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Wednesday, August 26, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 26, 2026 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

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

Quick Navigation - Table of Contents

Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Challenging

Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!

Across Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1A 1. Modern lead-in to quit or bait 4
2A 5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents 5
3A 10. Act all teenagerly, say 4
4A 14. [I have something to say ...] 4
5A 15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders 5
6A 16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre 4
7A 17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x) 10
8A 19. Rip apart 4
9A 20. Something to belly up to 3
10A 21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly 4
11A 22. Cautious 4
12A 23. "My guess is ..." 5
13A 25. Teach, playfully (3x) 9
14A 29. Pinocchio's tell 4
15A 31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born 7
16A 32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name) 4
17A 33. PC key 3
18A 34. Wait for it! 3
19A 35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x) 13
20A 39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo 3
21A 40. Call, as a poker bet 3
22A 41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses" 4
23A 42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry 7
24A 45. Tech review site 4
25A 46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x) 9
26A 48. Bundles in a stationery shop 5
27A 52. Pointed remarks 4
28A 53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur 4
29A 55. Church fixture 3
30A 56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief 4
31A 57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise? 10
32A 60. Never Have I ___ (party game) 4
33A 61. April's ___ Day 5
34A 62. Bug on a pug 4
35A 63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" 4
36A 64. Acrimonious, as a breakup 5
37A 65. Units of verse 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Modern lead-in to quit or bait"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a feeling of intense anger
  • Similar words include: storm, furore, craze
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Heat source for many hydrothermal vents"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that molten rock in the earth's crust
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAGMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Act all teenagerly, say"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who wastes time
  • Similar words include: dilly-dallier, mope around, moon around
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. [I have something to say ...]"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.
  • Similar words include: hem
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) a titan who was forced by zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders
  • Similar words include: telamon, atlas vertebra, book of maps
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATLAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a river in southwestern england rising in gloucestershire and flowing through bristol to empty into the estuary of the severn
  • Similar words include: Upper Avon, River Avon, Upper Avon River
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Enhancing "blemish" (3x)"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Rip apart"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tear or be torn violently
  • Similar words include: rip, pull, rive
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. Something to belly up to"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
  • Similar words include: streak, cake, Browning automatic rifle
  • Opposite of: unbar
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Cautious"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
  • Similar words include: leery, mistrustful, suspicious
  • Opposite of: unwary
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WARY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. "My guess is ...""

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Teach, playfully (3x)"

9 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Pinocchio's tell"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  • Similar words include: nozzle, intrude, olfactory organ
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the capital and largest city of venezuela
  • Similar words include: capital of Venezuela
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARACAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "32. ___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name)"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the second largest of the hawaiian islands
  • Similar words include: Maui Island
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAUI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "33. PC key"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Wait for it!"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
  • Similar words include: peak, lead, tip off
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "35. Sweet popcorn coating (4x)"

13 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

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!

21A: "40. Call, as a poker bet"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
  • Similar words include: insure, find, go steady
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Roman author of "Metamorphoses""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that roman poet remembered for his elegiac verses on love (43 bc - ad 17)
  • Similar words include: Publius Ovidius Naso
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "45. Tech review site"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "46. Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x)"

9 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any tree of the genus macadamia
  • Similar words include: macadamia tree
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MACADAMIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "48. Bundles in a stationery shop"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large quantity of written matter
  • Similar words include: ream
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REAMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Pointed remarks"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
  • Similar words include: thrusting, dig, thrust
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JABS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "53. "Famous" cookie entrepreneur"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
  • Similar words include: Book of Amos
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Church fixture"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that long bench with backs; used in church by the congregation
  • Similar words include: church bench
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "56. Black mark on a credit report, in brief"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "57. "Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise?"

10 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "60. Never Have I ___ (party game)"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that at any time
  • Similar words include: e'er, ever so, always
  • Opposite of: never
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. April's ___ Day"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that tree (as opposed to shrub)
  • Similar words include: pergola, spindle, arbour
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARBOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Bug on a pug"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers""

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the vessel that contains the seeds of a plant (not the seeds themselves)
  • Similar words include: fuel pod, seedpod, cod
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PODS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Acrimonious, as a breakup"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dirty and disorderly
  • Similar words include: mussy
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MESSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Units of verse"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
  • Similar words include: base, groundwork, metrical unit
  • Opposite of: head
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Torah scholar 5
2D 2. Bridge Out ___ (sign) 5
3D 3. They have teeth but don't bite 5
4D 4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest 3
5D 5. Chichén Itzá builders 4
6D 6. Taking charge? 6
7D 7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp. 5
8D 8. Scuff up, say 3
9D 9. Set, as a price 3
10D 10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa? 6
11D 11. Was a ham 9
12D 12. Scrunchied hairstyle 8
13D 13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road") 3
14D 18. Audition 6
15D 22. Word that can precede cry or baby 3
16D 24. Picky, picky, picky 4
17D 26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate) 4
18D 27. Housemother 6
19D 28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief 3
20D 30. Day break? 6
21D 32. Got it all off his chest? 9
22D 33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one 3
23D 35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" 8
24D 36. Consider 4
25D 37. Disinclined 6
26D 38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name 4
27D 39. "Well, let me think" 3
28D 43. Herculean tasks 6
29D 44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time 3
30D 45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances 6
31D 47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example 5
32D 49. Gift from a teacher's pet 5
33D 50. Free-for-all 5
34D 51. Result of a hot pursuit? 5
35D 54. Grand Ole ___ 4
36D 56. One leg press, say 3
37D 57. Uncle ___ 3
38D 58. Minecraft resource 3
39D 59. Command to a jumpy dog 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Torah scholar"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that spiritual leader of a jewish congregation; qualified to expound and apply jewish law
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RABBI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Bridge Out ___ (sign)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that having the leading position or higher score in a contest
  • Similar words include: onwards, leading, forward
  • Opposite of: backward, back
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. They have teeth but don't bite"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
  • Similar words include: geared wheel, gear wheel, train
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEARS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism
  • Similar words include: Dromaius novaehollandiae, electromagnetic unit, Emu novaehollandiae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Chichén Itzá builders"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of an american indian people of yucatan and belize and guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between ad 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy
  • Similar words include: Mayan language, Mayan
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAYA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Taking charge?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Happy-sounding advocacy grp."

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Scuff up, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the month following february and preceding april
  • Similar words include: spoil, vitiate, mutilate
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Set, as a price"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inquire about
  • Similar words include: inquire, need, involve
  • Opposite of: obviate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Instrument associated with beans and salsa?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow gourd containing pebbles or beans; often played in pairs
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARACA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Was a ham"

9 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that exaggerate one's acting
  • Similar words include: ham it up, overact, ham
  • Opposite of: underact
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OVERACTED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Scrunchied hairstyle"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hair style that draws the hair back so that it hangs down in back of the head like a pony's tail
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PONYTAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. "The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road")"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
  • Similar words include: remainder, final stage, closing
  • Opposite of: begin, beginning
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: END

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Audition"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that trying something to find out about it
  • Similar words include: audition, trial, trial run
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRYOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. Word that can precede cry or baby"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
  • Similar words include: warfare, state of war
  • Opposite of: peace, make peace
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "24. Picky, picky, picky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or related to the anus
  • Similar words include: anal retentive
  • Opposite of: oral
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "26. Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "27. Housemother"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MATRON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "28. What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "30. Day break?"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a nap in the early afternoon (especially in hot countries)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIESTA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "32. Got it all off his chest?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "33. Disc golf "hole"-in-one"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
  • Similar words include: genius, nail, Allied Command Europe
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans""

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that capital and largest city of bosnia; scene of the assassination of francis ferdinand in 1914 which precipitated world war i
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SARAJEVO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. Consider"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
  • Similar words include: view as, hold, take for
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. Disinclined"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually followed by `to') strongly opposed
  • Similar words include: loath, loth, antipathetic
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVERSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "38. Small bug with a strong-sounding name"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a slight but appreciable amount
  • Similar words include: pinch, touch, soupcon
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MITE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "39. "Well, let me think""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Herculean tasks"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
  • Similar words include: parturiency, trade union movement, drive
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABORS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "44. Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a public promotion of some product or service
  • Similar words include: ad, advertising, advertisement
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "45. Sometimes-uncredited appearances"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that engraving or carving in low relief on a stone (as in a brooch or ring)
  • Similar words include: cameo
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAMEOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "47. da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables
  • Similar words include: iamb, iambus
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IAMBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "49. Gift from a teacher's pet"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
  • Similar words include: Malus pumila, orchard apple tree
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "50. Free-for-all"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a noisy riotous fight
  • Similar words include: scrimmage, battle royal
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MELEE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "51. Result of a hot pursuit?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
  • Similar words include: travail, sudate, swither
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. Grand Ole ___"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. One leg press, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal abbreviation of `representative'
  • Similar words include: repp
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. Uncle ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
  • Similar words include: surface-to-air missile
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Minecraft resource"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "59. Command to a jumpy dog"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that kill intentionally and with premeditation
  • Similar words include: polish off, murder, forth
  • Opposite of: on
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFF

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
39 Down Clues
76 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: August 26, 2026 at 04:08 AM

Sunday, August 16, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 16, 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. Work parodied by Umberto Eco's "Granita" 6
2A 7. Subject of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" 3
3A 10. One's opponents 4
4A 14. Uncool 4
5A 18. Untold 6
6A 19. Down Under runners 4
7A 21. Caramel-filled candy 4
8A 22. Word following bear or honey 4
9A 23. _ATSO_ and _EKYL_ 21
10A 27. Astonished, informally 5
11A 28. With 45-Across, many a correspondent 3
12A 29. Do business 7
13A 30. Uncle, in Uruguay 3
14A 31. Water nymph of Greek myth 5
15A 33. Poet's Muse 5
16A 34. Memorial ___ Kettering (New York City medical facility) 5
17A 36. _RAVES 19
18A 41. It may be petrified 6
19A 42. Acknowledge 5
20A 43. El ___, Tex. 4
21A 44. Sass 3
22A 45. See 28-Across 3
23A 47. Eggy quaff 3
24A 48. Trudge 4
25A 50. Approaching 4
26A 54. Some funerary selections 4
27A 56. SAG_ 16
28A 60. Stands for speakers 5
29A 62. Preserver of freshness 4
30A 63. Sent 6
31A 64. Place for a sailor's anchor, informally 5
32A 67. Hunk 4
33A 70. Disapproving syllables 4
34A 72. It may be mental 5
35A 73. Out, in a way 6
36A 75. "That's cool, man" 4
37A 77. Words that may open doors 5
38A 79. _NIGHT 16
39A 83. Learning method 4
40A 87. Guard, as a goal 4
41A 88. Get rid of 4
42A 89. "Yadda, yadda" 3
43A 90. Squeaker ... or squealer 3
44A 92. Home improvement initials 3
45A 93. Italian wine city 4
46A 95. Fiber also known as viscose 5
47A 97. Toddler's jumping spot on a rainy day 6
48A 99. FRAN_ 19
49A 104. More reasonable 5
50A 105. Interprets 5
51A 106. Suspended musical instruments 5
52A 107. Vein contents 3
53A 108. Calm 7
54A 111. Title that becomes loftier when an E is added 3
55A 112. Escort to a penthouse, say 5
56A 116. _IALO_ 21
57A 120. Even 4
58A 121. Carry on 4
59A 122. Tender cut 4
60A 123. Pie portions, shapewise 6
61A 124. Crones 4
62A 125. Gas brand that sounds like two letters of the alphabet 4
63A 126. Invention originally developed as a yellow dye 3
64A 127. Refuse to budge 6

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. Work parodied by Umberto Eco's "Granita""

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sexually precocious young girl
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOLITA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "7. Subject of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that estrangement from god
  • Similar words include: wickedness, sine, sinfulness
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. One's opponents"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Uncool"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who doesn't understand what is going on
  • Similar words include: halt, cripple, halting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "18. Untold"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "19. Down Under runners"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism
  • Similar words include: emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae, electromagnetic unit
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMUS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "21. Caramel-filled candy"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "22. Word following bear or honey"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
  • Similar words include: sand trap, maw, ambuscade
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "23. _ATSO_ and _EKYL_"

21 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "27. Astonished, informally"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
  • Similar words include: excite, shake off, agitate
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOOK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "28. With 45-Across, many a correspondent"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a writing implement with a point from which ink flows
  • Similar words include: write, penitentiary, compose
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "29. Do business"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.
  • Similar words include: operate on, run, manoeuvre
  • Opposite of: malfunction, disengage
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPERATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "30. Uncle, in Uruguay"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "31. Water nymph of Greek myth"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers; of fresh or brackish water
  • Similar words include: water nymph
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NAIAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "33. Poet's Muse"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (greek mythology) the muse of lyric and love poetry
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "34. Memorial ___ Kettering (New York City medical facility)"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. _RAVES"

19 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEEDSNOINTRODUCTION

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "41. It may be petrified"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone whose style is out of fashion
  • Similar words include: fogy, dodo, fogey
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOSSIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "42. Acknowledge"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "43. El ___, Tex."

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Sass"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
  • Similar words include: backtalk, back talk, rim
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. See 28-Across"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Eggy quaff"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface
  • Similar words include: peg
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. Trudge"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of walking with a slow heavy gait
  • Similar words include: footslog, trudge, tramp
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. Approaching"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
  • Similar words include: nearly, virtually, near
  • Opposite of: far
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NIGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "54. Some funerary selections"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
  • Similar words include: urn
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: URNS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "56. SAG_"

16 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEVERENDINGSTORY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "60. Stands for speakers"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it
  • Similar words include: stump, soapbox, podium
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PODIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "62. Preserver of freshness"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
  • Similar words include: Navy SEAL, sealing wax, stamp
  • Opposite of: unseal
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "63. Sent"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that fill with high spirits; fill with optimism
  • Similar words include: intoxicate, uplift, pick up
  • Opposite of: dejected, depress
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELATED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "64. Place for a sailor's anchor, informally"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "67. Hunk"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that block consisting of a thick piece of something
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "70. Disapproving syllables"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "72. It may be mental"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an iconic mental representation
  • Similar words include: picture, figure of speech, figure
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "73. Out, in a way"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that in a state of sleep
  • Similar words include: gone, at rest, numb
  • Opposite of: awake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASLEEP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "75. "That's cool, man""

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "77. Words that may open doors"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "79. _NIGHT"

16 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEADLESSHORSEMAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "83. Learning method"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that memorization by repetition
  • Similar words include: rote learning
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40A: "87. Guard, as a goal"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined
  • Similar words include: run, incline, lean
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEND

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41A: "88. Get rid of"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an outbuilding with a single story; used for shelter or storage
  • Similar words include: molt, cast, throw
  • Opposite of: persistent
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42A: "89. "Yadda, yadda""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43A: "90. Squeaker ... or squealer"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
  • Similar words include: dirty dog, shop, scum bag
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44A: "92. Home improvement initials"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45A: "93. Italian wine city"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46A: "95. Fiber also known as viscose"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

47A: "97. Toddler's jumping spot on a rainy day"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mixture of wet clay and sand that can be used to line a pond and that is impervious to water when dry
  • Similar words include: addle, make, pool
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUDDLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48A: "99. FRAN_"

19 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOTCOMPLETELYHONEST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

49A: "104. More reasonable"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that mentally healthy; free from mental disorder
  • Similar words include: reasonable, sane
  • Opposite of: insane
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50A: "105. Interprets"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is read
  • Similar words include: register, understand, take
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: READS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

51A: "106. Suspended musical instruments"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a percussion instrument consisting of a metal plate that is struck with a softheaded drumstick
  • Similar words include: tam-tam, bell, gong
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GONGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52A: "107. Vein contents"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53A: "108. Calm"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54A: "111. Title that becomes loftier when an E is added"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that term of address for a man
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55A: "112. Escort to a penthouse, say"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56A: "116. _IALO_"

21 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNLIMITEDTALKANDTEXTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57A: "120. Even"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58A: "121. Carry on"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion
  • Similar words include: mouth off, blah, fustian
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59A: "122. Tender cut"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a cut of meat taken from the side and back of an animal between the ribs and the rump
  • Similar words include: lumbus
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60A: "123. Pie portions, shapewise"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any shape that is triangular in cross section
  • Similar words include: hoagie, sub, wedge heel
  • Opposite of: dislodge
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEDGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61A: "124. Crones"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an ugly evil-looking old woman
  • Similar words include: hagfish, beldame, crone
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

62A: "125. Gas brand that sounds like two letters of the alphabet"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

63A: "126. Invention originally developed as a yellow dye"

3 letters Category: Common Word

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!

64A: "127. Refuse to budge"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
  • Similar words include: importune, assert, take a firm stand
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INSIST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Striplings 4
2D 2. Texter's "Then again ..." 4
3D 3. Bananas 4
4D 4. Chants 7
5D 5. Briefly swam 8
6D 6. Home to more than 1,500 languages: Abbr. 3
7D 7. Affixed, as a patch 7
8D 8. "Let's do this!" 4
9D 9. Macadamia, for one 3
10D 10. Closely following 6
11D 11. Racing vehicle 6
12D 12. Napoleon exile site 4
13D 13. No longer relevant 4
14D 14. Inc., abroad 3
15D 15. Childish comeback 6
16D 16. Maid of Sherwood Forest 6
17D 17. Many a printer 5
18D 20. Consequences of supply chain problems 9
19D 24. Cross 4
20D 25. Dizzying gallery works 5
21D 26. Pauses while playing 5
22D 32. Treasure or desert follower 6
23D 33. Ewoks' home moon 5
24D 35. Job that may involve jumping through hoops 9
25D 36. Form of detective fiction 4
26D 37. Channel for gaming enthusiasts? 4
27D 38. Actress Skye 4
28D 39. Words after check, follow or catch 4
29D 40. Bum 5
30D 41. Reason to take a shot 3
31D 46. Some odoriferous gifts 4
32D 48. Smartphone predecessors, for short 4
33D 49. Female rapper with a longtime feud with Foxy Brown 6
34D 51. "Diminutive" Greek letter 4
35D 52. Nickname that omits "-ory" 4
36D 53. London park 4
37D 55. Chemistry test? 9
38D 57. Travel bag 6
39D 58. Bag 3
40D 59. Not very favorable, as some 84-Down 4
41D 61. Car with a stylized lightning bolt logo 4
42D 64. Thai money 4
43D 65. "Gotcha" 4
44D 66. Group with a tartan 4
45D 68. It may drive one to distraction, in brief 4
46D 69. Thumbnail, maybe 3
47D 71. A-lister 4
48D 74. Sauce traditionally made in a mortar 5
49D 76. Steal 9
50D 78. Attach with a click 6
51D 80. Carpenter's spacer 4
52D 81. Ophthalmology concerns 5
53D 82. Green sci. 4
54D 84. 2 to 5, say 4
55D 85. Infraction at an arcade 4
56D 86. ___ of Horus (Egyptian symbol of healing) 3
57D 91. Element used in bulb filaments 8
58D 94. "Shoo!" 5
59D 95. Display some emotion, perhaps 5
60D 96. Member of the N.F.L.'s "Big Blue," in brief 7
61D 98. Prepares to puree, perhaps, as papayas 7
62D 99. Fantasy realm ruled by King Caspian 6
63D 100. Feature of Anthony Robles, a 2011 N.C.A.A. national champion wrestler 6
64D 101. Shows pride in one's appearance, in a way 6
65D 102. Result in 6
66D 103. Producer of a call to arms 4
67D 104. Go ___ (fail) 5
68D 109. Poop 4
69D 110. School grps. 4
70D 111. Hide 4
71D 113. Vet 4
72D 114. Western Indians 4
73D 115. Subtle summons 4
74D 117. Fingers 3
75D 118. Park place? 3
76D 119. Road recklessness of a sort, for short 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Striplings"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a boy or man
  • Similar words include: sonny boy, cub, lad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Texter's "Then again ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Bananas"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
  • Similar words include: buggy, fruity, around the bend
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOCO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Chants"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
  • Similar words include: tone, chant, intone
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INTONES

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5D: "5. Briefly swam"

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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6D: "6. Home to more than 1,500 languages: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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7D: "7. Affixed, as a patch"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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8D: "8. "Let's do this!""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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9D: "9. Macadamia, for one"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that usually large hard-shelled seed
  • Similar words include: fruitcake, nut case, crackpot
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NUT

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10D: "10. Closely following"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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11D: "11. Racing vehicle"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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12D: "12. Napoleon exile site"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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13D: "13. No longer relevant"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise
  • Similar words include: consider, arguable, debate
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOOT

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14D: "14. Inc., abroad"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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15D: "15. Childish comeback"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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16D: "16. Maid of Sherwood Forest"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that of or relating to or venerating the virgin mary
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MARIAN

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17D: "17. Many a printer"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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18D: "20. Consequences of supply chain problems"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required
  • Similar words include: deficit, dearth, shortfall
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHORTAGES

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19D: "24. Cross"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the complete duration of something
  • Similar words include: twosome, pair, duad
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPAN

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20D: "25. Dizzying gallery works"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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21D: "26. Pauses while playing"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something left after other parts have been taken away
  • Similar words include: residue, lie, catch one's breath
  • Opposite of: be active, change
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RESTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "32. Treasure or desert follower"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISLAND

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23D: "33. Ewoks' home moon"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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24D: "35. Job that may involve jumping through hoops"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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25D: "36. Form of detective fiction"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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26D: "37. Channel for gaming enthusiasts?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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27D: "38. Actress Skye"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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28D: "39. Words after check, follow or catch"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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29D: "40. Bum"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that ask for and get free; be a parasite
  • Similar words include: bum, scrounge, schnorr
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CADGE

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30D: "41. Reason to take a shot"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an acute febrile highly contagious viral disease
  • Similar words include: grippe, influenza
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLU

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31D: "46. Some odoriferous gifts"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
  • Similar words include: wreath, coronal, lei
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "48. Smartphone predecessors, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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, PDA, personal organizer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PDAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "49. Female rapper with a longtime feud with Foxy Brown"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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34D: "51. "Diminutive" Greek letter"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
  • Similar words include: whit, smidgin, shred
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOTA

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35D: "52. Nickname that omits "-ory""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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36D: "53. London park"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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37D: "55. Chemistry test?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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38D: "57. Travel bag"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small overnight bag for short trips
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VALISE

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39D: "58. Bag"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

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: earnings, web, profit
  • Opposite of: gross
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "59. Not very favorable, as some 84-Down"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take off weight
  • Similar words include: reduce, slenderize, svelte
  • Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLIM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "61. Car with a stylized lightning bolt logo"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that german industrialist who was the first in germany to use an assembly line in manufacturing automobiles (1871-1948)
  • Similar words include: Wilhelm von Opel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPEL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "64. Thai money"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the basic unit of money in thailand
  • Similar words include: tical
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BAHT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

43D: "65. "Gotcha""

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

44D: "66. Group with a tartan"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that group of people related by blood or marriage
  • Similar words include: tribe, kindred, kinship group
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

45D: "68. It may drive one to distraction, in brief"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  • Similar words include: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADD, minimal brain damage
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADHD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

46D: "69. Thumbnail, maybe"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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47D: "71. A-lister"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
  • Similar words include: headliner, whizz, wizard
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

48D: "74. Sauce traditionally made in a mortar"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sauce typically served with pasta; contains crushed basil leaves and garlic and pine nuts and parmesan cheese in olive oil
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PESTO

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49D: "76. Steal"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

50D: "78. Attach with a click"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

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

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51D: "80. Carpenter's spacer"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a thin wedge of material (wood or metal or stone) for driving into crevices
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHIM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

52D: "81. Ophthalmology concerns"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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: STYES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

53D: "82. Green sci."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

54D: "84. 2 to 5, say"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
  • Similar words include: betting odds
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

55D: "85. Infraction at an arcade"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances
  • Similar words include: disputation, arguing, list
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TILT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

56D: "86. ___ of Horus (Egyptian symbol of healing)"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the organ of sight
  • Similar words include: middle, oculus, center
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

57D: "91. Element used in bulb filaments"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
  • Similar words include: atomic number 74, W, wolfram
  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TUNGSTEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

58D: "94. "Shoo!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that leave immediately; used usually in the imperative form
  • Similar words include: buzz off, get, fuck off
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCRAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

59D: "95. Display some emotion, perhaps"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that show a response or a reaction to something
  • Similar words include: respond, oppose
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REACT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

60D: "96. Member of the N.F.L.'s "Big Blue," in brief"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

61D: "98. Prepares to puree, perhaps, as papayas"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

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

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62D: "99. Fantasy realm ruled by King Caspian"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

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63D: "100. Feature of Anthony Robles, a 2011 N.C.A.A. national champion wrestler"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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64D: "101. Shows pride in one's appearance, in a way"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that clean with one's bill
  • Similar words include: dress, primp, congratulate
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PREENS

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65D: "102. Result in"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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66D: "103. Producer of a call to arms"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

67D: "104. Go ___ (fail)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the region of the united states lying to the south of the mason-dixon line
  • Similar words include: Dixie, Confederate States, Confederate States of America
  • Opposite of: north
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOUTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

68D: "109. Poop"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hoop that covers a wheel
  • Similar words include: tire out, wear upon, wear
  • Opposite of: interest, refresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

69D: "110. School grps."

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

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

Remember this word for future puzzles!

70D: "111. Hide"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
  • Similar words include: shin, scrape, peel
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

71D: "113. Vet"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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72D: "114. Western Indians"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of the shoshonean people of utah and colorado and new mexico
  • Similar words include: Ute
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UTES

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73D: "115. Subtle summons"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

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

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74D: "117. Fingers"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state in the rocky mountains
  • Similar words include: Idaho, ID, Gem State
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

75D: "118. Park place?"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  • Similar words include: set, mickle, mint
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

76D: "119. Road recklessness of a sort, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

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

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

64 Across Clues
76 Down Clues
140 Total Clues

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Last updated: August 16, 2026 at 04:04 AM