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
- Across Clues Table (35 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (35 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Medium
Pro Tip: Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues - they're usually the easiest entry points!
Across Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1. Smooths out some rough edges | 5 |
| 2A | 6. Content commonly consumed by commuters | 8 |
| 3A | 14. One end of a lap | 5 |
| 4A | 15. Service to foster parents? | 9 |
| 5A | 16. Like Miss Piggy and Captain Kirk, by birth | 5 |
| 6A | 17. Path to the Oscars | 9 |
| 7A | 18. Condition that may be treated with SSRIs | 4 |
| 8A | 19. "Bygones will be bygone, ___ fadin' into gray" (Taylor Swift lyric) | 4 |
| 9A | 20. They help you get a grip | 5 |
| 10A | 21. Slapdash | 7 |
| 11A | 23. Diploma equivalent, for short | 3 |
| 12A | 24. Poet who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" | 5 |
| 13A | 25. Animals whose name sounds like a letter that doesn't appear in its name | 4 |
| 14A | 27. Graduates in green-and-black regalia, in brief | 3 |
| 15A | 30. Stops on a world tour, say | 6 |
| 16A | 31. Something placed by a confident person | 3 |
| 17A | 32. Choo-choo train sound | 4 |
| 18A | 33. Professional juggling act? | 15 |
| 19A | 36. Pest control targets | 4 |
| 20A | 37. When repeated, a nonverbal "Can you hear me?" | 3 |
| 21A | 38. On deck | 6 |
| 22A | 39. "May I help you?" | 3 |
| 23A | 40. Vans alternative | 4 |
| 24A | 41. Staggering blows? | 5 |
| 25A | 42. Set unit | 3 |
| 26A | 43. Alfresco dining spot | 7 |
| 27A | 45. Stuffed | 5 |
| 28A | 48. Word after trumpet or tiger | 4 |
| 29A | 49. Welcoming | 4 |
| 30A | 51. Ones who are quick to complain | 9 |
| 31A | 53. Modern-day home of the oldest discovered library in the world | 5 |
| 32A | 54. "If you don't believe me …" | 9 |
| 33A | 55. Fished off the coast of Maine, maybe | 5 |
| 34A | 56. Something raised during Oktoberfest | 8 |
| 35A | 57. Sprang | 5 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Smooths out some rough edges"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
- Similar words include: littoral, Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, backbone
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SANDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "6. Content commonly consumed by commuters"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that distribute (multimedia files) over the internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer
- Similar words include: podcast
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PODCASTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "14. One end of a lap"
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: knee, articulatio genus, genu
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNEES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "15. Service to foster parents?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELDERCARE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "16. Like Miss Piggy and Captain Kirk, by birth"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native or resident of iowa
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IOWAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "17. Path to the Oscars"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REDCARPET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7A: "18. Condition that may be treated with SSRIs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images
- Similar words include: posttraumatic stress disorder
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PTSD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "19. "Bygones will be bygone, ___ fadin' into gray" (Taylor Swift lyric)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- Similar words include: earned run average, geological era, epoch
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "20. They help you get a grip"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a holding device attached to a workbench; has two jaws to hold workpiece firmly in place
- Similar words include: vise, bench vise
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "21. Slapdash"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALFASS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "23. Diploma equivalent, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "24. Poet who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that british poet (born in the united states) who won the nobel prize for literature; his plays are outstanding examples of modern verse drama (1888-1965)
- Similar words include: Thomas Stearns Eliot, T. S. Eliot, George Eliot
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELIOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "25. Animals whose name sounds like a letter that doesn't appear in its name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a member of a people living in southern benin and togo and southeastern ghana
- Similar words include: Ewe, ewe
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "27. Graduates in green-and-black regalia, in brief"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles (md is the current symbol for mendelevium but mv was formerly the symbol)
- Similar words include: physician, Md, Mv
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "30. Stops on a world tour, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a particular environment or walk of life
- Similar words include: sphere, field, bowl
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARENAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "31. Something placed by a confident person"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the money risked on a gamble
- Similar words include: stakes, play, calculate
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "32. Choo-choo train sound"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a blast of a horn
- Similar words include: blare, beep, booze-up
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "33. Professional juggling act?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WORKLIFEBALANCE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "36. Pest control targets"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
- Similar words include: pismire, emmet, ant
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "37. When repeated, a nonverbal "Can you hear me?""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the sound made by a gentle blow
- Similar words include: pink, beg, spigot
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "38. On deck"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEXTUP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "39. "May I help you?""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an affirmative
- Opposite of: no
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "40. Vans alternative"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that large american feline resembling a lion
- Similar words include: mountain lion, catamount, Felis concolor
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUMA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "41. Staggering blows?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on beaufort scale
- Similar words include: gale
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GALES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "42. Set unit"
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!
26A: "43. Alfresco dining spot"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence
- Similar words include: terrasse, patio, bench
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TERRACE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "45. Stuffed"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fill to satisfaction
- Similar words include: sate, fill, satiate
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SATED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "48. Word after trumpet or tiger"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any liliaceous plant of the genus lilium having showy pendulous flowers
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LILY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "49. Welcoming"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that get warm or warmer
- Similar words include: ardent, affectionate, warm up
- Opposite of: cool
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WARM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "51. Ones who are quick to complain"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy
- Similar words include: wimp, grumbler, complainer
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRYBABIES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "53. Modern-day home of the oldest discovered library in the world"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an asian republic in the middle east at the east end of the mediterranean; site of some of the world's most ancient centers of civilization
- Similar words include: Syrian Arab Republic
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYRIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "54. "If you don't believe me …""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASKANYONE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "55. Fished off the coast of Maine, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EELED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "56. Something raised during Oktoberfest"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEERTENT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "57. Sprang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that come into existence; take on form or shape
- Similar words include: uprise, bob up, turn out
- Opposite of: fall, turn in
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AROSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Not listen to, as on Spotify | 4 |
| 2D | 2. "Apparently we weren't done with these" | 10 |
| 3D | 3. Some push notifications | 10 |
| 4D | 4. Bad internet connections? | 9 |
| 5D | 5. The first one was issued in 1936, for short | 3 |
| 6D | 6. "Hold on — we're working as fast as we can" | 15 |
| 7D | 7. Chances | 4 |
| 8D | 8. Boxing Day mo. | 3 |
| 9D | 9. More than wants | 6 |
| 10D | 10. Stinging the eyes, say | 5 |
| 11D | 11. Ones easily fooled | 4 |
| 12D | 12. Cherry, but not strawberry | 4 |
| 13D | 13. 7-5 and 6-0, e.g. | 4 |
| 14D | 15. Forgets to proorfeed, say | 4 |
| 15D | 19. Can't get enough of something | 8 |
| 16D | 22. One under a mare's care | 4 |
| 17D | 23. Lose it | 8 |
| 18D | 26. Net | 3 |
| 19D | 27. Luxurious European gambling mecca | 10 |
| 20D | 28. Reality shows? | 10 |
| 21D | 29. One of 1,665 in the Eiffel Tower | 4 |
| 22D | 30. What comes before we go? | 4 |
| 23D | 32. One skilled at withholding details | 9 |
| 24D | 34. Besties, maybe | 3 |
| 25D | 35. Stage character who says "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is / To have a thankless child!" | 4 |
| 26D | 40. Stickler, of a sort | 6 |
| 27D | 42. Ridged rod in construction | 5 |
| 28D | 44. "Who ___?" | 4 |
| 29D | 45. Not a striking personality? | 4 |
| 30D | 46. British bum | 4 |
| 31D | 47. Kiddo | 4 |
| 32D | 48. National symbol of England | 4 |
| 33D | 50. Self-___ | 4 |
| 34D | 52. What a wave might mean | 3 |
| 35D | 53. Vast amount | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Not listen to, as on Spotify"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a gait in which steps and hops alternate
- Similar words include: cut, jump, pass over
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SKIP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. "Apparently we weren't done with these""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANOTHERONE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Some push notifications"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEWSALERTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Bad internet connections?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEADLINKS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. The first one was issued in 1936, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SSN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. "Hold on — we're working as fast as we can""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLEASEBEPATIENT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Chances"
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!
8D: "8. Boxing Day mo."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the last (12th) month of the year
- Similar words include: celestial latitude, December, declination
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. More than wants"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
- Similar words include: hunger, crave, lust
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRAVES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Stinging the eyes, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that strong and sharp
- Similar words include: sulphurous, vitriolic, acid
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Ones easily fooled"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant
- Similar words include: blackjack, tomfool, muggins
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAPS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Cherry, but not strawberry"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
- Similar words include: shoetree, tree diagram, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TREE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. 7-5 and 6-0, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
- Similar words include: typeset, adjust, mark
- Opposite of: rise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SETS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "15. Forgets to proorfeed, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that to make a mistake or be incorrect
- Similar words include: err, stray, mistake
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERRS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "19. Can't get enough of something"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EATSITUP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "22. One under a mare's care"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a young horse
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FOAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "23. Lose it"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GETANGRY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "26. Net"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
- Similar words include: vane, entanglement, WWW
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "27. Luxurious European gambling mecca"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONTECARLO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "28. Reality shows?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOCUSERIES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "29. One of 1,665 in the Eiffel Tower"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
- Similar words include: stone's throw, footfall, tone
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STEP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "30. What comes before we go?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that not present; having left
- Similar words include: aside, off, out
- Opposite of: home
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWAY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "32. One skilled at withholding details"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TAXLAWYER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "34. Besties, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "35. Stage character who says "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is / To have a thankless child!""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that british artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
- Similar words include: Edward Lear, King Lear
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "40. Stickler, of a sort"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit
- Similar words include: scholastic, bookworm
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEDANT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "42. Ridged rod in construction"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REBAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "44. "Who ___?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "45. Not a striking personality?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
- Similar words include: blackleg, strikebreaker, fink
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "46. British bum"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
- Similar words include: seat, tush, prat
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "47. Kiddo"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a native of yorkshire
- Similar words include: shaver, fry, Goth
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYKE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "48. National symbol of England"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that large gregarious predatory feline of africa and india having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
- Similar words include: Leo the Lion, Leo, Panthera leo
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LION
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "50. Self-___"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that give certain properties to something
- Similar words include: puddle, make, have
- Opposite of: unmake, unmade
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MADE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "52. What a wave might mean"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that you advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
- Similar words include: arrivederci, goodby, good day
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "53. Vast amount"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
- Similar words include: ocean
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
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
35 Across Clues
35 Down Clues
70 Total Clues
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