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 (33 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (37 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. Some free spots, for short | 4 |
| 2A | 5. Grounds | 5 |
| 3A | 10. Doesn't just talk | 4 |
| 4A | 14. "You're telling me!" | 10 |
| 5A | 16. Word with wet or sweat | 4 |
| 6A | 17. Conspiracy theorist's accessory | 10 |
| 7A | 18. "Don't leave me!," e.g. | 4 |
| 8A | 19. 16 in a Sweet Sixteen | 5 |
| 9A | 20. Main component of a "gutbucket," a jug band instrument | 7 |
| 10A | 22. Personal records | 5 |
| 11A | 25. Padlocked fasteners | 5 |
| 12A | 26. Variety of orange named for a European city | 8 |
| 13A | 29. What blue crabs do roughly 20 times in their lifetimes | 4 |
| 14A | 30. Jobs announcement of 2010 | 4 |
| 15A | 31. News feed, perhaps | 10 |
| 16A | 35. [Waaaaah!] | 3 |
| 17A | 36. Thick confection used for cake icing | 7 |
| 18A | 37. Part of a golf club | 3 |
| 19A | 38. See 5-Down | 10 |
| 20A | 40. Binary | 4 |
| 21A | 41. Succors | 4 |
| 22A | 42. Photo session workers | 8 |
| 23A | 44. Ace, e.g. | 5 |
| 24A | 46. Skater's braking method with the back foot positioned horizontally | 5 |
| 25A | 47. Relative of a craft fair | 7 |
| 26A | 50. "Duino Elegies" poet | 5 |
| 27A | 53. Saves, as a digital location | 4 |
| 28A | 54. Clichéd line from the side of a product package | 10 |
| 29A | 58. It's cool to drink | 4 |
| 30A | 59. "I haven't told you the best part ..." | 10 |
| 31A | 60. Impressively accurate pass, in football slang | 4 |
| 32A | 61. Floats | 5 |
| 33A | 62. Give a bad hand? | 4 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Some free spots, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a protein manufactured exclusively by the prostate gland; psa is produced for the ejaculate where it liquifies the semen and allows sperm cells to swim freely; elevated levels of psa in blood serum are associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer
- Similar words include: prostate specific antigen, PSA
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSAS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "5. Grounds"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
- Similar words include: causal agent, suit, lawsuit
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAUSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "10. Doesn't just talk"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a new testament book describing the development of the early church from christ's ascension to paul's sojourn at rome
- Similar words include: deed, pretend, move
- Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "14. "You're telling me!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IKNOWRIGHT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "16. Word with wet or sweat"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a set of garments (usually including a jacket and trousers or skirt) for outerwear all of the same fabric and color
- Similar words include: suit of clothes, courtship, become
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "17. Conspiracy theorist's accessory"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TINFOILHAT
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7A: "18. "Don't leave me!," e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a humble request for help from someone in authority
- Similar words include: supplication
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLEA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "19. 16 in a Sweet Sixteen"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
- Similar words include: squad, team up, team
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAMS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "20. Main component of a "gutbucket," a jug band instrument"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a tub in which clothes or linens can be washed
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WASHTUB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "22. Personal records"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the supreme effort one can make
- Similar words include: topper, scoop, C. H. Best
- Opposite of: worst
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BESTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "25. Padlocked fasteners"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fastener for a door or lid; a hinged metal plate is fitted over a staple and is locked with a pin or padlock
- Similar words include: hasp
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HASPS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "26. Variety of orange named for a European city"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an industrial city in northern venezuela
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VALENCIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "29. What blue crabs do roughly 20 times in their lifetimes"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles
- Similar words include: ecdysis, molting, exuviate
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MOLT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "30. Jobs announcement of 2010"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IPAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "31. News feed, perhaps"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAWFOOTAGE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "35. [Waaaaah!]"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a dyspneic condition
- Similar words include: prick, asshole, whoreson
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "36. Thick confection used for cake icing"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that candy made of a thick creamy sugar paste
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FONDANT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "37. Part of a golf club"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one of the digits of the foot
- Similar words include: toenail
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "38. See 5-Down"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that puree of stewed apples usually sweetened and spiced
- Similar words include: trumpery, tripe, rubbish
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APPLESAUCE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "40. Binary"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that consisting of or involving two parts or components usually in pairs
- Similar words include: treble, three-fold, threefold
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "41. Succors"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system transmitted through blood products especially by sexual contact or contaminated needles
- Similar words include: help, assist, care
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "42. Photo session workers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an artist who is a master of a particular style
- Similar words include: hairstylist, styler, stylist
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STYLISTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "44. Ace, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play
- Similar words include: help, answer, function
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "46. Skater's braking method with the back foot positioned horizontally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TSTOP
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25A: "47. Relative of a craft fair"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARTEXPO
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26A: "50. "Duino Elegies" poet"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that german poet (born in austria) whose imagery and mystic lyricism influenced 20th-century german literature (1875-1926)
- Similar words include: Rainer Maria Rilke
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RILKE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "53. Saves, as a digital location"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment
- Similar words include: thole, immobilise, peg
- Opposite of: unpin
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PINS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "54. Clichéd line from the side of a product package"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASSEENONTV
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29A: "58. It's cool to drink"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICEE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "59. "I haven't told you the best part ...""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THERESMORE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "60. Impressively accurate pass, in football slang"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a small narrow pointed missile that is thrown or shot
- Similar words include: dash, flash, flit
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DART
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "61. Floats"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a special way of doing something
- Similar words include: advert, bent, attend
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HANGS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "62. Give a bad hand?"
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!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Stone | 3 |
| 2D | 2. Vaudeville highlight | 4 |
| 3D | 3. Pulitzer-winning journalist Applebaum | 4 |
| 4D | 4. You might pull one out for a guest | 7 |
| 5D | 5. With 38-Across, one way to sit | 10 |
| 6D | 6. Feel gross | 3 |
| 7D | 7. "Gross" | 3 |
| 8D | 8. Playwright who wrote "You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'" | 4 |
| 9D | 9. "Tell Mama" singer James | 4 |
| 10D | 10. Rocky road ingredient? | 7 |
| 11D | 11. Distinction for a classic underground work | 10 |
| 12D | 12. Bind | 5 |
| 13D | 13. Sticks a fork in | 5 |
| 14D | 15. Part of NOW | 5 |
| 15D | 21. "Fiddlesticks!" | 5 |
| 16D | 23. Disney princess in New Orleans | 5 |
| 17D | 24. Workshop debris | 7 |
| 18D | 26. Possible need for entry | 4 |
| 19D | 27. Each | 4 |
| 20D | 28. Colleague who might be solutions-oriented? | 10 |
| 21D | 29. Tropical plants said to bring good fortune | 10 |
| 22D | 32. "That's the truth" | 5 |
| 23D | 33. Kid's parent | 4 |
| 24D | 34. Hagfish lookalikes | 4 |
| 25D | 36. Company whose logo has a hidden arrow between its fourth and fifth letters | 5 |
| 26D | 39. Performance that isn't prerecorded | 7 |
| 27D | 40. Word from the Greek for "folded paper" | 7 |
| 28D | 43. Butcher shop buys | 5 |
| 29D | 44. Pleasing to the palate | 5 |
| 30D | 45. "Buss It" rapper ___ Banks | 5 |
| 31D | 48. Way | 4 |
| 32D | 49. Arm of the Dept. of Labor | 4 |
| 33D | 51. Part of a cabinet | 4 |
| 34D | 52. French 101 verb | 4 |
| 35D | 55. Whitehouse in D.C., e.g.: Abbr. | 3 |
| 36D | 56. Physics unit equivalent to roughly 624 gigaelectronvolts | 3 |
| 37D | 57. Thoroughly evaluate | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Stone"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sizeable hole (usually in the ground)
- Similar words include: scar, Inferno, endocarp
- Opposite of: Heaven
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Vaudeville highlight"
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!
3D: "3. Pulitzer-winning journalist Applebaum"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that queen of england and scotland and ireland; daughter if james ii and the last of the stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last english ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANNE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. You might pull one out for a guest"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOFABED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. With 38-Across, one way to sit"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a marking that consists of lines that cross each other
- Similar words include: cross, mark, crisscrossed
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CRISSCROSS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Feel gross"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that aromatic bulb used as seasoning
- Similar words include: pain, garlic, trouble
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. "Gross""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UGH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Playwright who wrote "You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states clarinetist and leader of a swing band (1910-2004)
- Similar words include: G. B. Shaw, Anna Howard Shaw, Arthur Jacob Arshawsky
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAW
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. "Tell Mama" singer James"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETTA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Rocky road ingredient?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that mixed asphalt and crushed gravel or sand; used especially for paving but also for roofing
- Similar words include: mineral pitch
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPHALT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Distinction for a classic underground work"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CULTSTATUS
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12D: "12. Bind"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIEUP
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13D: "13. Sticks a fork in"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a sudden sharp feeling
- Similar words include: twinge, prod, knife thrust
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STABS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "15. Part of NOW"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
- Similar words include: cleaning woman, charwoman, char
- Opposite of: man
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WOMEN
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15D: "21. "Fiddlesticks!""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a new branch
- Similar words include: charge, burgeon forth, fool away
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "23. Disney princess in New Orleans"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIANA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "24. Workshop debris"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that fine particles of wood made by sawing wood
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAWDUST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "26. Possible need for entry"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an endorsement made in a passport that allows the bearer to enter the country issuing it
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VISA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "27. Each"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: APOP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "28. Colleague who might be solutions-oriented?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LABPARTNER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "29. Tropical plants said to bring good fortune"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MONEYTREES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "32. "That's the truth""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
- Similar words include: fact
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FACTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "33. Kid's parent"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns
- Similar words include: caprine animal, laughingstock, Capricorn the Goat
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOAT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "34. Hagfish lookalikes"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in europe and america; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
- Similar words include: eel
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EELS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "36. Company whose logo has a hidden arrow between its fourth and fifth letters"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FEDEX
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "39. Performance that isn't prerecorded"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIVESET
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "40. Word from the Greek for "folded paper""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a document certifying the successful completion of a course of study
- Similar words include: sheepskin
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIPLOMA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "43. Butcher shop buys"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the lower part of the abdomen just above the external genital organs
- Similar words include: loin, pubic region, lumbus
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOINS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "44. Pleasing to the palate"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that full of flavor
- Similar words include: flavoursome, saporous, flavorsome
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAPID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "45. "Buss It" rapper ___ Banks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that any plant of the genus erica
- Similar words include: true heath
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERICA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "48. Way"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a course of conduct
- Similar words include: course, route, track
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATH
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "49. Arm of the Dept. of Labor"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a government agency in the department of labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment
- Similar words include: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OSHA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "51. Part of a cabinet"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a circular rounded projection or protuberance
- Similar words include: node, thickening, boss
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KNOB
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "52. French 101 verb"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETRE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "55. Whitehouse in D.C., e.g.: Abbr."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a fractional monetary unit of japan and indonesia and cambodia; equal to one hundredth of a yen or rupiah or riel
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "56. Physics unit equivalent to roughly 624 gigaelectronvolts"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a cgs unit of work or energy; the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERG
Remember this word for future puzzles!
37D: "57. Thoroughly evaluate"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a doctor who practices veterinary medicine
- Similar words include: veteran, ex-serviceman, veterinary surgeon
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VET
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
33 Across Clues
37 Down Clues
70 Total Clues
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