Thursday, May 14, 2026 – LA Times Crossword Answers & Hints

LA Times Crossword – May 14, 2026 (Thursday)

Today’s crossword puzzle is fun and a little tricky.

If you are stuck, don’t worry!

Here you can find the answers and help.

Crossword puzzles help us:

• Learn new words
• Improve spelling
• Think smart

Theme Answer: WOODCUT

Clue: Artistic printing method, and a feature of rows 2, 5, 11, and 14 in this puzzle

Answer: WOODCUT

Explanation:

A woodcut is a way of printing pictures. The artist carves a design into wood, puts ink on it, and prints it on paper. Today’s puzzle hides types of wood in four rows.

Across Clues

6A. Thurman of “Pretty Lethal”

Answer: UMA

Explanation: Uma Thurman is a famous actress.

13A. Moral principle

Answer: ETHIC

Explanation: An ethic is a rule about what is right or wrong.

14A. “MAS*H” setting, for short

Answer: KOR

Explanation: MASH takes place in Korea (KOR = short form).

15A. “Butterfly Dance” artist

Answer: YANNI

Explanation: Yanni is a music composer.

19A. College where Robert Frost taught English

Answer: AMHERST

Explanation: Robert Frost was a famous poet who taught at Amherst College.

22A. NYC home of Matisse’s “Landscape at Collioure”

Answer: MOMA

Explanation: MoMA is the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

25A. Taylor-Joy of “The Northman”

Answer: ANYA

Explanation: Anya Taylor-Joy is a movie actress.

34A. “Downton Abbey” cook

Answer: DAISY

Explanation: Daisy is a character in the TV show Downton Abbey.

38A. Here, in Honduras

Answer: ACA

Explanation: In Spanish, “aca” means “here.”

41A. Mod About You polish maker

Answer: OPI

Explanation: OPI is a brand that makes nail polish.

42A. Mexican sandwich

Answer: TORTA

Explanation: A torta is a Mexican sandwich.

50A. Electrically adaptable

Answer: AC/DC

Explanation: AC/DC means it can work with both types of electric current.

55A. Sazerac options

Answer: RYES

Explanation: Rye is a type of grain used in drinks.

58A. Abu Dhabi, e.g.

Answer: EMIRATE

Explanation: Abu Dhabi is one of the Emirates in the UAE.

61A. Expanse crossed by Odysseus

Answer: IONIAN SEA

Explanation: In Greek stories, Odysseus crossed the Ionian Sea.

65A. Like van Gogh and Vermeer

Answer: DUTCH

Explanation: Both artists were from the Netherlands (Dutch).

70A. Blades for some Olympians

Answer: EPEES

Explanation: An épée is a type of fencing sword used in the Olympics.

Down Clues

1D. Super Mario Bros. console

Answer: NES

Explanation: NES is a Nintendo gaming system.

2D. Jazzy James

Answer: ETTA

Explanation: Etta James was a famous singer.

3D. Guitar accessory that may create vibrato

Answer: WHAMMY BAR

Explanation: A whammy bar is used on guitars to change sound.

4D. Knights’ neighbors

Answer: BISHOPS

Explanation: In chess, bishops sit next to knights.

5D. Blueprint

Answer: SCHEMA

Explanation: A schema is a plan or design.

9D. Prehistoric supercontinent

Answer: PANGAEA

Explanation: Pangaea was one giant land before continents split.

11D. Moriarty, to Holmes

Answer: ENEMY

Explanation: Moriarty is the enemy of Sherlock Holmes.

18D. Latvian capital

Answer: RIGA

Explanation: Riga is the capital city of Latvia.

36D. Hormel product

Answer: SPAM

Explanation: Spam is a canned meat product.

43D. Elements of a strategy

Answer: TACTICS

Explanation: Tactics are small actions used in a plan.

51D. Easy part of a sky in a jigsaw puzzle

Answer: CLOUD

Explanation: Puzzle sky areas are often blue with clouds.

54D. Oscar winner Witherspoon

Answer: REESE

Explanation: Reese Witherspoon is an actress.

60D. Brontë orphan

Answer: EYRE

Explanation: Jane Eyre is a famous novel character.

XWordHint Crossword Answers August 28, 2025 | 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
• Across Clues Table (39 clues)
• Across Clues - Detailed Hints
• Down Clues Table (39 clues)
• Down Clues - Detailed Hints
• Expert Solving Strategies
• Today's Puzzle Statistics

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. "Table" for one's TV dinner, perhaps	3
2A	4. Messy abode	6
3A	10. Texting format, in brief	3
4A	13. Period that begins with a day of pranks: Abbr.	3
5A	14. Weakness	6
6A	15. ___ Highway (Maui tourist attraction)	4
7A	17. Recently dated	10
8A	19. Many a citizen of Abu Dhabi	4
9A	20. It's used for wrapping up a film	5
10A	21. Gained a wider following	4
11A	22. Riddled (with)	4
12A	23. Top up	4
13A	25. No guts	8
14A	27. Where someone might ask for a screwdriver	3
15A	29. Early tech giant	3
16A	31. Fair Deal prez	3
17A	32. Like Frodo at the end of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy	4
18A	34. Chaps	4
19A	37. Poem that's typically unrhymed	5
20A	41. Battle carriers	15
21A	44. Mythological beast able to regenerate its heads	5
22A	45. Commuter option	4
23A	46. Non-fruit ingredient in a green smoothie	4
24A	47. One of three in the Domino's logo	3
25A	49. Syllable akin to "Tsk!"	3
26A	51. Audiophile's collection, for short	3
27A	52. Packed lunch	8
28A	57. Wail	4
29A	59. Shade in a picturesque island scene, maybe	4
30A	60. Follower of Joel	4
31A	62. Here's the scoop!	5
32A	65. Colossally bad consequence, as with finances	4
33A	66. Feature of the clues for 17-, 25-, 41- and 52-Across	10
34A	68. Wizard	4
35A	69. Some underground networks	6
36A	70. "Kapow!"	3
37A	71. Fleur-de-___	3
38A	72. Follow, with "to"	6
39A	73. "Come ___?" (Italian for "How are you?")	3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. "Table" for one's TV dinner, perhaps"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the upper side of the thighs of a seated person
• Similar words include: circle, lave, swoosh
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LAP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Messy abode"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a pen for swine
• Similar words include: sty, pigpen
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PIGSTY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "10. Texting format, in brief"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a grey lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group; is used in special alloys; occurs in monazite and bastnasite
• Similar words include: MSc, Master of Science, SM
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SMS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Period that begins with a day of pranks: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the month following march and preceding may
• Similar words include: April
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: APR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "14. Weakness"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a deficiency of red blood cells
• Similar words include: genus Anemia, anaemia
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ANEMIA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "15. ___ Highway (Maui tourist attraction)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HANA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Recently dated"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GOODENOUGH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. Many a citizen of Abu Dhabi"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a member of a semitic people originally from the arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks arabic and who inhabits much of the middle east and northern africa
• Similar words include: Arabian
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ARAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "20. It's used for wrapping up a film"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a winder around which thread or tape or film or other flexible materials can be wound
• Similar words include: reel, bobbin
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SPOOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "21. Gained a wider following"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
• Similar words include: mature, grow, maturate
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GREW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "22. Riddled (with)"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that most frequent or common
• Similar words include: prevailing, plethoric, overabundant
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RIFE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "23. Top up"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a quantity sufficient to satisfy
• Similar words include: fill up, sate, fulfill
• Opposite of: empty

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FILL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. No guts"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FREAKOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "27. Where someone might ask for a screwdriver"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
• Similar words include: legal profession, prevention, blockade
• Opposite of: unbar

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "29. Early tech giant"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Fair Deal prez"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Like Frodo at the end of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that in the direction of the sea
• Similar words include: seaward, seawards
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASEA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "34. Chaps"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a boy or man
• Similar words include: chap, fella, fellow
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "37. Poem that's typically unrhymed"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an epigrammatic japanese verse form of three short lines
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HAIKU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Battle carriers"

15 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CHAINLINKFENCES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "44. Mythological beast able to regenerate its heads"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (greek mythology) monster with nine heads; when struck off each head was replaced by two new ones
• Similar words include: Snake
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HYDRA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "45. Commuter option"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
• Similar words include: inveigh, vituperate, rail in
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RAIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "46. Non-fruit ingredient in a green smoothie"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that informal terms for money
• Similar words include: Brassica oleracea acephala, borecole, kail
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: KALE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "47. One of three in the Domino's logo"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a disease of poultry
• Similar words include: worst, hit, spot
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Syllable akin to "Tsk!""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that utter `tsk,' `tut,' or `tut-tut,' as in disapproval
• Similar words include: tut-tut, tsk
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Audiophile's collection, for short"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a long-playing phonograph record; designed to be played at 33.3 rpm
• Similar words include: L-P, LP
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "52. Packed lunch"

8 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FELLFLAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "57. Wail"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that shout loudly and without restraint
• Similar words include: yawp, bellow
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BAWL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Shade in a picturesque island scene, maybe"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a shade of blue tinged with green
• Similar words include: turquoise, peacock blue, aquamarine
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AQUA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. Follower of Joel"

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!

31A: "62. Here's the scoop!"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle; frequently used to transfer liquids from one container to another
• Similar words include: laden, lade
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LADLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "65. Colossally bad consequence, as with finances"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
• Similar words include: laying waste, ruining, bankrupt
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RUIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "66. Feature of the clues for 17-, 25-, 41- and 52-Across"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that transposition of initial consonants in a pair of words
• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SPOONERISM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "68. Wizard"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MAGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "69. Some underground networks"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city)
• Similar words include: underground, tube, subway system
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: METROS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "70. "Kapow!""

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an ancient city in southeastern iran; destroyed by an earthquake in 2003
• Similar words include: clap, eruption, bang
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BAM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "71. Fleur-de-___"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals
• Similar words include: Li, li, atomic number 3
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LIS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "72. Follow, with "to""

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that be compatible or in accordance with
• Similar words include: stick by, hold fast, bind
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ADHERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "73. "Come ___?" (Italian for "How are you?")"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Problems with a livestream, maybe	4
2D	2. For one	4
3D	3. Mark one's words?	9
4D	4. Rice dish seasoned with saffron	6
5D	5. Stop for the night, say	3
6D	6. Social studies subj.	4
7D	7. Resident of a hidden mushroom village	5
8D	8. Go-getter	5
9D	9. Hebrew name for God	6
10D	10. Reality show whose contestants give pitches	9
11D	11. Red-clad brother of 54-Down	5
12D	12. Major mess	5
13D	16. Provide support for something crooked?	4
14D	18. "___ ever!"	3
15D	24. Take it easy	4
16D	26. First Black male tennis player to be ranked #1 globally	4
17D	27. ___ party (pre-wedding activity, informally)	4
18D	28. Ghostly in appearance	4
19D	30. The Batcave, for one	4
20D	33. They might have their noses turned up	9
21D	35. Basis for how you're wired, so to speak	3
22D	36. Bit of camp entertainment	4
23D	38. "That one's mine!"	9
24D	39. Member of a marine "forest"	4
25D	40. Functions	4
26D	42. Innocent sort	4
27D	43. Mess up	4
28D	48. Kind of TV	6
29D	50. Gay ___, author of "Honor Thy Father"	6
30D	52. Stable environment?	4
31D	53. Like 4! and 24	5
32D	54. Green-clad brother of 11-Down	5
33D	55. Psyched	5
34D	56. John Lennon had one that sold for more than $31,000 at a 2011 auction (fittingly, to a dentist!)	5
35D	58. Word with price or proxy	3
36D	61. Ticked off	4
37D	63. It's partly an assessment of logical reasoning, for short	4
38D	64. ___ D'Arcy, co-star of HBO's "House of the Dragon"	4
39D	67. Conjunction used in logic	3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Problems with a livestream, maybe"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the act of slowing down or falling behind
• Similar words include: immure, jail, put away
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. For one"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: APOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Mark one's words?"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that read for errors
• Similar words include: proof
• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PROOFREAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Rice dish seasoned with saffron"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that saffron-flavored dish made of rice with shellfish and chicken
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PAELLA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Stop for the night, say"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
• Similar words include: hostelry, auberge, hostel
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: INN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Social studies subj."

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: GEOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Resident of a hidden mushroom village"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SMURF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Go-getter"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a fierce or audacious person
• Similar words include: Panthera tigris
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TIGER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Hebrew name for God"

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a name for the god of the old testament as transliterated from the hebrew consonants yhvh
• Similar words include: Yahveh, Jahweh, Jehovah
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: YAHWEH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Reality show whose contestants give pitches"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SHARKTANK

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Red-clad brother of 54-Down"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MARIO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Major mess"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an acronym often used by soldiers in world war ii: situation normal all fucked up
• Similar words include: fucked-up
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SNAFU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "16. Provide support for something crooked?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ABET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. "___ ever!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the united states federal department charged with conservation and the development of natural resources; created in 1849
• Similar words include: Interior, Interior Department, Department of the Interior
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DOI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "24. Take it easy"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that hang loosely or laxly
• Similar words include: droop, arse around, loaf
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LOLL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. First Black male tennis player to be ranked #1 globally"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that united states tennis player who was the first black to win united states and english singles championships (1943-1993)
• Similar words include: Arthur Robert Ashe, Arthur Ashe
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. ___ party (pre-wedding activity, informally)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that german baroque organist and contrapuntist; composed mostly keyboard music; one of the greatest creators of western music (1685-1750)
• Similar words include: Johann Sebastian Bach, bachelor
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BACH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "28. Ghostly in appearance"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that of a light grey
• Similar words include: ash-grey, ash-gray
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ASHY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. The Batcave, for one"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the habitation of wild animals
• Similar words include: den
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LAIR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "33. They might have their noses turned up"

9 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
• Similar words include: aeroplane, plane, airplane
• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AIRPLANES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "35. Basis for how you're wired, so to speak"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
• Similar words include: deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DNA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "36. Bit of camp entertainment"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a short theatrical episode
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SKIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "38. "That one's mine!""

9 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ICALLDIBS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "39. Member of a marine "forest""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: KELP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "40. Functions"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the act of using
• Similar words include: expend, usage, United States of America
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: USES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "42. Innocent sort"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a naive or inexperienced person
• Similar words include: naive
• Opposite of: sophisticated

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NAIF

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "43. Mess up"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an embarrassing mistake
• Similar words include: blunder, bungle, bollix
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FLUB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "48. Kind of TV"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes) are suspended
• Similar words include: blood plasma, plasm
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: PLASMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "50. Gay ___, author of "Honor Thy Father""

6 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TALESE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "52. Stable environment?"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
• Similar words include: grow, raise, produce
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FARM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "53. Like 4! and 24"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
• Similar words include: equalize, be, equate
• Opposite of: inadequate, unequal

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EQUAL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "54. Green-clad brother of 11-Down"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LUIGI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "55. Psyched"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AMPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "56. John Lennon had one that sold for more than $31,000 at a 2011 auction (fittingly, to a dentist!)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TOOTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "58. Word with price or proxy"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
• Similar words include: warfare, state of war
• Opposite of: make peace, peace

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: WAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "61. Ticked off"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an open skin infection
• Similar words include: painful, tender, mad
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "63. It's partly an assessment of logical reasoning, for short"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LSAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "64. ___ D'Arcy, co-star of HBO's "House of the Dragon""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EMMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "67. Conjunction used in logic"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NOR

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

39 Across Clues

39 Down Clues

78 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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

• Complete NYT Crossword Archive
• Advanced Solving Techniques
• Common Crossword Words

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 28, 2025 at 03:53 AM