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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query SEPTET. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query SEPTET. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers May 11, 2026 | 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: 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. ___ Spiegel (German magazine) 3
2A 4. Animal that ranges around Peru 5
3A 9. Pointed, as a weapon 5
4A 14. Lumberjack's tool 3
5A 15. Cameroon neighbor 5
6A 16. Yell "#$%!" 5
7A 17. Rankings of song popularity used as the music industry standard 15
8A 20. Swells up 6
9A 21. Number in a septet 5
10A 22. Pb, in chemistry 4
11A 23. Own (up) 4
12A 24. Freeze's opposite 4
13A 28. Whirling water 4
14A 29. Up to, as a certain time 3
15A 30. Take fowl foully 5
16A 31. Canapé or deviled egg, for example 11
17A 34. Clears of charges 7
18A 38. A million gazillion 7
19A 39. Movie production facilities with controlled acoustics 11
20A 41. Leave stunned 5
21A 42. Monk's counterpart 3
22A 43. Cut of pork or lamb 4
23A 47. Spa service on the toes, in brief 4
24A 48. "Please, no more!" 4
25A 50. "That is so funny" 4
26A 51. Braid 5
27A 53. Helping for someone very, very hungry 6
28A 55. Insignificant amount 15
29A 59. Tired from overexposure 5
30A 60. "It was the ___ I could do" 5
31A 61. Big part of an elephant 3
32A 62. Storage places for lawn mowers 5
33A 63. Go kaboom, as a volcano 5
34A 64. Deadpan 3

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. ___ Spiegel (German magazine)"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that denoting a quantity consisting of 500 items or units
  • Similar words include: five hundred, d, 500
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "4. Animal that ranges around Peru"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that wild or domesticated south american cud-chewing animal related to camels but smaller and lacking a hump
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LLAMA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Pointed, as a weapon"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
  • Similar words include: purpose, point, aim
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AIMED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "14. Lumberjack's tool"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

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!

5A: "15. Cameroon neighbor"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a republic on the west coast of africa
  • Similar words include: Gabun, Gabonese Republic
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GABON

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Yell "#$%!""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that utter obscenities or profanities
  • Similar words include: curse, affirm, depose
  • Opposite of: mistrust
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SWEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Rankings of song popularity used as the music industry standard"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BILLBOARDCHARTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "20. Swells up"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of domestic animals caused by excessive gas
  • Similar words include: bloat
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BLOATS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Number in a septet"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
  • Similar words include: sevener, 7, septet
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEVEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "22. Pb, in chemistry"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an advantage held by a competitor in a race
  • Similar words include: atomic number 82, tether, pass
  • Opposite of: follow, deficit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. Own (up)"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield
  • Similar words include: Fes, fesse, Fez
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FESS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Freeze's opposite"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
  • Similar words include: unfreeze, melting, dethaw
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "28. Whirling water"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that founder of christian science in 1866 (1821-1910)
  • Similar words include: Mary Baker Eddy, swirl, Mary Morse Baker Eddy
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EDDY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "29. Up to, as a certain time"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TIL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. Take fowl foully"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that hunt illegally
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: POACH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Canapé or deviled egg, for example"

11 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HORSDOEUVRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "34. Clears of charges"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  • Similar words include: behave, carry, acquit
  • Opposite of: convict
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACQUITS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "38. A million gazillion"

7 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that innumerable but many
  • Similar words include: umteen
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UMPTEEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "39. Movie production facilities with controlled acoustics"

11 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SOUNDSTAGES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "41. Leave stunned"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that affect with wonder
  • Similar words include: flummox, puzzle, beat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AMAZE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "42. Monk's counterpart"

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a woman religious
  • Similar words include: nun buoy, conical buoy
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NUN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Cut of pork or lamb"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
  • Similar words include: chopper, hack, chop up
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "47. Spa service on the toes, in brief"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEDI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "48. "Please, no more!""

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the event of something ending
  • Similar words include: full point, cease, block off
  • Opposite of: begin, start
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: STOP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "50. "That is so funny""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAHA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Braid"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
  • Similar words include: tress, braid, pleat
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PLAIT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Helping for someone very, very hungry"

6 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
  • Similar words include: tierce, third base, third gear
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: THIRDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "55. Insignificant amount"

15 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DROPINTHEBUCKET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "59. Tired from overexposure"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
  • Similar words include: weary, fag, jade
  • Opposite of: refresh
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: JADED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "60. "It was the ___ I could do""

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that something that is of no importance
  • Similar words include: to the lowest degree
  • Opposite of: most
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LEAST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "61. Big part of an elephant"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: spike, pinna, capitulum
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "62. Storage places for lawn mowers"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an outbuilding with a single story; used for shelter or storage
  • Similar words include: throw off, drop, moult
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHEDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "63. Go kaboom, as a volcano"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that start abruptly
  • Similar words include: push through, irrupt, ignite
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERUPT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "64. Deadpan"

3 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
  • Similar words include: juiceless, teetotal, ironic
  • Opposite of: sweet, phlegmy
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. Practice casually, with "in" 6
2D 2. Kicked out, as from a country 6
3D 3. Fill with more ammunition 6
4D 4. Pride letters 4
5D 5. Vientiane is its capital 4
6D 6. Lawyers' org. 3
7D 7. Tasty little bites 7
8D 8. Peruvian mountains 5
9D 9. Tennis star Arthur 4
10D 10. "Don't involve me anymore" 8
11D 11. French for "sea" 3
12D 12. Gobble down 3
13D 13. Medical pros: Abbr. 3
14D 18. Noblewoman 4
15D 19. Rival of Walgreens 3
16D 23. Winning a blue ribbon 5
17D 25. Possess 4
18D 26. Unit initially conceived as the amount of land that can be plowed in a day 4
19D 27. "___ in doubt ..." 4
20D 29. Pre-K enrollees 4
21D 30. Enlivens, with "up" 4
22D 31. ___-and-seek 4
23D 32. Unearthed 5
24D 33. Rain clouds, to some 4
25D 34. Rapper ___ Rocky 4
26D 35. "___ as you are" 4
27D 36. College courtyard 4
28D 37. Opened, as a fly 8
29D 40. Request from someone craving more 7
30D 43. Fashionable 4
31D 44. Listened, poetically 6
32D 45. "Goodness me!" ... or a phonetic hint to 17-, 31-, 39- and 55-Across 6
33D 46. Croissant, éclair or Danish 6
34D 48. The "S" of S.F. 3
35D 49. Mr., Ms. or Mrs. 5
36D 52. Tube tops? 4
37D 53. Recipe amt. 4
38D 54. Jabba the ___ ("Star Wars" villain) 4
39D 55. Party pros playing tunes 3
40D 56. "Go team!" 3
41D 57. Poem of praise 3
42D 58. Contents of l'océan 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Practice casually, with "in""

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid
  • Similar words include: smatter, paddle, splash around
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DABBLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Kicked out, as from a country"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that expel from a country
  • Similar words include: exile, expatriate, deport
  • Opposite of: repatriate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EXILED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Fill with more ammunition"

6 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that place a new load on
  • Similar words include: recharge
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RELOAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Pride letters"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LGBT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Vientiane is its capital"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern asia; achieved independence from france in 1949
  • Similar words include: Laotian, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lao
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LAOS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Lawyers' org."

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth; worn by arabs
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ABA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Tasty little bites"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small quantity of anything
  • Similar words include: morsel, bit, bite
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MORSELS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Peruvian mountains"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a mountain range in south america running 5000 miles along the pacific coast
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANDES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Tennis star Arthur"

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 Ashe, Arthur Robert Ashe
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ASHE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. "Don't involve me anymore""

8 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IWANTOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. French for "sea""

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that denoting a quantity consisting of 1,000 items or units
  • Similar words include: one thousand, thousand, 1000
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: MER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Gobble down"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that take in solid food
  • Similar words include: feed, run through, exhaust
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "13. Medical pros: Abbr."

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DRS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "18. Noblewoman"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a polite name for any woman
  • Similar words include: noblewoman, ma'am, madam
  • Opposite of: Lord, nobleman
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LADY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "19. Rival of Walgreens"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a summary of your academic and work history
  • Similar words include: resume, CV, curriculum vitae
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CVS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "23. Winning a blue ribbon"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the first or highest in an ordering or series
  • Similar words include: offset, first of all, world-class
  • Opposite of: middle, last
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: FIRST

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "25. Possess"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who possesses great material wealth
  • Similar words include: make, give, birth
  • Opposite of: abstain, refuse
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HAVE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "26. Unit initially conceived as the amount of land that can be plowed in a day"

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a unit of area (4840 square yards) used in english-speaking countries
  • Similar words include: Akko, Akka, Accho
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACRE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "27. "___ in doubt ...""

4 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: WHEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "29. Pre-K enrollees"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small amount (especially of a drink)
  • Similar words include: tot up, summate, tally
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TOTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "30. Enlivens, with "up""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liveliness and energy
  • Similar words include: peppiness, pep, ginger
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PEPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "31. ___-and-seek"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
  • Similar words include: obliterate, hide out, enshroud
  • Opposite of: show
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "32. Unearthed"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DUGUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "33. Rain clouds, to some"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sign of something about to happen
  • Similar words include: presage, predict, forecast
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "34. Rapper ___ Rocky"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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!

26D: "35. "___ as you are""

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
  • Similar words include: descend, ejaculate, fare
  • Opposite of: go, leave
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: COME

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "36. College courtyard"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that one of four children born at the same time from the same pregnancy
  • Similar words include: quadriceps, musculus quadriceps femoris, quadrangle
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: QUAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "37. Opened, as a fly"

8 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that open the zipper of
  • Similar words include: unzip
  • Opposite of: zip up
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: UNZIPPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "40. Request from someone craving more"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any of various alternatives; some other
  • Similar words include: some other
  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANOTHER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "43. Fashionable"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that elegance by virtue of being fashionable
  • Similar words include: chichi, stylishness, last word
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CHIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "44. Listened, poetically"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that listen; used mostly in the imperative
  • Similar words include: harken, hearken, hark
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARKED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "45. "Goodness me!" ... or a phonetic hint to 17-, 31-, 39- and 55-Across"

6 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHDEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "46. Croissant, éclair or Danish"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a dough of flour and water and shortening
  • Similar words include: pastry dough
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PASTRY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "48. The "S" of S.F."

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "49. Mr., Ms. or Mrs."

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
  • Similar words include: entitle, deed of conveyance, claim
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TITLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "52. Tube tops?"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
  • Similar words include: palpebra, chapeau, lid
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LIDS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "53. Recipe amt."

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TBSP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "54. Jabba the ___ ("Star Wars" villain)"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HUTT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39D: "55. Party pros playing tunes"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a person who announces and plays popular recorded music
  • Similar words include: dj, disk-jockey, disc jockey
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DJS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

40D: "56. "Go team!""

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

41D: "57. Poem of praise"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

42D: "58. Contents of l'océan"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAU

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

34 Across Clues
42 Down Clues
76 Total Clues

More NYT Crossword Help

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Last updated: May 11, 2026 at 06:54 AM

Monday, February 9, 2026

XWordHint Crossword Answers February 09, 2026 | 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: 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. The slightest bit 4
2A 5. Mariner's septet 4
3A 9. Picket line crosser 4
4A 13. Like a situation with only bad outcomes 5
5A 15. St. Louis's Gateway ___ National Park 4
6A 16. Voice above tenor 4
7A 17. Thanksgiving boatful 5
8A 18. Spanish cat 4
9A 19. Nutritionist's plan 4
10A 20. Main drag through Sin City 13
11A 23. "Fancy meeting you here!" 4
12A 24. Apply, as a new skill 3
13A 25. Indigenous Southwestern people 6
14A 28. Body part that can serve as a pencil holder 3
15A 30. "Delicious!" 3
16A 31. Trireme implement 3
17A 32. Valuable bit in a prospector's pan 10
18A 37. Like sudokus with very few given digits, generally 4
19A 38. "Nope, not for me" 5
20A 39. Online "haha" 3
21A 40. Steep-walled canyon 5
22A 41. Hoarse voice 4
23A 42. Hockey player who typically plays the entire game 10
24A 44. Explosive-sounding TV channel 3
25A 45. Crow's call 3
26A 46. Punk-inspired music genre 3
27A 47. Minor disruption in the proceedings 6
28A 49. [Their typo, not mine!] 3
29A 51. Be a passenger 4
30A 55. Question to a scaredy-cat ... to which the final parts of 20-, 32- and 42-Across would answer "Yes!" 13
31A 58. "You have a point there" 4
32A 60. Lake on Ohio's northern border 4
33A 61. Nine-member musical group 5
34A 62. Lack of difficulty 4
35A 63. Pimples 4
36A 64. Like a lot 5
37A 65. Amazed 4
38A 66. From ___ to riches 4
39A 67. Water pitcher 4

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. The slightest bit"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "5. Mariner's septet"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
  • Similar words include: ocean, sea
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SEAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "9. Picket line crosser"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
  • Similar words include: fink, blackleg, strikebreaker
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SCAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "13. Like a situation with only bad outcomes"

5 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NOWIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "15. St. Louis's Gateway ___ National Park"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
  • Similar words include: arc, wicked, patronising
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ARCH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "16. Voice above tenor"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
  • Similar words include: contralto, countertenor
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ALTO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "17. Thanksgiving boatful"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a sauce made by adding stock, flour, or other ingredients to the juice and fat that drips from cooking meats
  • Similar words include: boom, manna from heaven, godsend
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GRAVY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "18. Spanish cat"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GATO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "19. Nutritionist's plan"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a prescribed selection of foods
  • Similar words include: dieting
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "20. Main drag through Sin City"

13 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LASVEGASSTRIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "23. "Fancy meeting you here!""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OHHI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "24. Apply, as a new skill"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the act of using
  • Similar words include: utilization, practice, employ
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: USE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "25. Indigenous Southwestern people"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of any of about two dozen native american peoples called `pueblos' by the spanish because they live in pueblos (villages built of adobe and rock)
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: PUEBLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "28. Body part that can serve as a pencil holder"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
  • Similar words include: pinna, auricle, spike
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "30. "Delicious!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "31. Trireme implement"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an implement used to propel or steer a boat
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "32. Valuable bit in a prospector's pan"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOLDNUGGET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. Like sudokus with very few given digits, generally"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
  • Similar words include: operose, severe, concentrated
  • Opposite of: easy, voiced
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. "Nope, not for me""

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IMOUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "39. Online "haha""

3 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "40. Steep-walled canyon"

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a deep ravine (usually with a river running through it)
  • Similar words include: stuff, overindulge, gormandize
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GORGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "41. Hoarse voice"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that uttering in an irritated tone
  • Similar words include: wood file, rasping
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RASP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "42. Hockey player who typically plays the entire game"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal
  • Similar words include: netminder, goalie, goalkeeper
  • Pattern: __________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOALTENDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "44. Explosive-sounding TV channel"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene
  • Similar words include: trinitrotoluene
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TNT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "45. Crow's call"

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the sound made by corvine birds
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CAW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "46. Punk-inspired music genre"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EMO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "47. Minor disruption in the proceedings"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (usually plural) the state of having reflex spasms of the diaphragm accompanied by a rapid closure of the glottis producing an audible sound; sometimes a symptom of indigestion
  • Similar words include: singultus, hiccough
  • Pattern: ______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HICCUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "49. [Their typo, not mine!]"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that urge to attack someone
  • Similar words include: set
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SIC

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "51. Be a passenger"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile)
  • Similar words include: sit, mount, hinge upon
  • Opposite of: walk
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RIDE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "55. Question to a scaredy-cat ... to which the final parts of 20-, 32- and 42-Across would answer "Yes!""

13 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AREYOUCHICKEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "58. "You have a point there""

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
  • Similar words include: true up, truthful, honest
  • Opposite of: untruthful, false
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TRUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "60. Lake on Ohio's northern border"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a member of an iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of lake erie in northern ohio and northwest pennsylvania and western new york
  • Similar words include: Lake Erie
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "61. Nine-member musical group"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NONET

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34A: "62. Lack of difficulty"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
  • Similar words include: repose, allay, relieve
  • Opposite of: difficulty
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35A: "63. Pimples"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACNE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36A: "64. Like a lot"

5 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that love intensely
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ADORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37A: "65. Amazed"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that inspire awe in
  • Similar words include: awe, awful, awestricken
  • Opposite of: unawed
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38A: "66. From ___ to riches"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small piece of cloth or paper
  • Similar words include: rile, sheet, crucify
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAGS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

39A: "67. Water pitcher"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
  • Similar words include: pitcher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: EWER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No. Clue Letters
1D 1. ___-Saxon 5
2D 2. Scroll read during a bat mitzvah ceremony 5
3D 3. Overflowing (with) 5
4D 4. Apportioned 9
5D 5. Long stories 5
6D 6. Wipe clean 5
7D 7. "America's Got Talent" segments 4
8D 8. Track-and-field event with a 16-pound ball 7
9D 9. British novelist Jones 5
10D 10. Portable writing surface 9
11D 11. Devoured 3
12D 12. Spam spewer 3
13D 14. Bill who says "Science rules!" in the intro to his TV show 3
14D 21. Sanskrit word for "teacher" 4
15D 22. "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of ___" 3
16D 26. Massive 5
17D 27. Pick from the menu 5
18D 29. Tiny hill dweller 3
19D 30. Bellow 4
20D 32. Measurement around the waist 5
21D 33. Resident of Muscat 5
22D 34. Something that's beyond help 9
23D 35. Luminesce 4
24D 36. India's smallest state by area 3
25D 37. What students abide by when they don't cheat 9
26D 40. Precious stone 3
27D 42. Period before starting more school 7
28D 43. Georgia ___ (Atlanta school) 4
29D 45. Pool player's stick 3
30D 48. Words to live by 5
31D 49. Taking to court 5
32D 50. Some frozen drinks 5
33D 52. "No need to remind me!" 5
34D 53. Outdoor John? 5
35D 54. "Come in" 5
36D 56. Oceanic predator 4
37D 57. All ___ day's work 3
38D 58. Drink served by the Mad Hatter 3
39D 59. Like the fish in poke 3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. ___-Saxon"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANGLO

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Scroll read during a bat mitzvah ceremony"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the whole body of the jewish sacred writings and tradition including the oral tradition
  • Similar words include: Laws, Pentateuch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TORAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Overflowing (with)"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that covered with water
  • Similar words include: afloat, flooded, inundated
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: AWASH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Apportioned"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DIVVIEDUP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Long stories"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account
  • Similar words include: saga
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SAGAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Wipe clean"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that remove from memory or existence
  • Similar words include: wipe off, wipe out, score out
  • Opposite of: record
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ERASE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. "America's Got Talent" segments"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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: playact, do, human activity
  • Opposite of: refrain
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ACTS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Track-and-field event with a 16-pound ball"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SHOTPUT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. British novelist Jones"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SADIE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Portable writing surface"

9 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a small writing board with a clip at the top for holding papers
  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CLIPBOARD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Devoured"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
  • Similar words include: eat, wipe out, corrode
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12D: "12. Spam spewer"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: BOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13D: "14. Bill who says "Science rules!" in the intro to his TV show"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: NYE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14D: "21. Sanskrit word for "teacher""

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a hindu or buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GURU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15D: "22. "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of ___""

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that liquor distilled from fermented molasses
  • Similar words include: singular, queer, odd
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RUM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16D: "26. Massive"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a garment size for a large person
  • Similar words include: prominent, with child, great
  • Opposite of: small, little
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LARGE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17D: "27. Pick from the menu"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
  • Similar words include: regularise, social club, put
  • Opposite of: disorder, deregulate
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORDER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18D: "29. Tiny hill dweller"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
  • Similar words include: emmet, pismire
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ANT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19D: "30. Bellow"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
  • Similar words include: squall, call, shout out
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: YELL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20D: "32. Measurement around the waist"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that the distance around a person's body
  • Similar words include: cinch
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GIRTH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21D: "33. Resident of Muscat"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a native or inhabitant of oman
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: OMANI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22D: "34. Something that's beyond help"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: LOSTCAUSE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23D: "35. Luminesce"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an alert and refreshed state
  • Similar words include: burn, freshness, gleam
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GLOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24D: "36. India's smallest state by area"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a state of southwestern india; a former portuguese colony
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GOA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25D: "37. What students abide by when they don't cheat"

9 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _________
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: HONORCODE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26D: "40. Precious stone"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
  • Similar words include: muffin, stone, precious stone
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GEM

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27D: "42. Period before starting more school"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _______
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: GAPYEAR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28D: "43. Georgia ___ (Atlanta school)"

4 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a school teaching mechanical and industrial arts and the applied sciences
  • Similar words include: technical school
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TECH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29D: "45. Pool player's stick"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech
  • Similar words include: pool cue, prompt, cue stick
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CUE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30D: "48. Words to live by"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that any system of principles or beliefs
  • Similar words include: religious doctrine, church doctrine, gospel
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: CREED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31D: "49. Taking to court"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
  • Similar words include: litigate, process, sue
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: SUING

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32D: "50. Some frozen drinks"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that decorate with frosting
  • Similar words include: frost, ice
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ICEES

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33D: "52. "No need to remind me!""

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: IKNOW

Remember this word for future puzzles!

34D: "53. Outdoor John?"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that united states industrialist who manufactured plows suitable for working the prairie soil (1804-1886)
  • Similar words include: John Deere
  • Pattern: _____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: DEERE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

35D: "54. "Come in""

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that to come or go into
  • Similar words include: go in, get into, accede
  • Opposite of: drop out, exit
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ENTER

Remember this word for future puzzles!

36D: "56. Oceanic predator"

4 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
  • Similar words include: grampus, sea wolf, killer
  • Pattern: ____
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: ORCA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

37D: "57. All ___ day's work"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: INA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

38D: "58. Drink served by the Mad Hatter"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
  • Similar words include: Camellia sinensis, tea leaf, afternoon tea
  • Pattern: ___
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: TEA

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39D: "59. Like the fish in poke"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

  • Think of something that informal terms for nakedness
  • Similar words include: naked, sore, in the altogether
  • Opposite of: cooked
Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)
Answer: RAW

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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

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Last updated: February 09, 2026 at 05:15 AM