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 (31 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (31 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. Field of unknowns | 7 |
| 2A | 8. Lead role in the highest-grossing film of 1985 | 5 |
| 3A | 13. Scrapes from a motorcycle fall | 8 |
| 4A | 15. It "lies just halfway between rashness and cowardice," per Miguel de Cervantes | 5 |
| 5A | 16. "Marvelous" TV character played by Rachel Brosnahan | 9 |
| 6A | 18. Facedown | 5 |
| 7A | 19. Shrink back | 6 |
| 8A | 20. Place for eggs | 3 |
| 9A | 22. Muttonhead | 4 |
| 10A | 23. Cousin of a springbok | 5 |
| 11A | 24. Outdoor apparel company with mountains in its logo | 9 |
| 12A | 26. Delight | 4 |
| 13A | 27. Vulcans, for one | 9 |
| 14A | 28. Christmas carol contraction | 3 |
| 15A | 29. Actress Lily of "Killers of the Flower Moon" | 9 |
| 16A | 30. Slow-but-steady advancements | 9 |
| 17A | 31. Get a Lyft, say | 9 |
| 18A | 32. Short greetings | 3 |
| 19A | 35. They may stop the presses | 9 |
| 20A | 36. Henry ___, founder of Time, Life and Sports Illustrated | 4 |
| 21A | 37. Initial challenge | 9 |
| 22A | 38. Knock one out of the park | 5 |
| 23A | 39. With, en français | 4 |
| 24A | 40. Org. offering jumps | 3 |
| 25A | 41. Vittorio who directed "Bicycle Thieves" | 6 |
| 26A | 42. Buck the establishment | 5 |
| 27A | 44. Split | 9 |
| 28A | 46. Remains to be seen? | 5 |
| 29A | 47. Certain expectant parents | 8 |
| 30A | 48. Stopped vacillating | 5 |
| 31A | 49. 7-Eleven and Circle K, informally | 7 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Field of unknowns"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the mathematics of generalized arithmetical operations
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALGEBRA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "8. Lead role in the highest-grossing film of 1985"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MCFLY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "13. Scrapes from a motorcycle fall"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROADRASH
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4A: "15. It "lies just halfway between rashness and cowardice," per Miguel de Cervantes"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
- Similar words include: gallantry, valorousness, heroism
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VALOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "16. "Marvelous" TV character played by Rachel Brosnahan"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MRSMAISEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6A: "18. Facedown"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that having a tendency (to); often used in combination
- Similar words include: prostrate
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PRONE
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7A: "19. Shrink back"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired
- Similar words include: rebound, take a hop, spring
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RECOIL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "20. Place for eggs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an enclosed space
- Similar words include: pocket, pouch, theca
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "22. Muttonhead"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUNK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "23. Cousin of a springbok"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that either of two large african antelopes of the genus taurotragus having short spirally twisted horns in both sexes
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ELAND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "24. Outdoor apparel company with mountains in its logo"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that region in southern south america between the andes and the south atlantic
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PATAGONIA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12A: "26. Delight"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cause to go somewhere
- Similar words include: air, institutionalise, get off
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13A: "27. Vulcans, for one"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENRACE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14A: "28. Christmas carol contraction"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
- Similar words include: titanium, te, si
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "29. Actress Lily of "Killers of the Flower Moon""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that liberal british statesman who served as prime minister four times (1809-1898)
- Similar words include: portmanteau, Gladstone bag, William Ewart Gladstone
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLADSTONE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "30. Slow-but-steady advancements"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BABYSTEPS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "31. Get a Lyft, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIDESHARE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "32. Short greetings"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "35. They may stop the presses"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAGORDERS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "36. Henry ___, founder of Time, Life and Sports Illustrated"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that united states publisher of magazines (1898-1967)
- Similar words include: Henry Luce, Clare Booth Luce, Henry Robinson Luce
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LUCE
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21A: "37. Initial challenge"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRSTTEST
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22A: "38. Knock one out of the park"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a base hit on which the batter scores a run
- Similar words include: kor, home run, homing pigeon
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HOMER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "39. With, en français"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AVEC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "40. Org. offering jumps"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta associated with old age and hypertension
- Similar words include: abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AAA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "41. Vittorio who directed "Bicycle Thieves""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DESICA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "42. Buck the establishment"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that `johnny' was applied as a nickname for confederate soldiers by the federal soldiers in the american civil war; `greyback' derived from their grey confederate uniforms
- Similar words include: maverick, rise, rise up
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REBEL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "44. Split"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVVIEDUP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "46. Remains to be seen?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
- Similar words include: smash, ruination, wrecking
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUINS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "47. Certain expectant parents"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DADSTOBE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "48. Stopped vacillating"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that select as an alternative over another
- Similar words include: opt, prefer, choose
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OPTED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "49. 7-Eleven and Circle K, informally"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CSTORES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Focus of an airplane battle, maybe | 7 |
| 2D | 2. Legendary rock singer? | 7 |
| 3D | 3. Containers that are often red | 7 |
| 4D | 4. Halley of Halley's comet | 6 |
| 5D | 5. Cornrow, e.g. | 5 |
| 6D | 6. Skate park fixture | 4 |
| 7D | 7. Mount for Quixote's squire | 3 |
| 8D | 8. Award won four times in the W.N.B.A. by A'ja Wilson | 3 |
| 9D | 9. Assistance for short drivers? | 8 |
| 10D | 10. Walk with exaggerated motions | 7 |
| 11D | 11. ___ Johnson, inventor of the Super Soaker | 6 |
| 12D | 12. California town thought (incorrectly) to be named from a backward "bakery" sign | 5 |
| 13D | 14. Type of argument with conflicting accounts | 13 |
| 14D | 17. Result of sleeping in, say | 9 |
| 15D | 21. Moves along quickly, as a horse | 7 |
| 16D | 24. Protects oneself, possum-style | 9 |
| 17D | 25. Fumble around in the dark | 5 |
| 18D | 27. Home of Banff National Park | 7 |
| 19D | 29. Wonder Woman portrayer | 5 |
| 20D | 30. Brouhaha | 8 |
| 21D | 31. "Welsh" dish with melted cheese | 7 |
| 22D | 32. Cuban container | 7 |
| 23D | 33. Water cooler? | 7 |
| 24D | 34. Colorful shawls | 7 |
| 25D | 35. "Are you done guessing?" | 6 |
| 26D | 36. Get bested by | 6 |
| 27D | 37. Grain with a nutty flavor | 5 |
| 28D | 38. Safe job? | 5 |
| 29D | 41. Netflix offerings until 2023 | 4 |
| 30D | 43. Source of some flashbacks | 3 |
| 31D | 45. Sucker, for short | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Focus of an airplane battle, maybe"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a support for the arm
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARMREST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Legendary rock singer?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a siren of german legend who lured boatmen in the rhine to destruction
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LORELEI
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Containers that are often red"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GASCANS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Halley of Halley's comet"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDMOND
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Cornrow, e.g."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
- Similar words include: gold braid, pleach, plait
- Opposite of: unbraid
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BRAID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Skate park fixture"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
- Similar words include: vituperate, fulminate, train
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAIL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Mount for Quixote's squire"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
- Similar words include: stern, screw, piece of ass
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Award won four times in the W.N.B.A. by A'ja Wilson"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the player judged to be the most important to the sport
- Similar words include: most valuable player
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MVP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Assistance for short drivers?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CARLOANS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Walk with exaggerated motions"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim
- Similar words include: furbelow, ruffle, frill
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FLOUNCE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. ___ Johnson, inventor of the Super Soaker"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LONNIE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. California town thought (incorrectly) to be named from a backward "bakery" sign"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YREKA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "14. Type of argument with conflicting accounts"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HESAIDSHESAID
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "17. Result of sleeping in, say"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LATESTART
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "21. Moves along quickly, as a horse"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a smooth three-beat gait; between a trot and a gallop
- Similar words include: canter, lope
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CANTERS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Protects oneself, possum-style"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAYSDEAD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "25. Fumble around in the dark"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the act of groping; and instance of groping
- Similar words include: fumble
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GROPE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "27. Home of Banff National Park"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that one of the three prairie provinces in western canada; rich in oil and natural gas and minerals
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALBERTA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "29. Wonder Woman portrayer"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GADOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "30. Brouhaha"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BIGSCENE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "31. "Welsh" dish with melted cheese"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that cheese melted with ale or beer served over toast
- Similar words include: Welsh rarebit, Welsh rabbit
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAREBIT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "32. Cuban container"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUMIDOR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "33. Water cooler?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICECUBE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "34. Colorful shawls"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a long brightly colored shawl; worn mainly by mexican men
- Similar words include: serape, sarape
- Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SERAPES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "35. "Are you done guessing?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIVEUP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "36. Get bested by"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOSETO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "37. Grain with a nutty flavor"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FARRO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "38. Safe job?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the act of stealing
- Similar words include: rip-off, burglarize, stickup
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEIST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "41. Netflix offerings until 2023"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a digital recording (as of a movie) on an optical disk that can be played on a computer or a television set
- Similar words include: videodisk, videodisc, DVD
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DVDS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "43. Source of some flashbacks"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a powerful hallucinogenic drug manufactured from lysergic acid
- Similar words include: lysergic acid diethylamide
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LSD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "45. Sucker, for short"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that informal term for vacation
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VAC
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
31 Across Clues
31 Down Clues
62 Total Clues
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