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 (37 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: 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. Dad's pop, perhaps | 9 |
| 2A | 10. Attempt, informally | 5 |
| 3A | 15. One might be used to launch promotional materials | 9 |
| 4A | 16. It's often set on the stove while cooking | 5 |
| 5A | 17. That's not the whole story! | 9 |
| 6A | 18. Fancy and then some | 5 |
| 7A | 19. Like the eyes of an American coot | 3 |
| 8A | 20. Be prepared to take a weight off someone's shoulders? | 4 |
| 9A | 21. ___ Howard, activist known as the "Mother of Pride" | 6 |
| 10A | 22. Said who's who or what's what? | 4 |
| 11A | 24. Allies often share one | 5 |
| 12A | 26. Turnovers, but not crumpets | 4 |
| 13A | 27. "Be my guest" and "Go right ahead" | 3 |
| 14A | 29. Fixture at a chocolate factory | 3 |
| 15A | 30. Rate of passage | 4 |
| 16A | 31. With 28-Down, set hanging by a door | 5 |
| 17A | 34. Soprano Fleming | 5 |
| 18A | 36. Call for a pass? | 3 |
| 19A | 37. "I've done better" | 15 |
| 20A | 40. Hooter | 3 |
| 21A | 41. Resonates beautifully | 5 |
| 22A | 42. What might lead to a pile of dirty laundry | 5 |
| 23A | 43. ___ Ewbank, Hall-of-Fame football coach | 4 |
| 24A | 45. I | 3 |
| 25A | 46. Margaret featured in "Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution" | 3 |
| 26A | 47. Punch | 4 |
| 27A | 48. State-sponsored "wealth redistribution" scheme | 5 |
| 28A | 50. Support of a sort | 4 |
| 29A | 54. "I'm not sure what to make of that" | 6 |
| 30A | 56. Helen with the podcast "Go Fact Yourself" | 4 |
| 31A | 58. Natural resource seen in arboretums? | 3 |
| 32A | 59. Blushing matter | 5 |
| 33A | 60. Creature whose appendages allow it to camouflage in masses of kelp | 9 |
| 34A | 62. N.B.A. analyst Burke | 5 |
| 35A | 63. "That's what they say, anyway" | 9 |
| 36A | 64. Smooth and shiny | 5 |
| 37A | 65. Celebratory opening | 9 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Dad's pop, perhaps"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREAMSODA
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2A: "10. Attempt, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity
- Similar words include: swing over, drop, dangle
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWING
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3A: "15. One might be used to launch promotional materials"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRCANNON
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4A: "16. It's often set on the stove while cooking"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a timepiece that measures a time interval and signals its end
- Similar words include: timekeeper
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIMER
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5A: "17. That's not the whole story!"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLOTPOINT
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6A: "18. Fancy and then some"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that love intensely
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADORE
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7A: "19. Like the eyes of an American coot"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
- Similar words include: red-faced, reddish, ruby
- Opposite of: gain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RED
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8A: "20. Be prepared to take a weight off someone's shoulders?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a point located with respect to surface features of some region
- Similar words include: maculation, tell apart, position
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOT
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9A: "21. ___ Howard, activist known as the "Mother of Pride""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRENDA
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10A: "22. Said who's who or what's what?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IDED
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11A: "24. Allies often share one"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an opposing military force
- Similar words include: foe, opposition, foeman
- Opposite of: friend
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENEMY
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12A: "26. Turnovers, but not crumpets"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAT
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13A: "27. "Be my guest" and "Go right ahead""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a state in south central united states
- Similar words include: O.K., okeh, OK
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKS
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14A: "29. Fixture at a chocolate factory"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production
- Similar words include: tub, value-added tax, ad valorem tax
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VAT
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15A: "30. Rate of passage"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fee levied for the use of roads or bridges (used for maintenance)
- Similar words include: bell, price, cost
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOLL
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16A: "31. With 28-Down, set hanging by a door"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an extra component of a machine or other apparatus
- Similar words include: excess, spare part, trim
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPARE
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17A: "34. Soprano Fleming"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RENEE
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18A: "36. Call for a pass?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an affirmative
- Similar words include: yeah
- Opposite of: nay
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YEA
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19A: "37. "I've done better""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOTMYFINESTWORK
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20A: "40. Hooter"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
- Similar words include: bird of night, bird of Minerva, hooter
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OWL
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21A: "41. Resonates beautifully"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that deliver by singing
- Similar words include: blab out, tattle, blab
- Opposite of: keep quiet
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SINGS
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22A: "42. What might lead to a pile of dirty laundry"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that rescue equipment consisting of a device that fills with air and retards your fall
- Similar words include: slide, slideway, sloping trough
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHUTE
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23A: "43. ___ Ewbank, Hall-of-Fame football coach"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WEEB
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24A: "45. I"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
- Similar words include: self-importance, self, egotism
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EGO
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25A: "46. Margaret featured in "Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHO
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26A: "47. Punch"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous
- Similar words include: vivification, spiritedness, animation
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRIO
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27A: "48. State-sponsored "wealth redistribution" scheme"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
- Similar words include: beano, keno, bingo
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOTTO
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28A: "50. Support of a sort"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
- Similar words include: prankish, arc, patronizing
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH
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29A: "54. "I'm not sure what to make of that""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ITSODD
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30A: "56. Helen with the podcast "Go Fact Yourself""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONG
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31A: "58. Natural resource seen in arboretums?"
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
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32A: "59. Blushing matter"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that makeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks
- Similar words include: paint, blusher
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROUGE
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33A: "60. Creature whose appendages allow it to camouflage in masses of kelp"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEADRAGON
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34A: "62. N.B.A. analyst Burke"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) wife of nereus and mother of the nereids
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DORIS
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35A: "63. "That's what they say, anyway""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORSOIHEAR
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36A: "64. Smooth and shiny"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make slick or smooth
- Similar words include: silken, silklike, flowing
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEEK
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37A: "65. Celebratory opening"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LETSPARTY
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Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Destination for a day trip from Sorrento | 5 |
| 2D | 2. Got to | 5 |
| 3D | 3. Break the bank, say? | 5 |
| 4D | 4. What one might put on to impress others | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Plans, with "out" | 4 |
| 6D | 6. Website with a "Submit a Rumor" tab | 6 |
| 7D | 7. Bulb that becomes translucent when heated | 5 |
| 8D | 8. "That's a subject you should absolutely avoid" | 15 |
| 9D | 9. Fire ___ | 3 |
| 10D | 10. Big name in lights | 4 |
| 11D | 11. Like Belmont's Big Sandy, among Triple Crown racetracks | 6 |
| 12D | 12. "Nice try, wise guy" | 9 |
| 13D | 13. Jokey warning before diving into a niche topic | 9 |
| 14D | 14. One of a noted quintet | 9 |
| 15D | 21. Small storage units | 5 |
| 16D | 23. Stories of college students? | 4 |
| 17D | 25. Things that lions and zebras have in common | 5 |
| 18D | 28. See 31-Across | 4 |
| 19D | 31. Fair weather followers | 9 |
| 20D | 32. Saw getting turned on, say | 9 |
| 21D | 33. Chillaxing, more formally | 9 |
| 22D | 34. Man's name whose first four letters spell a word describing its last letter | 5 |
| 23D | 35. Score with some acid | 4 |
| 24D | 38. Arena | 5 |
| 25D | 39. "Get outta here!" | 4 |
| 26D | 44. Get down | 6 |
| 27D | 46. Some vacation rentals | 6 |
| 28D | 49. Moment of high spirits? | 5 |
| 29D | 51. "Got it" | 5 |
| 30D | 52. Rijeka native | 5 |
| 31D | 53. ___ Louis Gates Jr., host of PBS's "Finding Your Roots" | 5 |
| 32D | 55. Anchor position | 4 |
| 33D | 57. Shakehand or penhold, in table tennis | 4 |
| 34D | 60. ___ de Mayo (symbol on the flags of Argentina and Uruguay) | 3 |
| 35D | 61. Sound made when something snaps into place? | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Destination for a day trip from Sorrento"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an island (part of campania) in the bay of naples in southern italy; a tourist attraction noted for beautiful scenery
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAPRI
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2D: "2. Got to"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
- Similar words include: pissed, irritated, chafe
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RILED
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3D: "3. Break the bank, say?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that become ground down or deteriorate
- Similar words include: fret, eat away, gnaw
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERODE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. What one might put on to impress others"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
- Similar words include: represent, do, playact
- Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACT
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5D: "5. Plans, with "out""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface (or part of it)
- Similar words include: map, represent, single-valued function
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAPS
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6D: "6. Website with a "Submit a Rumor" tab"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOPES
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7D: "7. Bulb that becomes translucent when heated"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the bulb of an onion plant
- Similar words include: Allium cepa, onion plant
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ONION
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8D: "8. "That's a subject you should absolutely avoid""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DONTEVENGOTHERE
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9D: "9. Fire ___"
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: emmet, pismire
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANT
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10D: "10. Big name in lights"
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: prima, wizard, asterisk
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STAR
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11D: "11. Like Belmont's Big Sandy, among Triple Crown racetracks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
- Similar words include: all-encompassing, spacious, panoptic
- Opposite of: narrow
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WIDEST
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12D: "12. "Nice try, wise guy""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMONTOYOU
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "13. Jokey warning before diving into a niche topic"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NERDALERT
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14D: "14. One of a noted quintet"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GREATLAKE
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15D: "21. Small storage units"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information
- Similar words include: byte
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BYTES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "23. Stories of college students?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a college or university building containing living quarters for students
- Similar words include: hall, dormitory, residence hall
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DORM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "25. Things that lions and zebras have in common"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a persian prophet who founded manichaeism (216-276)
- Similar words include: man, head of hair, mane
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MANES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "28. See 31-Across"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
- Similar words include: distinguish, discover, Francis Scott Key
- Opposite of: atonality
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEYS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "31. Fair weather followers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that medium-sized eurasian thrush seen chiefly in winter
- Similar words include: snow bunting, fieldfare, snowflake
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOWBIRDS
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20D: "32. Saw getting turned on, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POWERTOOL
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21D: "33. Chillaxing, more formally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATLEISURE
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22D: "34. Man's name whose first four letters spell a word describing its last letter"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RINGO
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23D: "35. Score with some acid"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make an etching of
- Similar words include: engrave
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETCH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "38. Arena"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
- Similar words include: field of view, field of battle, subject
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIELD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "39. "Get outta here!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHOA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "44. Get down"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an instrumental version of the blues (especially for piano)
- Similar words include: boogie-woogie
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOOGIE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "46. Some vacation rentals"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one of the dwelling units in a condominium
- Similar words include: condominium, condo
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CONDOS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "49. Moment of high spirits?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that slices of bread that have been toasted
- Similar words include: crispen, drink, wassail
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOAST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "51. "Got it""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROGER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "52. Rijeka native"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a member of the slavic people living in croatia
- Similar words include: Croatian
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CROAT
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31D: "53. ___ Louis Gates Jr., host of PBS's "Finding Your Roots""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
- Similar words include: Patrick Henry, Joseph Henry, H
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HENRY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "55. Anchor position"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DESK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "57. Shakehand or penhold, in table tennis"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the act of grasping
- Similar words include: transfix, grasp, hold
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRIP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "60. ___ de Mayo (symbol on the flags of Argentina and Uruguay)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid
- Similar words include: soh, so, colloidal solution
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "61. Sound made when something snaps into place?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AHA
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
35 Down Clues
72 Total Clues
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