Search Clues

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

Friday, July 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 17, 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: Moderate

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. Savory Chinese dish prepared on a griddle 15
2A 16. Ended something bad for good 15
3A 17. Had a little of this and that, say 15
4A 18. Dream setting, for short 3
5A 19. Does as a group? 4
6A 20. Air 4
7A 21. Water bearer 4
8A 23. It's a trap! 5
9A 27. Put into play 4
10A 31. Apply for an in-office job? 3
11A 32. Chase, in a way 3
12A 35. Pacifists' initiative 15
13A 40. Historical figure known to have acquired and dissected human corpses 15
14A 41. Common accompaniment to ribs 15
15A 42. It lacks a permanent host, for short 3
16A 43. Comedian Margaret 3
17A 44. Landform commonly seen in a crescent shape on Mars 4
18A 45. Phonies 5
19A 47. Candy bar similar to Heath 4
20A 51. Start of a tragedy 4
21A 54. They typically come in sets of four 4
22A 58. One who's been fleeced? 3
23A 59. French seafood topping named after another country 15
24A 64. "What on earth will you show some respect for?" 15
25A 65. Be alert 15

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Savory Chinese dish prepared on a griddle"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "16. Ended something bad for good"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "17. Had a little of this and that, say"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "18. Dream setting, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs; a state of rapidly shifting eye movements during sleep
  • Similar words include: rapid eye movement sleep, rapid eye movement, REM sleep
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "19. Does as a group?"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that distinguished from bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
  • Similar words include: cervid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "20. Air"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
  • Similar words include: mode, temper, humour
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "21. Water bearer"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "23. It's a trap!"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that equipment designed to serve a specific function
  • Similar words include: apparatus, frame-up
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "27. Put into play"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
  • Similar words include: victimized, victimised, utilise
  • Opposite of: misused
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "31. Apply for an in-office job?"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
  • Similar words include: break away, hunt down, track down
  • Opposite of: malfunction, idle
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "32. Chase, in a way"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that seek someone's favor
  • Similar words include: romance, court, solicit
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "35. Pacifists' initiative"

15 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "40. Historical figure known to have acquired and dissected human corpses"

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "41. Common accompaniment to ribs"

15 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "42. It lacks a permanent host, for short"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "43. Comedian Margaret"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "44. Landform commonly seen in a crescent shape on Mars"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a ridge of sand created by the wind; found in deserts or near lakes and oceans
  • Similar words include: sand dune
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "45. Phonies"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
  • Similar words include: sham, shammer, fake
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "47. Candy bar similar to Heath"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "51. Start of a tragedy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "54. They typically come in sets of four"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
  • Similar words include: mitt, hand, paw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAWS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "58. One who's been fleeced?"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "59. French seafood topping named after another country"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "64. "What on earth will you show some respect for?""

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "65. Be alert"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Sweet sandwich 5
2D 2. Rod whom the annual A.L. batting title is named after 5
3D 3. Google smartphone feature that edits the photographer into the group shot 5
4D 4. Pulitzer-winning author whose only two novels were published 55 years apart 3
5D 5. Pie crust ingredient 4
6D 6. Slush Puppie alternative 4
7D 7. Dated many years ago? 4
8D 8. Approaches 5
9D 9. Mate 3
10D 10. What the names of all but one continent end with 3
11D 11. Airer of the original "Star Trek" series 3
12D 12. Marathoner's woe 5
13D 13. Prefix with -nautics 4
14D 14. Kaelin of the O.J. trial 4
15D 15. Pulled (out) 4
16D 22. Spoils 5
17D 24. Unearthed? 6
18D 25. Island nation north of Fiji 6
19D 26. Rough, in a way 6
20D 28. Fabric fragment 6
21D 29. Kitt who played Catwoman 6
22D 30. Marvel antagonist who wears a metal mask 6
23D 32. Headed out 4
24D 33. Never to be repeated 4
25D 34. First name of the singer dubbed the "King of Soul" 4
26D 35. Poor gift-giving? 4
27D 36. Like some lights 4
28D 37. Grind away 4
29D 38. Cut down on greens? 3
30D 39. Small amounts 5
31D 45. Incite to attack, as a dog 5
32D 46. Exhausted 5
33D 48. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham" 5
34D 49. Completely defeated 5
35D 50. Like marshes 5
36D 51. Thrift store tag 4
37D 52. Something big when all the world's a stage? 4
38D 53. It might be on a roll 4
39D 55. Exasperated cry 4
40D 56. Learned 4
41D 57. Disney antagonist who rules the Pride Lands 4
42D 60. Station information, for short 3
43D 61. "I've had a breakthrough!" 3
44D 62. Sch. that releases admission decisions on Pi Day 3
45D 63. Wizard 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Sweet sandwich"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Rod whom the annual A.L. batting title is named after"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that englishman and cavalier poet whose lyric poetry was favored by charles i (1595-1639)
  • Similar words include: Thomas Carew
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Google smartphone feature that edits the photographer into the group shot"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pulitzer-winning author whose only two novels were published 55 years apart"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in america (born in 1957)
  • Similar words include: Lee Yuen Kam, leeward, Tsung Dao Lee
  • Opposite of: windward
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Pie crust ingredient"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Slush Puppie alternative"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Dated many years ago?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Approaches"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that move towards
  • Similar words include: near, draw close, come near
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Mate"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • Similar words include: chum, chum up, brother
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. What the names of all but one continent end with"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mother of the ancient irish gods; sometimes identified with danu
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Airer of the original "Star Trek" series"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Marathoner's woe"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
  • Similar words include: muscle spasm, spasm, cramp iron
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAMP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Prefix with -nautics"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "14. Kaelin of the O.J. trial"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "15. Pulled (out)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "22. Spoils"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
  • Similar words include: ruin, smash, bankrupt
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUINS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "24. Unearthed?"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
  • Similar words include: gnaw at, wear away, scoured
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "25. Island nation north of Fiji"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small island republic on the tuvalu islands; formerly part of the british colony of gilbert and ellice islands until it withdrew in 1975 and became independent of the united kingdom in 1978
  • Similar words include: Ellice Islands
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUVALU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "26. Rough, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
  • Similar words include: odd, mismatched, spotty
  • Opposite of: even
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNEVEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "28. Fabric fragment"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sample piece of cloth
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWATCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "29. Kitt who played Catwoman"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "30. Marvel antagonist who wears a metal mask"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Headed out"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
  • Similar words include: depart, exit, cash in one's chips
  • Opposite of: stay in place, come
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Never to be repeated"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that on one occasion
  • Similar words include: at one time, in one case, erst
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONCE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. First name of the singer dubbed the "King of Soul""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
  • Similar words include: Elisha Graves Otis, genus Otis
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OTIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "35. Poor gift-giving?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that money or goods contributed to the poor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. Like some lights"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts
  • Similar words include: atomic number 10, Ne
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "37. Grind away"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
  • Similar words include: labour, labor, grind
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "38. Cut down on greens?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loft in a barn where hay is stored
  • Similar words include: cut down, haymow, mop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "39. Small amounts"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slight but appreciable amount
  • Similar words include: pinch, mite, hint
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "45. Incite to attack, as a dog"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "46. Exhausted"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pass time in a specific way
  • Similar words include: worn out, exhausted, expend
  • Opposite of: unexhausted
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "48. Knightley of "Bend It Like Beckham""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "49. Completely defeated"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have ownership or possession of
  • Similar words include: possess, own, have
  • Opposite of: unowned
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWNED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "50. Like marshes"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having a tone of a reed instrument
  • Similar words include: reedlike, wheezy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REEDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "51. Thrift store tag"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "52. Something big when all the world's a stage?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the actors in a play
  • Similar words include: stray, tramp, disgorge
  • Opposite of: keep down
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "53. It might be on a roll"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tropical american prickly pear of jamaica
  • Similar words include: Opuntia tuna, tunny, Anguilla sucklandii
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Exasperated cry"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. Learned"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a way of doing or being
  • Similar words include: wise to, fresh, impudent
  • Opposite of: foolish
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WISE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "57. Disney antagonist who rules the Pride Lands"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
  • Similar words include: pit, mark, scratch
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "60. Station information, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a system for screening luggage in airports; an agent passes a swab around or inside luggage and then runs the swab through a machine that can detect trace amounts of explosives
  • Similar words include: explosive trace detection
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "61. "I've had a breakthrough!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "62. Sch. that releases admission decisions on Pi Day"

3 letters 💭 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!

45D: "63. Wizard"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: angiotensin-converting enzyme, champion, topnotch
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

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

25 Across Clues
45 Down Clues
70 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: July 17, 2026 at 05:58 AM

Friday, April 17, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers April 17, 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. 12-12, say 4
2A 5. Make an all-out effort 5
3A 10. 50, on a table 3
4A 13. Sea creature known to mourn its dead 4
5A 14. Long-stemmed mushroom 5
6A 15. Wow 3
7A 16. Medicare subsection covering ambulance services 5
8A 18. Get to the point? 5
9A 19. Half a chocolate bar 3
10A 20. Settle a bill 8
11A 22. Georgia hometown of R.E.M. and the B-52s 6
12A 24. Small pieces from 6
13A 26. Multitude 4
14A 27. Looks over briefly 9
15A 30. Word after back or snack 4
16A 32. Sticker that usually comes in sets of three or four? 5
17A 33. Did some knifework on 5
18A 35. Solo pilot? 3
19A 36. Worst of all imaginable chronologies 15
20A 39. "What's the issue ...?" 3
21A 40. Start to season, as a skillet 5
22A 41. "Storage Wars" network 5
23A 42. Awaken 4
24A 44. Voting, e.g. 9
25A 46. "Altho ..." 4
26A 48. Set of notes in a seventh chord 6
27A 49. "Stop being such a baby!" 6
28A 51. Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer 8
29A 55. First Super Bowl won by the Kansas City Chiefs in 50 years 3
30A 56. Gal on the screen 5
31A 58. [You're boring me] 5
32A 59. First of all 3
33A 60. Result from 5
34A 61. Chewy Japanese noodle 4
35A 62. "___ supuesto!" ("Of course!," in Spanish) 3
36A 63. Look with a curled lip 5
37A 64. Mizzen, e.g. 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. 12-12, say"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord
  • Similar words include: even, tie, link
  • Opposite of: untied, untie
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Make an all-out effort"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. 50, on a table"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
  • Similar words include: can, cannister, Sn
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Sea creature known to mourn its dead"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Long-stemmed mushroom"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. Wow"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "16. Medicare subsection covering ambulance services"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Get to the point?"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a convex shape that narrows toward a point
  • Similar words include: sharpen, candle, point
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAPER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Half a chocolate bar"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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, quat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Settle a bill"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Georgia hometown of R.E.M. and the B-52s"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of greece; named after athena (its patron goddess)
  • Similar words include: capital of Greece, Athinai, Greek capital
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATHENS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Small pieces from"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "26. Multitude"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
  • Similar words include: horde, legion, boniface
  • Opposite of: parasite
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Looks over briefly"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Word after back or snack"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large indefinite number
  • Similar words include: ingroup, tamp, multitude
  • Opposite of: unpack
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PACK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. Sticker that usually comes in sets of three or four?"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a pointed projection
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. Did some knifework on"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that cut into cubes
  • Similar words include: cube, dice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DICED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "35. Solo pilot?"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that imperial dynasty that ruled china (most of the time from 206 bc to ad 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of chinese civilization
  • Similar words include: Han dynasty
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "36. Worst of all imaginable chronologies"

15 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. "What's the issue ...?""

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Start to season, as a skillet"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. "Storage Wars" network"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Awaken"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event
  • Similar words include: fuss, shake, stimulate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Voting, e.g."

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. "Altho ...""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Set of notes in a seventh chord"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
  • Similar words include: quartet, quaternary, quaternion
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TETRAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "49. "Stop being such a baby!""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "51. Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone with an aggressively negative attitude
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAYSAYER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. First Super Bowl won by the Kansas City Chiefs in 50 years"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that being four more than fifty
  • Similar words include: fifty-four, 54
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIV

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. Gal on the screen"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "58. [You're boring me]"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the rattling noise produced when snoring
  • Similar words include: saw wood, stertor, saw logs
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "59. First of all"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "60. Result from"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "61. Chewy Japanese noodle"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "62. "___ supuesto!" ("Of course!," in Spanish)"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "63. Look with a curled lip"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls
  • Similar words include: leer
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "64. Mizzen, e.g."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a vertical spar for supporting sails
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Outperforms 4
2D 2. Modern home of ancient Mesopotamia 4
3D 3. Neutral shade 4
4D 4. Informational repository 8
5D 5. End of a gay pride slogan 11
6D 6. "Bad news aside ..." 15
7D 7. Catchy tune 3
8D 8. Maker of the iconic Billy bookcase 4
9D 9. What's going around? 5
10D 10. Gets the memo 10
11D 11. 2000 song for Aaron Carter about seeking someone "tough but sweet" 10
12D 12. Safety devices for trapeze artists 4
13D 17. "Mars, the ___ of War" (first movement of "The Planets") 7
14D 21. "You get the picture" 3
15D 23. Old-school dance 3
16D 25. Discussion guider 11
17D 27. 2008 Clint Eastwood film centered around an attempted car theft 10
18D 28. Act superior to 10
19D 29. Pro ___ 3
20D 31. Bend it like Beckham! 4
21D 32. BlackBerrys, e.g., for short 4
22D 34. Seriously, in modern slang 7
23D 37. 1/86,400 of a day: Abbr. 3
24D 38. Opium product used by Anna Karenina and Victor Frankenstein 8
25D 43. Big fight 3
26D 45. Exclaim 3
27D 47. High honors in science fiction 5
28D 49. Sludge 4
29D 50. Sacrifice in some chess gambits 4
30D 52. Weird Al Yankovic parody of the Kinks's "Lola" 4
31D 53. Mythical lover 4
32D 54. Monthly expense 4
33D 57. Student center? 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Outperforms"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the upper part of anything
  • Similar words include: top, upper side, topnotch
  • Opposite of: bottom
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Modern home of ancient Mesopotamia"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic in the middle east in western asia; the ancient civilization of mesopotamia was in the area now known as iraq
  • Similar words include: Al-Iraq, Republic of Iraq, Irak
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IRAQ

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Neutral shade"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Informational repository"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. End of a gay pride slogan"

11 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. "Bad news aside ...""

15 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Catchy tune"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the law enforcement agency of the justice department that operates a nationwide system of prisons and detention facilities to incarcerate inmates sentenced to imprisonment for federal crimes
  • Similar words include: sock, bash, bebop
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Maker of the iconic Billy bookcase"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. What's going around?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Gets the memo"

10 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. 2000 song for Aaron Carter about seeking someone "tough but sweet""

10 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Safety devices for trapeze artists"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the tcp/ip network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
  • Similar words include: net profit, sack, web
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NETS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "17. "Mars, the ___ of War" (first movement of "The Planets")"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. "You get the picture""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "23. Old-school dance"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of hopping; jumping upward or forward (especially on one foot)
  • Similar words include: hops, record hop, hop-skip
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "25. Discussion guider"

11 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who makes progress easier
  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FACILITATOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. 2008 Clint Eastwood film centered around an attempted car theft"

10 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Act superior to"

10 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "29. Pro ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "31. Bend it like Beckham!"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
  • Similar words include: articulatio genus, stifle, human knee
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. BlackBerrys, e.g., for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lightweight consumer electronic device that looks like a hand-held computer but instead performs specific tasks; can serve as a diary or a personal database or a telephone or an alarm clock etc.
  • Similar words include: personal organiser, personal digital assistant, organiser
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PDAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Seriously, in modern slang"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "37. 1/86,400 of a day: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "38. Opium product used by Anna Karenina and Victor Frankenstein"

8 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that narcotic consisting of an alcohol solution of opium or any preparation in which opium is the main ingredient
  • Similar words include: tincture of opium
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAUDANUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "43. Big fight"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
  • Similar words include: words, course, quarrel
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "45. Exclaim"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: outcry, scream, weep
  • Opposite of: laugh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "47. High honors in science fiction"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that french poet and novelist and dramatist; leader of the romantic movement in france (1802-1885)
  • Similar words include: Victor Hugo, Hugo, Victor-Marie Hugo
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUGOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "49. Sludge"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any gummy shapeless matter; usually unpleasant
  • Similar words include: treacle, slop, mush
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "50. Sacrifice in some chess gambits"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an article deposited as security
  • Similar words include: instrument, hock, soak
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAWN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "52. Weird Al Yankovic parody of the Kinks's "Lola""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "53. Mythical lover"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) god of love; son of aphrodite; identified with roman cupid
  • Similar words include: sexual desire, physical attraction, concupiscence
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "54. Monthly expense"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a payment or series of payments made by the lessee to an owner for use of some property, facility, equipment, or service
  • Similar words include: lease, snag, split
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "57. Student center?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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
33 Down Clues
70 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: April 17, 2026 at 05:39 AM