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Monday, May 18, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 18, 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: Tricky

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. Like a game that has gone into a penalty shootout 4
2A 5. Luxury handbag brand 5
3A 10. Petri dish gel 4
4A 14. West Coast sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024 4
5A 15. Stereotypical meal for a college student 5
6A 16. "Veni, ___, vici" 4
7A 17. Like the Code of Hammurabi 10
8A 19. Enterprise rival 4
9A 20. Got to one's feet 5
10A 21. Elmer's product 4
11A 23. "There's a cockroach!" 3
12A 24. Patch up some clothes, say 3
13A 25. Pioneering hybrid car 11
14A 29. Pouty expression 4
15A 30. Future atty.'s exam 4
16A 31. Rae who played President Barbie in "Barbie" 4
17A 34. Tackling of the quarterback 4
18A 37. Nebraska's largest city 5
19A 40. Governing body in the Harry Potter universe 15
20A 43. Fibrous part of broccoli 5
21A 44. Nothin' 4
22A 45. Cool, slangily 4
23A 46. "___ Calm and Carry On" 4
24A 48. Region 4
25A 50. Gardener's tool 11
26A 54. Kit ___ bar 3
27A 57. Woodcutter's tool 3
28A 58. Beauty queen's accessory 4
29A 59. Garlicky condiment 5
30A 61. Eye irritation 4
31A 63. Advice for the overambitious ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 40- and 50-Across 10
32A 66. ___ leches cake 4
33A 67. Oopsie 5
34A 68. Lotion ingredient 4
35A 69. Toward sunrise 4
36A 70. "Same!" 5
37A 71. Stereotypically antisocial pets 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Like a game that has gone into a penalty shootout"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord
  • Similar words include: trussed, draw, bind
  • Opposite of: untied, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Luxury handbag brand"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Petri dish gel"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent
  • Similar words include: nutrient agar, agar-agar
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AGAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. West Coast sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. Stereotypical meal for a college student"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. "Veni, ___, vici""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Like the Code of Hammurabi"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inhabitant of ancient babylon
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BABYLONIAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Enterprise rival"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Got to one's feet"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
  • Similar words include: get up, grow, rise up
  • Opposite of: sit down, fall
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Elmer's product"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "There's a cockroach!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Patch up some clothes, say"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten by sewing; do needlework
  • Similar words include: sew together, tailor, run up
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Pioneering hybrid car"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Pouty expression"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disdainful grimace
  • Similar words include: pout, wry face
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Future atty.'s exam"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Rae who played President Barbie in "Barbie""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Tackling of the quarterback"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
  • Similar words include: paper bag, poke, sacking
  • Opposite of: hire
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Nebraska's largest city"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the siouan people formerly living in the missouri river valley in northeastern nebraska
  • Similar words include: Maha
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMAHA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "40. Governing body in the Harry Potter universe"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. Fibrous part of broccoli"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
  • Similar words include: stem, husk, angry walk
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STALK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Nothin'"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a quantity of no importance
  • Similar words include: cypher, nil, null
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NADA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Cool, slangily"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that street names for marijuana
  • Similar words include: the skinny, Mary Jane, dope up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. "___ Calm and Carry On""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the financial means whereby one lives
  • Similar words include: livelihood, dungeon, hold on
  • Opposite of: discontinue, break
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Region"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

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: surface area, sphere, domain
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Gardener's tool"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Kit ___ bar"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the leaves of the shrub catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
  • Similar words include: cat, African tea, qat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "57. Woodcutter's tool"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
  • Similar words include: ax
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "58. Beauty queen's accessory"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a framework that holds the panes of a window in the window frame
  • Similar words include: waistband, girdle, window sash
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Garlicky condiment"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that garlic mayonnaise
  • Similar words include: aioli sauce, garlic sauce
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIOLI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Eye irritation"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "63. Advice for the overambitious ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 40- and 50-Across"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "66. ___ leches cake"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "67. Oopsie"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
  • Similar words include: mistake, erroneous belief, misplay
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERROR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Lotion ingredient"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Toward sunrise"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. "Same!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Stereotypically antisocial pets"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
  • Similar words include: throw up, CT, computerized tomography
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Large brass instruments 5
2D 2. "You have my sympathy" 5
3D 3. Macaroni shape 5
4D 4. 14 of these make up a fortnight 4
5D 5. Con's opposite 3
6D 6. Sprinted 3
7D 7. Friend in Mexico 5
8D 8. Gave out cards 5
9D 9. Zinnia or sunflower 6
10D 10. Director DuVernay 3
11D 11. Attempt something 9
12D 12. "Au revoir!" 5
13D 13. Puts on the line 5
14D 18. Oscar winner Jared 4
15D 22. English town famous for its salts 5
16D 26. Throw out of office 4
17D 27. Long (for) 5
18D 28. Holiday Inn competitor 6
19D 29. Sent by post 6
20D 31. Writes to on WhatsApp, in brief 3
21D 32. Puppy school command 3
22D 33. Roll of two ones 9
23D 35. "Ta-ta," in a text 3
24D 36. Camera company known for its "moments" 5
25D 38. With it 3
26D 39. Unreturned serve 3
27D 41. Distorts, as data 5
28D 42. Ticket price 4
29D 47. The "terrible twos" and the "threenager" years, for example 6
30D 49. Chapters of history 4
31D 50. Squander 5
32D 51. Outlandishly over the top, in modern slang 5
33D 52. Houston baseballer 5
34D 53. Swiss ___ (salad green) 5
35D 54. Marsupial often mistermed a "bear" 5
36D 55. Apportion 5
37D 56. There are 100 of these in every Scrabble game 5
38D 60. Apple desktop 4
39D 62. Superlative suffix 3
40D 64. Down Under bounder, for short 3
41D 65. Prefix between bi- and tetra- 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Large brass instruments"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the lowest brass wind instrument
  • Similar words include: bass horn, tuba, sousaphone
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUBAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "You have my sympathy""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Macaroni shape"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
  • Similar words include: human elbow, cubital joint, articulatio cubiti
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELBOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. 14 of these make up a fortnight"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the time during which someone's life continues
  • Similar words include: Day, daylight, Clarence Day
  • Opposite of: night
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAYS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Con's opposite"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an athlete who plays for pay
  • Similar words include: professional
  • Opposite of: amateur, anti
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Sprinted"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Friend in Mexico"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a friend or comrade
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMIGO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Gave out cards"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
  • Similar words include: take, grapple, cover
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEALT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Zinnia or sunflower"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year
  • Similar words include: one-year, yearbook, yearly
  • Opposite of: biennial
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNUAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Director DuVernay"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Attempt something"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. "Au revoir!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a farewell remark
  • Similar words include: cheerio, bye, au revoir
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADIEU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Puts on the line"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
  • Similar words include: risk of exposure, take chances, risk of infection
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RISKS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Oscar winner Jared"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wife or mistress of zeus and mother of apollo and artemis in ancient mythology; called latona in roman mythology
  • Similar words include: Latona
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LETO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. English town famous for its salts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Throw out of office"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from a position or office
  • Similar words include: throw out, boot out, drum out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OUST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Long (for)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that desire strongly or persistently
  • Similar words include: hanker, pine, ache
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEARN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Holiday Inn competitor"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Sent by post"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that send via the postal service
  • Similar words include: get off, mail-clad, mail
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAILED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Writes to on WhatsApp, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Puppy school command"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be around, often idly or without specific purpose
  • Similar words include: model, sit around, baby-sit
  • Opposite of: stand, arise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Roll of two ones"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. "Ta-ta," in a text"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Camera company known for its "moments""

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "38. With it"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh
  • Similar words include: hip joint, coxa, articulatio coxae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "39. Unreturned serve"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: 1, sensation, breeze through
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "41. Distorts, as data"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that turn or place at an angle
  • Similar words include: skew
  • Opposite of: align
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKEWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "42. Ticket price"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an agenda of things to do
  • Similar words include: menu, make out, come
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "47. The "terrible twos" and the "threenager" years, for example"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any distinct time period in a sequence of events
  • Similar words include: phase angle, form, phase
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PHASES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "49. Chapters of history"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "50. Squander"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
  • Similar words include: wild, consume, thriftlessness
  • Opposite of: conserve
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WASTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "51. Outlandishly over the top, in modern slang"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a minor actor in crowd scenes
  • Similar words include: additional, excess, superfluous
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXTRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. Houston baseballer"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Swiss ___ (salad green)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that beet lacking swollen root; grown as a vegetable for its edible leaves and stalks
  • Similar words include: spinach beet, Swiss chard, leaf beet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Marsupial often mistermed a "bear""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "55. Apportion"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that allow to have
  • Similar words include: dish out, accord, assign
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "56. There are 100 of these in every Scrabble game"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
  • Similar words include: roofing tile, tile
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "60. Apple desktop"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "62. Superlative suffix"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that standard time in the 5th time zone west of greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern united states
  • Similar words include: Eastern Time, Eastern Standard Time
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "64. Down Under bounder, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "65. Prefix between bi- and tetra-"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

37 Across Clues
41 Down Clues
78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: May 18, 2026 at 07:10 AM

Thursday, January 22, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers January 22, 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: Tricky

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. Purchase of ice cream or cream ale 4
2A 5. Cognac label letters 4
3A 9. Escapade 5
4A 14. Goddess depicted with cow's horns 4
5A 15. "Hey, look who's here!" 4
6A 16. Film without much wardrobe, informally 5
7A 17. Watch sound 4
8A 18. Happens 11
9A 20. Left in 7
10A 22. Ingredient in a zombie 3
11A 23. Late ___ 3
12A 24. Anxious 5
13A 25. Francis Ford Coppola's alma mater, for short 4
14A 26. Org. that watches television 3
15A 27. Tackling the task at hand 11
16A 31. Dump 3
17A 32. Unceasingly 5
18A 33. Hotel room coolers, for short 3
19A 34. Band with the 2008 platinum single "Electric Feel" 4
20A 35. Cut (in) 4
21A 38. Flabbergasted feeling 3
22A 40. Prefix meaning "heavens," as the name of a planet suggests 5
23A 42. Low 3
24A 45. Result of missing the boat 15
25A 49. Activist who was Time's 1963 Man of the Year, familiarly 3
26A 50. Sweeping 4
27A 51. Seth of Apple TV's "Platonic" 5
28A 52. Furious feeling 3
29A 53. Rescue squad pro 3
30A 54. Country whose seven-letter name can be spelled using only one-point Scrabble tiles 7
31A 56. Striking through 7
32A 59. "___ what I'm talkin' 'bout!" 4
33A 60. Standard 5
34A 61. Lead-in to -drome 4
35A 62. Oversupply 4
36A 63. Full of energy 5
37A 64. ___ Mix 4
38A 65. Catch a glimpse of 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Purchase of ice cream or cream ale"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Cognac label letters"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Escapade"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement
  • Similar words include: clown, caper, put-on
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Goddess depicted with cow's horns"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that egyptian goddess of fertility; daughter of geb; sister and wife of osiris
  • Similar words include: Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. "Hey, look who's here!""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Film without much wardrobe, informally"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire
  • Similar words include: porn, erotica, smut
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PORNO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Watch sound"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metallic tapping sound
  • Similar words include: ticktock, check, ticking
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TICK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Happens"

11 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Left in"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that printing: cancel, as of a correction or deletion
  • Similar words include: stet
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STETTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Ingredient in a zombie"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Late ___"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services
  • Similar words include: tip, bung
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Anxious"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that nervous and unable to relax
  • Similar words include: fretful, itchy, fidgety
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Francis Ford Coppola's alma mater, for short"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "26. Org. that watches television"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an independent government agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio and television and wire and cable and satellite
  • Similar words include: Federal Communications Commission
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FCC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "27. Tackling the task at hand"

11 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Dump"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Unceasingly"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "33. Hotel room coolers, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a radioactive element of the actinide series; found in uranium ores
  • Similar words include: alternating electric current, Ac, atomic number 89
  • Opposite of: direct current
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "34. Band with the 2008 platinum single "Electric Feel""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "35. Cut (in)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that make an etching of
  • Similar words include: engrave
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "38. Flabbergasted feeling"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
  • Similar words include: reverence, fear, veneration
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "40. Prefix meaning "heavens," as the name of a planet suggests"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Low"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Result of missing the boat"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Activist who was Time's 1963 Man of the Year, familiarly"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "50. Sweeping"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - w.r.inge
  • Similar words include: immense, huge, Brobdingnagian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "51. Seth of Apple TV's "Platonic""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "52. Furious feeling"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
  • Similar words include: wrath, anger, ira
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "53. Rescue squad pro"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "54. Country whose seven-letter name can be spelled using only one-point Scrabble tiles"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in northeastern europe on the baltic sea
  • Similar words include: Republic of Estonia, Esthonia
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ESTONIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "56. Striking through"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "59. "___ what I'm talkin' 'bout!""

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a digital tape recording of sound
  • Similar words include: digital audiotape, DAT
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "60. Standard"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

34A: "61. Lead-in to -drome"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. Oversupply"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall
  • Similar words include: satiate, overeat, scarf out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Full of energy"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by lively action
  • Similar words include: spirited, bouncing, bouncy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEPPY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. ___ Mix"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
  • Similar words include: miaul, miaow, mew
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MEOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "65. Catch a glimpse of"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Tools requiring two people 7
2D 2. "Am I wrong about that?" 7
3D 3. "Please, I know better than that" 7
4D 4. "You know better than that" 6
5D 5. Sotto ___ 4
6D 6. Sporting flats, say 4
7D 7. Omega, in physics 3
8D 8. Approximately 84% of American women have at least one 10
9D 9. Early ancestor 6
10D 10. (The) OK 3
11D 11. With 42-Down, they tell you when to stop and go ... as seen in this puzzle's theme 7
12D 12. Bees, but not birds 7
13D 13. Trig ratio 5
14D 19. Kick butt, so to speak 4
15D 21. Like a run that sends the game into extra innings, say 5
16D 25. Buffet table item 3
17D 28. ___ de plume 3
18D 29. Increase one's intensity 10
19D 30. "Hard pass" 3
20D 34. Mal de ___ 3
21D 36. Channel with the longtime slogan "We Know Drama" 3
22D 37. Legal setting 5
23D 38. 37-Down order 7
24D 39. Roused 7
25D 41. Turn to mush, maybe 3
26D 42. See 11-Down 7
27D 43. Loved every second 7
28D 44. The New York Islanders in the early 1980s, e.g. 7
29D 46. Early pop music's ___ Brothers 6
30D 47. Honorific title 4
31D 48. Pestering type 6
32D 49. Minor snafu 5
33D 54. Mark's successor 4
34D 55. Put away 4
35D 57. Space between here and there 3
36D 58. French word between two surnames 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Tools requiring two people"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large two-handed saw formerly used to cut logs into planks; one man stood above the log and the other in a pit below
  • Similar words include: pitsaw
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PITSAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. "Am I wrong about that?""

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. "Please, I know better than that""

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. "You know better than that""

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Sotto ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Sporting flats, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that furnish with shoes
  • Similar words include: shoed, shoe, calced
  • Opposite of: unshod, discalced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Omega, in physics"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of electrical resistance equal to the resistance between two points on a conductor when a potential difference of one volt between them produces a current of one ampere
  • Similar words include: Georg Simon Ohm
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Approximately 84% of American women have at least one"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Early ancestor"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. (The) OK"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sign of assent or salutation or command
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. With 42-Down, they tell you when to stop and go ... as seen in this puzzle's theme"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
  • Similar words include: dealings
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAFFIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Bees, but not birds"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that small air-breathing arthropod
  • Similar words include: dirt ball, insect, worm
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSECTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Trig ratio"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ratio of the hypotenuse to the opposite side of a right-angled triangle
  • Similar words include: cosecant
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COSEC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "19. Kick butt, so to speak"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
  • Similar words include: prescript, formula, harness
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RULE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "21. Like a run that sends the game into extra innings, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of tying or binding things together
  • Similar words include: draw, bind, connect
  • Opposite of: untie, disconnect
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Buffet table item"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "28. ___ de plume"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Increase one's intensity"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. "Hard pass""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "34. Mal de ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that denoting a quantity consisting of 1,000 items or units
  • Similar words include: one thousand, thousand, m
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "36. Channel with the longtime slogan "We Know Drama""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "37. Legal setting"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "38. 37-Down order"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "39. Roused"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "41. Turn to mush, maybe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. See 11-Down"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
  • Similar words include: signal, point, signaling
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIGNALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Loved every second"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "44. The New York Islanders in the early 1980s, e.g."

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DYNASTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "46. Early pop music's ___ Brothers"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "47. Honorific title"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for a (young) woman
  • Similar words include: chick, ma'am, madam
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "48. Pestering type"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Minor snafu"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "54. Mark's successor"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic monetary unit of most members of the european union (introduced in 1999); in 2002 twelve european nations (germany, france, belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, italy, spain, portugal, ireland, greece, austria, finland) adopted the euro as their basic unit of money and abandoned their traditional currencies
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EURO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "55. Put away"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill by packing tightly
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "57. Space between here and there"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
  • Similar words include: break, disruption, col
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "58. French word between two surnames"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (meaning literally `born') used to indicate the maiden or family name of a married woman
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Expert Solving Strategies

Start Smart

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

Decode the Clues

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

Use Cross-References

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

Build Vocabulary

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

Today's Puzzle Stats

38 Across Clues
36 Down Clues
74 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

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

Last updated: January 22, 2026 at 04:32 AM