"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that any of several evergreen plants of the genus yucca having usually tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white flowers; warmer regions of north america
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: YUCCA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 2 Down: "2. Dock"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that one of the muslim people of north africa; of mixed arab and berber descent; converted to islam in the 8th century; conqueror of spain in the 8th century
  • Words that mean the same thing: wharf, tie up, berth
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: MOOR

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 3 Down: "3. Metric of grossness"

Quick Info: This answer has 10 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: __________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: YUCKFACTOR

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 4 Down: "4. Classic comedy figure who sported a bowl cut"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: MOE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 5 Down: "5. Certain warhead transport, in brief"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about history.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a ballistic missile that is capable of traveling from one continent to another
  • Words that mean the same thing: intercontinental ballistic missile
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ICBM

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 6 Down: "6. Phoenix and Washington, e.g."

Quick Info: This answer has 9 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: MALELEADS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 7 Down: "7. Low culture, disparagingly"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that worthless material that is to be disposed of
  • Words that mean the same thing: crank, tear apart, chicken feed
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TRASH

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 8 Down: "8. Brass band sound"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OOMPAH

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 9 Down: "9. Showily deferential"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OBEISANT

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 10 Down: "10. Neaten"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TIDYUP

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 11 Down: "11. Clickable things"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that (computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface
  • Words that mean the same thing: ikon, icon, image
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ICONS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 12 Down: "12. Prefix with -lithic"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: PALEO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 13 Down: "14. Lone Star State athlete"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about celebrity/entertainment.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ASTRO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 14 Down: "16. Certifier of music sales, for short"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about music.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: RIAA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 15 Down: "22. Apple devices run on it"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that (greek mythology) a maiden seduced by zeus; when hera was about to discover them together zeus turned her into a white heifer
  • Words that mean the same thing: Io
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: IOS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 16 Down: "23. "Along ___ spider ...""

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: CAMEA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 17 Down: "25. Palm part"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: FROND

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 18 Down: "27. Easy two-pointer"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a basketball shot made with one hand from a position under or beside the basket (and usually banked off the backboard)
  • Words that mean the same thing: lay-up
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LAYUP

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 19 Down: "28. ___-Seltzer"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a easy clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ALKA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 20 Down: "29. Not Ready for Prime Time Players show, for short"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about sports.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: SNL

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 21 Down: "33. Where a zipper gets caught?"

Quick Info: This answer has 9 letters. It's a expert clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: SPEEDTRAP

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 22 Down: "35. Put on"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that any distinct time period in a sequence of events
  • Words that mean the same thing: leg, phase, level
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: STAGE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 23 Down: "36. Popular hot-and-sour Thai dish"

Quick Info: This answer has 10 letters. It's a hard clue about food & drink.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: __________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TOMYUMSOUP

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 24 Down: "37. Some summer babies"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in leo
  • Words that mean the same thing: Leo the Lion, Lion, Leo
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LEOS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 25 Down: "38. To be: Lat."

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ESSE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 26 Down: "40. Headgear for many an extreme athlete"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: GOPRO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 27 Down: "41. Using intuition"

Quick Info: This answer has 8 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ________
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ONAHUNCH

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 28 Down: "42. Have"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that have ownership or possession of
  • Words that mean the same thing: have, possess, ain
  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OWN

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 29 Down: "47. Syllables said with fingers in one's ears"

Quick Info: This answer has 6 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ______
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: LALALA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 30 Down: "49. Night sch. class"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a easy clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ESL

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 31 Down: "50. Thin, as a voice"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that having a tone of a reed instrument
  • Words that mean the same thing: reedlike, wheezy
  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: REEDY

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 32 Down: "51. Small screech, for example"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: OWLET

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 33 Down: "52. Actress Birch"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about celebrity/entertainment.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: THORA

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 34 Down: "53. Green power option, informally"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: _____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: HYDRO

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 35 Down: "54. A scallop has up to 200 of these"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a hard clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that opinion or judgment
  • Words that mean the same thing: optic, heart, eye
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: EYES

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 36 Down: "55. Not so cold"

Quick Info: This answer has 5 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance; - george meredith
  • Words that mean the same thing: skillful, dainty, decent
  • The opposite would be: nasty
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: NICER

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 37 Down: "58. Second place at a math competition?"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a expert clue about science/technology.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
  • Words that mean the same thing: 10, tenner, decade
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: TENS

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 38 Down: "60. Symbol of highness"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about general knowledge.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a bank check that has been fraudulently altered to increase its face value
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: KITE

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 39 Down: "61. Focus problem, for short"

Quick Info: This answer has 4 letters. It's a medium clue about abbreviation.

Here's how to solve it:

  • This could be something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Words that mean the same thing: attention deficit disorder, ADD, hyperkinetic syndrome
  • The word looks like this: ____
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ADHD

    Great job if you got it right!

Clue 40 Down: "65. Joey of children's fiction"

Quick Info: This answer has 3 letters. It's a medium clue about short answer.

Here's how to solve it:

  • The word looks like this: ___
  • Still stuck? Remember to use the crossing words to help you!
  • Ready for the answer? Click here!

    The answer is: ROO

    Great job if you got it right!

Category Breakdown

Category Number of Clues Percentage
General Knowledge 54 70.1%
Short Answer 12 15.6%
Sports 3 3.9%
Celebrity/Entertainment 2 2.6%
Literature 1 1.3%
History 1 1.3%
Music 1 1.3%
Food & Drink 1 1.3%
Science/Technology 1 1.3%
Abbreviation 1 1.3%

Complete Puzzle Statistics

Metric Value
Across Clues 37
Down Clues 40
Total Clues 77
Average Answer Length 5.3 letters
Shortest Answer 3 letters
Longest Answer 17 letters

Fun Tips to Solve Crossword Puzzles!

  • Start with short words first - they're usually easier!
  • Look for clues with blanks to fill in - these are like fill-in-the-blank questions at school
  • When letters cross, they must be the same in both words - this helps you check if you're right!
  • Today is Thursday, and these puzzles are usually moderate level
  • Most clues today are about general knowledge
  • The average word today has about 5 letters
  • Remember: It's okay to take breaks and come back later with fresh eyes!
  • Ask someone for help if you need it - crosswords are more fun with friends!

Explore more crossword solutions and helpful guides to improve your solving skills:

Disclaimer: Crossword clues are property of The New York Times. This educational content is designed to help puzzle enthusiasts improve their solving skills.

Last Updated: September 16, 2025 at 07:39 AM