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Thursday, August 20, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 20, 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: Challenging

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. Sound like heaven 4
2A 5. Game of observation for travel 6
3A 11. Ad free 3
4A 14. Brief in pants 4
5A 15. Correct thoroughly 6
6A 16. Bad feel 3
7A 17. Try to place connoisseurs? 11
8A 19. Cells in compound 3
9A 20. Checks with style 5
10A 21. To cop 3
11A 22. Competition, for starters 5
12A 24. York ___ 5
13A 26. Place recording 6
14A 27. Signals over game 5
15A 29. Maturity approaching 5
16A 31. Crows to relatives 6
17A 32. Free booze 3
18A 33. Confidentiality of letters? 4
19A 37. "Done well" 5
20A 38. Short for "info flight" 3
21A 39. Sponge bath 5
22A 40. Nothing doing 4
23A 41. Say "minus C" 3
24A 42. Set off 6
25A 43. Practice Japanese 5
26A 45. Equal roughly 5
27A 46. Into light 6
28A 49. Nags about noise? 5
29A 51. Land of Spot 5
30A 52. On-off signs 3
31A 53. Lines some over draw 5
32A 57. For repentance some feel 3
33A 58. Details insignificant contests 11
34A 61. Spending limits it 3
35A 62. Forum discussion, popular once 6
36A 63. Cut short 4
37A 64. Rock-___ 3
38A 65. Out with ate, ate, ate 6
39A 66. Website gift custom 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sound like heaven"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of 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
  • Similar words include: dwell, mouth organ, mouth harp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Game of observation for travel"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overland journey by hunters (especially in africa)
  • Similar words include: hunting expedition, campaign
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAFARI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "11. Ad free"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protein manufactured exclusively by the prostate gland; psa is produced for the ejaculate where it liquifies the semen and allows sperm cells to swim freely; elevated levels of psa in blood serum are associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer
  • Similar words include: prostate specific antigen
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Brief in pants"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Correct thoroughly"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Bad feel"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that aromatic bulb used as seasoning
  • Similar words include: garlic, trouble, pain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Try to place connoisseurs?"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Cells in compound"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from dna to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell
  • Similar words include: ribonucleic acid
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Checks with style"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cloth having a crisscross design
  • Similar words include: tartan
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. To cop"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have ownership or possession of
  • Similar words include: have, possess, ain
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Competition, for starters"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. York ___"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Place recording"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
  • Similar words include: studio apartment
  • Opposite of: location
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUDIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Signals over game"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
  • Similar words include: tusk, trump, automobile horn
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Maturity approaching"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
  • Similar words include: mature, advanced, ripe
  • Opposite of: green
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Crows to relatives"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large black bird with a straight bill and long wedge-shaped tail
  • Similar words include: devour, prey, guttle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAVENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Free booze"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • Similar words include: wry, prohibitionist, teetotal
  • Opposite of: wet, sweet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Confidentiality of letters?"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. "Done well""

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
  • Similar words include: assassin, assassinator
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAVO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "38. Short for "info flight""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

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: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "39. Sponge bath"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer
  • Similar words include: loofah, loufah sponge, luffa
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOFA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Nothing doing"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
  • Similar words include: stagnate, dead, groundless
  • Opposite of: run, work
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "41. Say "minus C""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "42. Set off"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that bear the expenses of
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEFRAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "43. Practice Japanese"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "45. Equal roughly"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "46. Into light"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "49. Nags about noise?"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the characteristic sounds made by a horse
  • Similar words include: nicker, whinny, whicker
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEIGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Land of Spot"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island
  • Similar words include: isle
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "52. On-off signs"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in south central united states
  • Similar words include: okeh, Oklahoma, Sooner State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "53. Lines some over draw"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a just detectable amount
  • Similar words include: decipher, hint, hunt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "57. For repentance some feel"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that european strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
  • Similar words include: repent, regret, sorrow
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "58. Details insignificant contests"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "61. Spending limits it"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tight-fitting headdress
  • Similar words include: hood, detonator, capital
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. Forum discussion, popular once"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Cut short"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece of anything (especially a piece that has been snipped off)
  • Similar words include: nip off, clip, snippet
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. Rock-___"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "65. Out with ate, ate, ate"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that live like a pig, in squalor
  • Similar words include: farrow, devour, guttle
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIGGED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "66. Website gift custom"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. URL starter 4
2D 2. Asian sea currently undergoing replenishment efforts 4
3D 3. Civil rights icon Parks 4
4D 4. Shift the gears of, in a way ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues 12
5D 5. ID in some data breaches 3
6D 6. Elite H.S. class covering the Constitution 5
7D 7. Visionary ... or what you'll need to return to when solving this puzzle's Down clues 15
8D 8. Loads 4
9D 9. Babe in the Hundred Acre Wood 3
10D 10. One advocated for by the National Prison Project 6
11D 11. Whittled (down) 5
12D 12. Biblical mount 5
13D 13. It's worth remembering! 5
14D 18. "No idea" 6
15D 23. Distinctive expression ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues 12
16D 25. Feature of San Francisco's Lombard Street 3
17D 26. Mole, e.g. 3
18D 27. Firm 4
19D 28. Like many cricket fields 4
20D 30. Plan to contribute to, for short 3
21D 31. One of 1,909 for Willie Mays, for short 3
22D 34. "___ the Explorer" 4
23D 35. Some distance away 4
24D 36. Declare 3
25D 38. "Oh no! A mouse!" 3
26D 39. What the second number indicates in men's jeans sizes 6
27D 41. Univ. with an annual Mystery Hunt 3
28D 42. Eager response to "Wanna join?" 3
29D 44. Goes nuts for 6
30D 46. Around 5
31D 47. Garden-variety 5
32D 48. Wasn't paying attention 5
33D 50. Lauder of cosmetics 5
34D 52. Designer Cassini 4
35D 54. "I don't really care / If ya think I'm strange / I ___ gonna change": Joan Jett 4
36D 55. N.F.L. commentator Collinsworth 4
37D 56. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, e.g. 4
38D 59. Letter after chi 3
39D 60. The "S" of E.S.T.: Abbr. 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. URL starter"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a protocol (utilizing tcp) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • Similar words include: hypertext transfer protocol
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HTTP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Asian sea currently undergoing replenishment efforts"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Civil rights icon Parks"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
  • Similar words include: genus Rosa
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROSA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Shift the gears of, in a way ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues"

12 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. ID in some data breaches"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Elite H.S. class covering the Constitution"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Visionary ... or what you'll need to return to when solving this puzzle's Down clues"

15 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Loads"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sun (or solar disc) which was the deity of a monotheistic cult under the pharaoh akhenaten
  • Similar words include: Aten
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Babe in the Hundred Acre Wood"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. One advocated for by the National Prison Project"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of several resident of a dwelling (especially someone confined to a prison or hospital)
  • Similar words include: yard bird, yardbird, convict
  • Opposite of: outpatient
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INMATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Whittled (down)"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that decrease gradually or bit by bit
  • Similar words include: whittle, peel, trim
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PARED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Biblical mount"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain peak in the southern sinai peninsula (7,500 feet high); it is believed to be the peak on which moses received the ten commandments
  • Similar words include: Sinai Peninsula, Mount Sinai, Sinai Desert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. It's worth remembering!"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a siege and massacre at a mission in san antonio in 1836; mexican forces under santa anna besieged and massacred american rebels who were fighting to make texas independent of mexico
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALAMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "No idea""

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Distinctive expression ... or a hint to this puzzle's Across clues"

12 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Feature of San Francisco's Lombard Street"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons
  • Similar words include: atomic number 99, E, Es
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Mole, e.g."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors
  • Similar words include: descry, undercover agent, spot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Firm"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. Like many cricket fields"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

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: ovate, ellipse, prolate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Plan to contribute to, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "31. One of 1,909 for Willie Mays, for short"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a run that is the result of the batter's performance
  • Similar words include: run batted in
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. "___ the Explorer""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Some distance away"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AFAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Declare"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the chance to speak
  • Similar words include: pronounce, articulate, aver
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. "Oh no! A mouse!""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. What the second number indicates in men's jeans sizes"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
  • Similar words include: distance, duration
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LENGTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Univ. with an annual Mystery Hunt"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an engineering university in cambridge
  • Similar words include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Eager response to "Wanna join?""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the united states federal department charged with conservation and the development of natural resources; created in 1849
  • Similar words include: Interior, Interior Department, Department of the Interior
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Goes nuts for"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "46. Around"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. Garden-variety"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
  • Similar words include: common
  • Opposite of: unusual
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USUAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. Wasn't paying attention"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be able to accommodate for sleeping
  • Similar words include: sleep, log Z's, catch some Z's
  • Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Lauder of cosmetics"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "52. Designer Cassini"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. "I don't really care / If ya think I'm strange / I ___ gonna change": Joan Jett"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. N.F.L. commentator Collinsworth"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, e.g."

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "59. Letter after chi"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

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!

39D: "60. The "S" of E.S.T.: Abbr."

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact
  • Similar words include: venereal infection, dose, sexually transmitted disease
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STD

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: August 20, 2026 at 04:04 AM

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 19, 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. Sahara-esque 4
2A 5. Exams for high school jrs. 5
3A 10. Private sleeping accommodations? 4
4A 14. "Didn't you get the ___?" 4
5A 15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak 5
6A 16. Section in a textbook 4
7A 17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit) 4
8A 18. Deceptive move in fencing 5
9A 19. Depend (on) 4
10A 20. Natural pillow filling 13
11A 23. Graffiti, to some 3
12A 24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand 3
13A 25. QuinceaΓ±eras, e.g. 5
14A 28. Lifted 5
15A 30. Services for senior citizens 9
16A 34. Hybrid tennis attire 5
17A 36. Word with pan, pump or paint 3
18A 37. ___ Minor 4
19A 38. Unofficial vote 9
20A 41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college 4
21A 44. "___ got it!" 3
22A 45. Cats and dogs, for example 5
23A 48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies 9
24A 51. Excludes 5
25A 53. Mount ___ Health System 5
26A 54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game 3
27A 56. Something to trust 3
28A 57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across 13
29A 62. They offer support 4
30A 64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps 5
31A 65. Field 4
32A 66. Facility 4
33A 67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot 5
34A 68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel 4
35A 69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6 4
36A 70. Fall bloom 5
37A 71. Cave wall hangings? 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Sahara-esque"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lacking sufficient water or rainfall
  • Similar words include: waterless, desiccated, desiccate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Exams for high school jrs."

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Private sleeping accommodations?"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sheath worn to protect a finger
  • Similar words include: camp bed, cot, fingerstall
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. "Didn't you get the ___?""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a written proposal or reminder
  • Similar words include: memorandum, memoranda
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Section in a textbook"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
  • Similar words include: whole, building block, unit of measurement
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Deceptive move in fencing"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack)
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEINT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Depend (on)"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have confidence or faith in
  • Similar words include: bank, swear, trust
  • Opposite of: mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Natural pillow filling"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Graffiti, to some"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the products of human creativity; works of art collectively
  • Similar words include: fine art, artwork, graphics
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ART

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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13A: "25. QuinceaΓ±eras, e.g."

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
  • Similar words include: religious rite, ritual, rite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Lifted"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
  • Similar words include: steal, slip
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Services for senior citizens"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Hybrid tennis attire"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Word with pan, pump or paint"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. ___ Minor"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. Unofficial vote"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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20A: "41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states sculptor (1860-1936)
  • Similar words include: Lorado Taft, William Howard Taft, President Taft
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAFT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. "___ got it!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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22A: "45. Cats and dogs, for example"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action
  • Similar words include: noun
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOUNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies"

9 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "51. Excludes"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that prevent from being included or considered or accepted
  • Similar words include: except, take out, leave out
  • Opposite of: include, attend to
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "53. Mount ___ Health System"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain peak in the southern sinai peninsula (7,500 feet high); it is believed to be the peak on which moses received the ten commandments
  • Similar words include: Mount Sinai, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Desert
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINAI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
  • Similar words include: prat, tooshie, fundament
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. Something to trust"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus
  • Similar words include: intestine, catgut, bowel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across"

13 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "62. They offer support"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
  • Similar words include: brassiere, bandeau, bra
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that talk pompously
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "65. Field"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
  • Similar words include: domain, surface area, arena
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. Facility"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

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!

35A: "69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. Fall bloom"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various chiefly fall-blooming herbs of the genus aster with showy daisylike flowers
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Cave wall hangings?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
  • Similar words include: kooky, wacky, at-bat
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada 6
2D 2. Some vacation destinations 7
3D 3. "My mood is pretty low" 7
4D 4. Top three sights in Fiji? 4
5D 5. Like eyes during an allergy attack 5
6D 6. "Bless you!" elicitor 6
7D 7. ___ Minor 4
8D 8. Something that's pitched 4
9D 9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane 4
10D 10. Set of courses offered 10
11D 11. Miserable rating 7
12D 12. "___ death do us part" 3
13D 13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to 3
14D 21. Put forth 5
15D 22. Drop the ball 3
16D 26. Verbal hesitations 3
17D 27. Neptune's territory 3
18D 29. Situations one might no longer put effort into 10
19D 31. Drop 5
20D 32. Drop 3
21D 33. North Carolina university 4
22D 35. Chicago paper, with "the" 4
23D 39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho" 3
24D 40. Not taut 5
25D 41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer 3
26D 42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith 3
27D 43. The "Beyhive" for BeyoncΓ©, e.g. 7
28D 46. Country bordering Chad and Benin 7
29D 47. Lecture attendee 7
30D 49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail) 3
31D 50. Rat (on) 6
32D 52. They can be well-done 6
33D 55. See-through 5
34D 58. Part of the Corn Belt 4
35D 59. Important stretches 4
36D 60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this 4
37D 61. What a shepherd may shepherd 4
38D 62. Bouncy part of a trampoline 3
39D 63. "A drop of golden sun," in song 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Some vacation destinations"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hotel located in a resort area
  • Similar words include: resort hotel, recur, recourse
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESORTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "My mood is pretty low""

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Top three sights in Fiji?"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a very small circular shape
  • Similar words include: constellate, sprinkle, dit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Like eyes during an allergy attack"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing
  • Similar words include: turgid, gusty, tumescent
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUFFY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Bless you!" elicitor"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose
  • Similar words include: sneezing, sternutation
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEEZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. ___ Minor"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to europe on the west to form eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Something that's pitched"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
  • Similar words include: camp, encamp, collapsible shelter
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (old testament) third son of adam and eve; given by god in place of the murdered abel
  • Similar words include: Set
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Set of courses offered"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an integrated course of academic studies
  • Similar words include: course of study, syllabus, program
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CURRICULUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Miserable rating"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "___ death do us part""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Put forth"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have and exercise
  • Similar words include: exercise, wield, maintain
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXERT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Drop the ball"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Verbal hesitations"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
  • Similar words include: Er, ER, emergency room
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Neptune's territory"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Situations one might no longer put effort into"

10 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "31. Drop"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lower of two berths
  • Similar words include: lour, humiliated, miserable
  • Opposite of: raise, high
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Drop"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a depression in an otherwise level surface
  • Similar words include: angle of dip, magnetic inclination, drop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. North Carolina university"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "35. Chicago paper, with "the""

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho""

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "40. Not taut"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that grant freedom to; free from confinement
  • Similar words include: liberal, liberate, wanton
  • Opposite of: tight, affixed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metallic element of the rare earth group; used in lasers; occurs in apatite and monazite and xenotime and ytterbite
  • Similar words include: terbium, terabyte, Tb
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942)
  • Similar words include: Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Muhammad Ali
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. The "Beyhive" for BeyoncΓ©, e.g."

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "46. Country bordering Chad and Benin"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in west africa on the gulf of guinea; gained independence from britain in 1960; most populous african country
  • Similar words include: Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGERIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. Lecture attendee"

7 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution
  • Similar words include: bookman, pupil, educatee
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUDENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail)"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Rat (on)"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that disclosing information or giving evidence about another
  • Similar words include: let the cat out of the bag, blab, peach
  • Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TATTLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "52. They can be well-done"

6 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
  • Similar words include: steak
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEAKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. See-through"

5 letters πŸ’­ Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn sharply; change direction abruptly
  • Similar words include: transparent, gauze-like, vapourous
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "58. Part of the Corn Belt"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people formerly living in iowa and minnesota and missouri
  • Similar words include: IA, Hawkeye State, Ioway
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOWA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "59. Important stretches"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
  • Similar words include: geological era, earned run average, era
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
  • Similar words include: table salt, common salt, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SALT

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37D: "61. What a shepherd may shepherd"

4 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that young sheep
  • Similar words include: Elia, dear, Charles Lamb
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAMB

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38D: "62. Bouncy part of a trampoline"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
  • Similar words include: make love, kip down, roll in the hay
  • Opposite of: get up, turn out
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED

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39D: "63. "A drop of golden sun," in song"

3 letters πŸ’­ Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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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

37 Across Clues
39 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 19, 2026 at 04:04 AM