Master today's NYT crossword with our expert hint system. We provide synonyms, antonyms, and strategic clues to help you solve without spoiling the fun. Perfect for crossword lovers who want that satisfying "aha!" moment.
Quick Navigation - Table of Contents
- Today's Puzzle Difficulty
- Across Clues Table (35 clues)
- Across Clues - Detailed Hints
- Down Clues Table (36 clues)
- Down Clues - Detailed Hints
- Expert Solving Strategies
- Today's Puzzle Statistics
Today's Puzzle Difficulty: Tricky
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. Closest bud | 3 |
| 2A | 4. Put-up job | 4 |
| 3A | 8. Destination for some sci-fi travelers | 4 |
| 4A | 12. ___ and dear | 4 |
| 5A | 13. Magician's "Look at what I just did!" | 4 |
| 6A | 14. Supportive advocate, as for L.G.B.T.Q. rights | 4 |
| 7A | 15. Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor | 9 |
| 8A | 17. Merest little chirp | 4 |
| 9A | 18. Folded French pancake | 5 |
| 10A | 19. ___ mode (in the fashionable style) | 3 |
| 11A | 20. Industry showcase | 4 |
| 12A | 21. Nightmares for nannies | 12 |
| 13A | 24. "We come in peace" speakers, in a sci-fi trope | 6 |
| 14A | 26. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly | 3 |
| 15A | 27. + or – particle | 3 |
| 16A | 28. Word after twin, tanning or trundle | 3 |
| 17A | 31. Rapper ___ Rhymes | 5 |
| 18A | 35. Movie review site with a percentage rating scale | 14 |
| 19A | 39. Schnozzle | 5 |
| 20A | 40. Firefighter's tool | 3 |
| 21A | 41. Helpful posting at a trailhead | 3 |
| 22A | 42. "Stop, Look and Listen" spot, e.g., in brief | 3 |
| 23A | 44. Curiosity and Perseverance, for two | 6 |
| 24A | 47. Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping | 12 |
| 25A | 52. Hasn't been canceled | 4 |
| 26A | 53. Stimpy's TV companion | 3 |
| 27A | 54. ___ peek | 5 |
| 28A | 57. State along a river of the same name | 4 |
| 29A | 58. Heading the wrong way ... or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35- and 47-Across | 9 |
| 30A | 60. Home in the woods | 4 |
| 31A | 61. Earring type | 4 |
| 32A | 62. Actress ___ Rachel Wood | 4 |
| 33A | 63. Half brother and rival of the goddess Athena | 4 |
| 34A | 64. Align | 4 |
| 35A | 65. Mo. with International Talk Like a Pirate Day | 3 |
Across Clues - Strategic Hints
1A: "1. Closest bud"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BFF
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2A: "4. Put-up job"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
- Similar words include: assume, shammer, fictive
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHAM
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3A: "8. Destination for some sci-fi travelers"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the time that has elapsed
- Similar words include: retiring, past times, by
- Opposite of: present, future
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4A: "12. ___ and dear"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that move towards
- Similar words include: cheeseparing, nearly, virtually
- Opposite of: far
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5A: "13. Magician's "Look at what I just did!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TADA
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6A: "14. Supportive advocate, as for L.G.B.T.Q. rights"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a friendly nation
- Similar words include: friend
- Opposite of: foe
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALLY
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7A: "15. Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BADAPPLES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8A: "17. Merest little chirp"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the short weak cry of a young bird
- Similar words include: cheep, chirp, chirrup
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEEP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9A: "18. Folded French pancake"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that paper with a crinkled texture; usually colored and used for decorations
- Similar words include: French pancake, crepe paper, crape
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREPE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10A: "19. ___ mode (in the fashionable style)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11A: "20. Industry showcase"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a collection of things (goods or works of art etc.) for public display
- Similar words include: exposition, exhibition
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXPO
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12A: "21. Nightmares for nannies"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SPOILEDBRATS
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13A: "24. "We come in peace" speakers, in a sci-fi trope"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
- Similar words include: foreigner, estrange, extraterrestrial being
- Opposite of: acquaintance, citizen
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALIENS
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14A: "26. Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AOC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15A: "27. + or – particle"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ION
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16A: "28. Word after twin, tanning or trundle"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
- Similar words include: bang, do it, hit the sack
- Opposite of: turn out, get up
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BED
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17A: "31. Rapper ___ Rhymes"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BUSTA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18A: "35. Movie review site with a percentage rating scale"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROTTENTOMATOES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19A: "39. Schnozzle"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
- Similar words include: snot, schnoz, beak
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNOOT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20A: "40. Firefighter's tool"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
- Similar words include: ax
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AXE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21A: "41. Helpful posting at a trailhead"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface (or part of it)
- Similar words include: mathematical function, mapping, single-valued function
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MAP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22A: "42. "Stop, Look and Listen" spot, e.g., in brief"
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
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PSA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23A: "44. Curiosity and Perseverance, for two"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
- Similar words include: bird of passage, rover, roamer
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ROVERS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24A: "47. Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FUNKYCHICKEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25A: "52. Hasn't been canceled"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26A: "53. Stimpy's TV companion"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: REN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27A: "54. ___ peek"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
- Similar words include: sneaky, lift, hook
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SNEAK
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28A: "57. State along a river of the same name"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a midwestern state in north central united states in the great lakes region
- Similar words include: OH, Ohio River, Buckeye State
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHIO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29A: "58. Heading the wrong way ... or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35- and 47-Across"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OFFCOURSE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30A: "60. Home in the woods"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
- Similar words include: snuggle, cuddle, draw close
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NEST
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31A: "61. Earring type"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a man who is virile and sexually active
- Similar words include: scantling, dot, stud poker
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STUD
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32A: "62. Actress ___ Rachel Wood"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EVAN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33A: "63. Half brother and rival of the goddess Athena"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (greek mythology) greek god of war; son of zeus and hera; identified with roman mars
- Similar words include: are, ar
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34A: "64. Align"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that make synchronous and adjust in time or manner
- Similar words include: synchronize, synchronise
- Opposite of: desynchronize, desynchronise
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SYNC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35A: "65. Mo. with International Talk Like a Pirate Day"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the month following august and preceding october
- Similar words include: Sept, September
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Down Clues - Complete List
| No. | Clue | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | 1. Campsite crasher in the Rockies | 4 |
| 2D | 2. Gradually blends with | 9 |
| 3D | 3. Chilled coffee drink | 6 |
| 4D | 4. Longtime NASCAR sponsor | 3 |
| 5D | 5. Special request for a flight meal | 5 |
| 6D | 6. Singer with the best-selling album "21" | 5 |
| 7D | 7. Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea | 6 |
| 8D | 8. Slice of Life or nick of Time? | 8 |
| 9D | 9. Assistant with a whisper mode | 5 |
| 10D | 10. Gave it a rest? | 5 |
| 11D | 11. Writing wrongs | 5 |
| 12D | 12. Jimmy Fallon's network | 3 |
| 13D | 16. Underappreciated worker, say | 4 |
| 14D | 22. Library ID | 4 |
| 15D | 23. Tea with tapioca pearls | 4 |
| 16D | 24. Publicizes | 4 |
| 17D | 25. Lake bird with a laughing call | 4 |
| 18D | 29. When U R due | 3 |
| 19D | 30. Reveal private info about, in online lingo | 3 |
| 20D | 32. "The audacity!" | 9 |
| 21D | 33. Lachrymal unit | 4 |
| 22D | 34. Nile reptiles | 4 |
| 23D | 36. Traditional sumo hairstyles | 8 |
| 24D | 37. Online crafts bazaar | 4 |
| 25D | 38. Hired soldier, in slang | 4 |
| 26D | 43. Unlike the direction of this clue's answer | 6 |
| 27D | 45. "All right. What's the big deal?" | 4 |
| 28D | 46. Concert sites | 6 |
| 29D | 47. Shrek's beloved | 5 |
| 30D | 48. Escort | 5 |
| 31D | 49. Snap, crackle or pop | 5 |
| 32D | 50. Sizable | 5 |
| 33D | 51. For kicks and giggles | 5 |
| 34D | 55. "I need this immediately" | 4 |
| 35D | 56. "She's everything. He's just ___" ("Barbie" tagline) | 3 |
| 36D | 59. Public health agcy. | 3 |
Down Clues - Strategic Hints
1D: "1. Campsite crasher in the Rockies"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws
- Similar words include: wear, assume, behave
- Opposite of: bull
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
2D: "2. Gradually blends with"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FADESINTO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
3D: "3. Chilled coffee drink"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that liqueur poured over shaved ice
- Similar words include: ice
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FRAPPE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
4D: "4. Longtime NASCAR sponsor"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that standard temperature and pressure
- Similar words include: s.t.p.
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
5D: "5. Special request for a flight meal"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (islam) meat from animals that have been slaughtered in the prescribed way according to the shariah
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HALAL
Remember this word for future puzzles!
6D: "6. Singer with the best-selling album "21""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADELE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
7D: "7. Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MASADA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
8D: "8. Slice of Life or nick of Time?"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PAPERCUT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
9D: "9. Assistant with a whisper mode"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALEXA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
10D: "10. Gave it a rest?"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that be able to accommodate for sleeping
- Similar words include: sleep, log Z's, kip
- Opposite of: wake
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SLEPT
Remember this word for future puzzles!
11D: "11. Writing wrongs"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
- Similar words include: typo, literal error, erratum
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TYPOS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
12D: "12. Jimmy Fallon's network"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NBC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
13D: "16. Underappreciated worker, say"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
- Similar words include: galley slave, drudge, navvy
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
14D: "22. Library ID"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ISBN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
15D: "23. Tea with tapioca pearls"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOBA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
16D: "24. Publicizes"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that affected manners intended to impress others
- Similar words include: airwave, melodic line, gentle wind
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIRS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
17D: "25. Lake bird with a laughing call"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a worthless lazy fellow
- Similar words include: birdbrain, addle-head, diver
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOON
Remember this word for future puzzles!
18D: "29. When U R due"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional basque party; want to create an independent homeland in spain's western pyrenees
- Similar words include: Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Basque Homeland and Freedom
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
19D: "30. Reveal private info about, in online lingo"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DOX
Remember this word for future puzzles!
20D: "32. "The audacity!""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOMENERVE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
21D: "33. Lachrymal unit"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands
- Similar words include: teardrop, rent, deplume
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEAR
Remember this word for future puzzles!
22D: "34. Nile reptiles"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that of southern europe; similar to but smaller than the adder
- Similar words include: Egyptian cobra, asp viper, Vipera aspis
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASPS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
23D: "36. Traditional sumo hairstyles"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that headdress consisting of a decorative ribbon or bow worn in the hair
- Similar words include: topknot
- Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOPKNOTS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
24D: "37. Online crafts bazaar"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ETSY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
25D: "38. Hired soldier, in slang"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MERC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
26D: "43. Unlike the direction of this clue's answer"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that to the opposite side
- Similar words include: crossways, crosswise
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACROSS
Remember this word for future puzzles!
27D: "45. "All right. What's the big deal?""
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OKSO
Remember this word for future puzzles!
28D: "46. Concert sites"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that the scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting)
- Similar words include: locus, locale, venue
- Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: VENUES
Remember this word for future puzzles!
29D: "47. Shrek's beloved"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIONA
Remember this word for future puzzles!
30D: "48. Escort"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that irish prelate who deduced from the bible that creation occurred in the year 4004 bc (1581-1656)
- Similar words include: show, James Usher, James Ussher
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USHER
Remember this word for future puzzles!
31D: "49. Snap, crackle or pop"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
- Similar words include: dissonance, disturbance, stochasticity
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOISE
Remember this word for future puzzles!
32D: "50. Sizable"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
- Similar words include: goodish, sizable, healthy
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HEFTY
Remember this word for future puzzles!
33D: "51. For kicks and giggles"
Solving Hints:
- Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INFUN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
34D: "55. "I need this immediately""
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that as soon as possible
- Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASAP
Remember this word for future puzzles!
35D: "56. "She's everything. He's just ___" ("Barbie" tagline)"
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that range of what one can know or understand
- Similar words include: sight, cognizance
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: KEN
Remember this word for future puzzles!
36D: "59. Public health agcy."
Solving Hints:
- Think of something that a federal agency in the department of health and human services; located in atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases)
- Similar words include: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CDC
Remember this word for future puzzles!
Expert Solving Strategies
Start Smart
Begin with fill-in-the-blank clues and short 3-4 letter words. These are your foundation.
Decode the Clues
Question marks indicate wordplay or puns. "Maybe" suggests multiple interpretations.
Use Cross-References
Let intersecting letters guide you. One correct answer unlocks several others.
Build Vocabulary
Common crossword words repeat. Learning them speeds up future solving.
Today's Puzzle Stats
35 Across Clues
36 Down Clues
71 Total Clues
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