NY Times Crossword Answers July 14, 2020 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

NY Times Crossword Complete Solution: July 14, 2020

Published on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 • Updated daily

Our expert breakdown helps you solve the July 14 NYT crossword while expanding your vocabulary. Learn answer strategies and discover word connections.

Across Clues and Answers (39)

Clue #1: 1. Grant entry to

5-letter answer Answer: LETIN

Clue #2: 6. Things that may be open or folded

4-letter answer Answer: ARMS

Word Help: Synonyms: coat_of_arms, sleeve, subdivision
Antonyms: disarm

Clue #3: 10. "Friends" or "Frasier"

4-letter answer Answer: SHOW

Word Help: Synonyms: exhibit, establish, point
Antonyms: disprove, hide

Clue #4: 14. Pizzeria needs

5-letter answer Answer: OVENS

Word Help: Synonyms: oven

Clue #5: 15. Jacob's first bride

4-letter answer Answer: LEAH

Clue #6: 16. Give a hoot

4-letter answer Answer: CARE

Word Help: Synonyms: tending, precaution, forethought

Clue #7: 17. Super-cold spell on the set of a 1996 Broadway musical?

10-letter answer Answer: RENTFREEZE

Clue #8: 19. What yeast makes dough do

4-letter answer Answer: RISE

Word Help: Synonyms: go_up, jump, uprise
Antonyms: wane, go_to_bed

Clue #9: 20. One of the First Nations of Canada

4-letter answer Answer: CREE

Word Help: Synonyms: Cree

Clue #10: 21. Primates, for humans

5-letter answer Answer: ORDER

Word Help: Synonyms: ordain, orderliness, purchase_order
Antonyms: deregulate, disorderliness

Clue #11: 22. Newsmaking ex-Yankee, informally

4-letter answer Answer: AROD

Clue #12: 23. Have a magnetic effect on

7-letter answer Answer: ATTRACT

Word Help: Synonyms: attract, draw_in, appeal
Antonyms: repel

Clue #13: 25. Gloss targets

4-letter answer Answer: LIPS

Word Help: Synonyms: lip, sass, sassing

Clue #14: 27. Org. concerned with sustainability

3-letter answer Answer: EPA

Word Help: Synonyms: Environmental_Protection_Agency, EPA

Clue #15: 28. Full out

8-letter answer Answer: WHOLEHOG

Clue #16: 32. Waxing crescent, e.g.

5-letter answer Answer: PHASE

Word Help: Synonyms: phase_angle, phase, form

Clue #17: 35. Succumb to pressure

5-letter answer Answer: CRACK

Word Help: Synonyms: check, topnotch, crock_up

Clue #18: 36. Abbr. in a discount bin

3-letter answer Answer: IRR

Clue #19: 37. Tweetstorm, e.g.

4-letter answer Answer: RANT

Word Help: Synonyms: spout, rant, mouth_off

Clue #20: 38. Old piano's sound

5-letter answer Answer: PLONK

Word Help: Synonyms: plunk_down, plump, flump

Clue #21: 39. Christmas ___

4-letter answer Answer: TREE

Word Help: Synonyms: shoetree, tree_diagram, corner

Clue #22: 40. Have title to

3-letter answer Answer: OWN

Word Help: Synonyms: own, have, possess

Clue #23: 41. Concert piano

5-letter answer Answer: GRAND

Word Help: Synonyms: gilded, distinguished, lofty

Clue #24: 42. Trying to look cultured

5-letter answer Answer: ARTSY

Clue #25: 43. Saying "No thanks" to, say

8-letter answer Answer: SKIPPING

Word Help: Synonyms: decamp, jump, vamoose

Clue #26: 45. One of the components of an M.L.B. Triple Crown

3-letter answer Answer: RBI

Word Help: Synonyms: rbi, run_batted_in

Clue #27: 46. Workplace discrimination law enforcer, for short

4-letter answer Answer: EEOC

Clue #28: 47. We two

7-letter answer Answer: YOUANDI

Clue #29: 51. Where to find Amazon's Alexa

4-letter answer Answer: ECHO

Word Help: Synonyms: reverberation, Echo, echo

Clue #30: 53. Modern missives

5-letter answer Answer: EMAIL

Word Help: Synonyms: e-mail, electronic_mail, email
Antonyms: snail_mail

Clue #31: 56. Norse goddess of fate

4-letter answer Answer: NORN

Word Help: Synonyms: Norn, weird_sister

Clue #32: 57. Suds maker

4-letter answer Answer: SOAP

Word Help: Synonyms: easy_lay, lather, grievous_bodily_harm

Clue #33: 58. Positive, albeit terse, review of a 2003 Broadway musical?

10-letter answer Answer: WICKEDGOOD

Clue #34: 60. Like tales you can't believe

4-letter answer Answer: TALL

Word Help: Synonyms: grandiloquent, marvellous, improbable
Antonyms: short

Clue #35: 61. Poker prerequisite

4-letter answer Answer: ANTE

Word Help: Synonyms: ante

Clue #36: 62. Dark, yellowish green

5-letter answer Answer: OLIVE

Word Help: Synonyms: Olea_europaea, European_olive_tree, olive

Clue #37: 63. It keeps the wheels turning

4-letter answer Answer: AXLE

Word Help: Synonyms: axle

Clue #38: 64. Muckraking journalist Jacob

4-letter answer Answer: RIIS

Clue #39: 65. Kind of message made obsolescent by faxes

5-letter answer Answer: TELEX

Word Help: Synonyms: telex, teletypewriter, teletype_machine

Across Clues and Answers (39)

Clue #1: 1. Poet/playwright Federico García ___

5-letter answer Answer: LORCA

Word Help: Synonyms: Lorca, Frederico_Garcia_Lorca, Garcia_Lorca

Clue #2: 2. Chris in the International Tennis Hall of Fame

5-letter answer Answer: EVERT

Word Help: Synonyms: Evert, Chrissie_Evert, evert

Clue #3: 3. Core belief

5-letter answer Answer: TENET

Word Help: Synonyms: dogma, tenet

Clue #4: 4. It may grow via compounding

8-letter answer Answer: INTEREST

Word Help: Synonyms: sake, interest_group, pursuit
Antonyms: bore, uninterestingness

Clue #5: 5. Abbr. on a returned check

3-letter answer Answer: NSF

Word Help: Synonyms: National_Science_Foundation, NSF

Clue #6: 6. Wide-eyed

5-letter answer Answer: ALERT

Word Help: Synonyms: rattling, snappy, zippy
Antonyms: unalert

Clue #7: 7. Plant by a pond

4-letter answer Answer: REED

Word Help: Synonyms: Reed, reed, reed_instrument

Clue #8: 8. Lab rat's challenge

4-letter answer Answer: MAZE

Word Help: Synonyms: snarl, tangle, maze

Clue #9: 9. Genius, informally

8-letter answer Answer: SHERLOCK

Word Help: Synonyms: PI, sherlock, operative

Clue #10: 10. What a bandage may cover

6-letter answer Answer: SCRAPE

Word Help: Synonyms: excoriation, genuflect, scrape

Clue #11: 11. Souvenir from a 1968 Broadway musical?

9-letter answer Answer: HAIRSHIRT

Clue #12: 12. Estimator's phrase

4-letter answer Answer: ORSO

Clue #13: 13. Gardener's bane

4-letter answer Answer: WEED

Word Help: Synonyms: grass, smoke, sess
Antonyms: cultivated_plant

Clue #14: 18. Almond ___ (candy brand)

4-letter answer Answer: ROCA

Clue #15: 24. Something studied by a primatologist

3-letter answer Answer: APE

Word Help: Synonyms: copycat, emulator, aper

Clue #16: 26. Sort

3-letter answer Answer: ILK

Word Help: Synonyms: ilk, like

Clue #17: 28. All wet

5-letter answer Answer: WRONG

Word Help: Synonyms: unseasonable, incorrectly, awry
Antonyms: correctly, right

Clue #18: 29. Unit in the measure of a horse's height

4-letter answer Answer: HAND

Word Help: Synonyms: bridge_player, paw, hired_hand

Clue #19: 30. Miners' finds

4-letter answer Answer: ORES

Word Help: Synonyms: ore

Clue #20: 31. Jennifer of "Dirty Dancing"

4-letter answer Answer: GREY

Word Help: Synonyms: grizzly, Grey, greyness

Clue #21: 32. Reasons to do something

4-letter answer Answer: PROS

Word Help: Synonyms: professional, pro
Antonyms: con, amateur

Clue #22: 33. War supporter

4-letter answer Answer: HAWK

Word Help: Synonyms: monger, pitch, war_hawk
Antonyms: dove

Clue #23: 34. Performance venue for a 1977 Broadway musical?

9-letter answer Answer: ANNIEHALL

Clue #24: 35. Extended family

4-letter answer Answer: CLAN

Word Help: Synonyms: tribe, kinship_group, kin

Clue #25: 38. Conflict helpful to customers

8-letter answer Answer: PRICEWAR

Clue #26: 39. Word with love or right

8-letter answer Answer: TRIANGLE

Word Help: Synonyms: Triangulum, trigon, triangle

Clue #27: 41. Collector of letters: Abbr.

3-letter answer Answer: GPO

Word Help: Synonyms: US_Government_Printing_Office, United_States_Government_Printing_Office, GPO

Clue #28: 42. "Aladdin" monkey

3-letter answer Answer: ABU

Clue #29: 44. Sexiest Man Alive magazine

6-letter answer Answer: PEOPLE

Word Help: Synonyms: citizenry, the_great_unwashed, hoi_polloi

Clue #30: 45. Auditioner's desire

4-letter answer Answer: ROLE

Word Help: Synonyms: character, purpose, use

Clue #31: 47. "Aiiieee!"

5-letter answer Answer: YIKES

Clue #32: 48. Dieter's food request, maybe

5-letter answer Answer: NOOIL

Clue #33: 49. Motored

5-letter answer Answer: DROVE

Word Help: Synonyms: repulse, get, force
Antonyms: attract

Clue #34: 50. End of many a nonfiction book

5-letter answer Answer: INDEX

Word Help: Synonyms: indicator, exponent, indicant

Clue #35: 51. ___ noche (tonight: Sp.)

4-letter answer Answer: ESTA

Clue #36: 52. Sweet-talk

4-letter answer Answer: COAX

Word Help: Synonyms: palaver, sweet-talk, coaxial_cable

Clue #37: 54. ___ Cooper

4-letter answer Answer: MINI

Word Help: Synonyms: mini, miniskirt
Antonyms: midi

Clue #38: 55. Broadway opening?

4-letter answer Answer: ACTI

Clue #39: 59. Pointillism unit

3-letter answer Answer: DOT

Word Help: Synonyms: scatter, dit, point

Expert Solving Strategies

• Look for fill-in-the-blank clues first (they're often easiest)
• Watch for question marks indicating wordplay
• Check vowel patterns in partially solved words

Related Search Terms

NYT Crossword Help, Daily Puzzle Solutions, Crossword Answer Finder, July Crossword Answers

XWordHint Crossword Answers July 23, 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
• Across Clues Table (33 clues)
• Across Clues - Detailed Hints
• Down Clues Table (41 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. More than just a disapproving look	10
2A	10. Scruff of the neck	4
3A	13. Fondita offerings	10
4A	15. Three-time A.L. M.V.P. of the 2000s, familiarly	4
5A	16. "The Devil's radio"	10
6A	17. Pollution portmanteau	4
7A	18. Really peeved	3
8A	19. What a pointless game has?	7
9A	21. Outfitted	8
10A	25. Password preceder	6
11A	26. Former Toyota sports cars named for a Latin prefix	6
12A	27. Passover month	5
13A	29. ___-turvy	5
14A	30. Sprint, e.g.	4
15A	31. Home run hitter's gait	4
16A	35. Downed	3
17A	36. Part in a play	4
18A	37. "That's the spot!"	3
19A	38. "Tyrone" singer Erykah	4
20A	40. Not much	4
21A	41. "Will you let me?"	5
22A	43. Desert for which an African country is named	5
23A	45. Like obsidian rock, once	6
24A	46. Symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt	6
25A	49. Last hurrah	8
26A	51. Trials by fire	7
27A	53. Wholly, but not holey or holy, e.g.: Abbr.	3
28A	54. Helen of Troy's mother	4
29A	55. Ignominious outcome	10
30A	61. Tech product discontinued in 2022	4
31A	62. Proposed cosmological phenomenon that could make up 70% of the universe — and six squares in this puzzle's grid?	10
32A	63. Not admit	4
33A	64. Pottery so named for its hardness	9

Across Clues - Strategic Hints

1A: "1. More than just a disapproving look"

10 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DEATHSTARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2A: "10. Scruff of the neck"

4 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the back side of the neck
• Similar words include: scruff, nucha
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NAPE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3A: "13. Fondita offerings"

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that tortilla with meat filling baked in tomato sauce seasoned with chili
• Similar words include: enchilada
• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ENCHILADAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4A: "15. Three-time A.L. M.V.P. of the 2000s, familiarly"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AROD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5A: "16. "The Devil's radio""

10 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IDLEGOSSIP

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6A: "17. Pollution portmanteau"

4 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
• Similar words include: smogginess
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SMOG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7A: "18. Really peeved"

3 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
• Similar words include: red-hot, blistering, live
• Opposite of: cold

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HOT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8A: "19. What a pointless game has?"

7 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NOSCORE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9A: "21. Outfitted"

8 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose
• Similar words include: fit out, furnished, equip
• Opposite of: unequipped, unfurnished

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EQUIPPED

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10A: "25. Password preceder"

6 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: USERID

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11A: "26. Former Toyota sports cars named for a Latin prefix"

6 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SUPRAS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

12A: "27. Passover month"

5 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the seventh month of the civil year; the first month of the ecclesiastic year (in march and april)
• Similar words include: Nissan
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NISAN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

13A: "29. ___-turvy"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TOPSY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

14A: "30. Sprint, e.g."

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that any competition
• Similar words include: bucket along, run, backwash
• Opposite of: linger

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RACE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

15A: "31. Home run hitter's gait"

4 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a slow pace of running
• Similar words include: crib, Trotskyite, pony
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TROT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

16A: "35. Downed"

3 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
• Similar words include: eat up, run through, feed
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ATE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

17A: "36. Part in a play"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
• Similar words include: theatrical role, character, function
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ROLE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

18A: "37. "That's the spot!""

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that express admiration and pleasure by uttering `ooh' or `aah'
• Similar words include: ooh
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AAH

Remember this word for future puzzles!

19A: "38. "Tyrone" singer Erykah"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: BADU

Remember this word for future puzzles!

20A: "40. Not much"

4 letters Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ATAD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

21A: "41. "Will you let me?""

5 letters Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CANTI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

22A: "43. Desert for which an African country is named"

5 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NAMIB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

23A: "45. Like obsidian rock, once"

6 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating
• Similar words include: liquified, mellow out, run
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MOLTEN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

24A: "46. Symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt"

6 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that scarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient egyptians
• Similar words include: Scarabaeus sacer, scarabaeus
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SCARAB

Remember this word for future puzzles!

25A: "49. Last hurrah"

8 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SWANSONG

Remember this word for future puzzles!

26A: "51. Trials by fire"

7 letters Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a severe or trying experience
• Similar words include: ordeal, trial by ordeal
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ORDEALS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

27A: "53. Wholly, but not holey or holy, e.g.: Abbr."

3 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ADV

Remember this word for future puzzles!

28A: "54. Helen of Troy's mother"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (greek mythology) a queen of sparta who was raped by zeus who had taken the form of a swan; helen of troy was conceived in the rape of leda
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: LEDA

Remember this word for future puzzles!

29A: "55. Ignominious outcome"

10 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EPICDEFEAT

Remember this word for future puzzles!

30A: "61. Tech product discontinued in 2022"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that (trademark) a pocket-sized device used to play music files
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IPOD

Remember this word for future puzzles!

31A: "62. Proposed cosmological phenomenon that could make up 70% of the universe — and six squares in this puzzle's grid?"

10 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: __________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DARKENERGY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

32A: "63. Not admit"

4 letters Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that declare untrue; contradict
• Similar words include: refuse, traverse, abnegate
• Opposite of: admit, allow

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DENY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

33A: "64. Pottery so named for its hardness"

9 letters Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that ceramic ware that is fired in high heat and vitrified and nonporous
• Pattern: _________

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: STONEWARE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

Down Clues - Complete List

No.	Clue	Letters
1D	1. Agnus ___	3
2D	2. Word after tight or defensive	3
3D	3. Knee stabilizer, in brief	3
4D	4. Not just any	3
5D	5. Attractive feature of a job	7
6D	6. Single-masted vessels	6
7D	7. Sweet or sour	5
8D	8. Podcast interruptions	3
9D	9. Frequent forecast in Seattle	4
10D	10. Strong suit?	5
11D	11. Unleavened South Asian flatbread	5
12D	12. Follower of double or gilt	5
13D	14. Champion, as a cause	7
14D	15. Budding	7
15D	20. Org. with a list of popular baby names	3
16D	21. Minimum, in a way	5
17D	22. Increased	5
18D	23. Letters before ".gov"	3
19D	24. Forensic facilities	7
20D	26. Sign abbr. meaning "founded in"	5
21D	28. Coffee or tea specification	4
22D	30. Unleavened South Asian flatbread	4
23D	32. Sought comfort from, say	5
24D	33. Like granola	5
25D	34. Unnamed article	5
26D	39. Ill-prepared	7
27D	40. Didn't stay on topic	7
28D	41. Come together	7
29D	42. Lou Gehrig's disease, for short	3
30D	44. One level below the majors	3
31D	45. Infuriate	6
32D	46. Sphere, e.g.	5
33D	47. Crinkly fabric	5
34D	48. Extension	5
35D	50. Totally bizarre	5
36D	52. Places to get masks	4
37D	56. Original N.Y.C. subway line	3
38D	57. Handful	3
39D	58. Long stretch	3
40D	59. Cabinet dept. since 1889	3
41D	60. Gospel musician Tribbett	3

Down Clues - Strategic Hints

1D: "1. Agnus ___"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DEI

Remember this word for future puzzles!

2D: "2. Word after tight or defensive"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that either extremity of something that has length
• Similar words include: conclusion, goal, terminal
• Opposite of: begin, beginning

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: END

Remember this word for future puzzles!

3D: "3. Knee stabilizer, in brief"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ACL

Remember this word for future puzzles!

4D: "4. Not just any"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: THE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

5D: "5. Attractive feature of a job"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: HIGHPAY

Remember this word for future puzzles!

6D: "6. Single-masted vessels"

6 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a sailing vessel with a single mast set about one third of the boat's length aft of the bow
• Similar words include: sloop
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SLOOPS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

7D: "7. Sweet or sour"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus
• Similar words include: taste perception, discernment, sample
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TASTE

Remember this word for future puzzles!

8D: "8. Podcast interruptions"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a public promotion of some product or service
• Similar words include: advertising, advertizing, ad
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ADS

Remember this word for future puzzles!

9D: "9. Frequent forecast in Seattle"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
• Similar words include: rain down, pelting, rainwater
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RAIN

Remember this word for future puzzles!

10D: "10. Strong suit?"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that protective covering made of metal and used in combat
• Similar words include: armour
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ARMOR

Remember this word for future puzzles!

11D: "11. Unleavened South Asian flatbread"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: POORI

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12D: "12. Follower of double or gilt"

5 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that advance slowly, as if by inches
• Similar words include: border, butt against, edge
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: EDGED

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13D: "14. Champion, as a cause"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
• Similar words include: follow, hook up with, conjoin
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ESPOUSE

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14D: "15. Budding"

7 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that being born or beginning
• Opposite of: dying
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: NASCENT

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15D: "20. Org. with a list of popular baby names"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that an independent government agency responsible for the social security system
• Similar words include: Social Security Administration
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SSA

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16D: "21. Minimum, in a way"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a prescribed number
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: QUOTA

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17D: "22. Increased"

5 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Similar words include: up
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: UPPED

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18D: "23. Letters before ".gov""

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that the bureau of the treasury department responsible for tax collections
• Similar words include: Internal Revenue Service
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IRS

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19D: "24. Forensic facilities"

7 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: DNALABS

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20D: "26. Sign abbr. meaning "founded in""

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ESTAB

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21D: "28. Coffee or tea specification"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that decorate with frosting
• Similar words include: ice, frost
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ICED

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22D: "30. Unleavened South Asian flatbread"

4 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ROTI

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23D: "32. Sought comfort from, say"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RANTO

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24D: "33. Like granola"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that of or related to or derived from oats
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: OATEN

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25D: "34. Unnamed article"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a special situation
• Similar words include: matter, affair
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: THING

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26D: "39. Ill-prepared"

7 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that not prepared or in a state of readiness; slow to understand or respond
• Opposite of: ready
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: UNREADY

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27D: "40. Didn't stay on topic"

7 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that continue talking or writing in a desultory manner
• Similar words include: roam, swan, wander
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: RAMBLED

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28D: "41. Come together"

7 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that meet formally
• Similar words include: convoke
• Pattern: _______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CONVENE

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29D: "42. Lou Gehrig's disease, for short"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord; results in progressive muscle atrophy that starts in the limbs
• Similar words include: Heart of Dixie, Camellia State, Alabama
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ALS

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30D: "44. One level below the majors"

3 letters 💭 Category: Common Word

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

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31D: "45. Infuriate"

6 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that cause to go crazy; cause to lose one's mind
• Similar words include: craze
• Pattern: ______

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: MADDEN

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32D: "46. Sphere, e.g."

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that matter that is solid at room temperature and pressure
• Similar words include: self-colored, whole, hearty
• Opposite of: hollow, liquid

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SOLID

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33D: "47. Crinkly fabric"

5 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that paper with a crinkled texture; usually colored and used for decorations
• Similar words include: crape, French pancake, crepe paper
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: CREPE

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34D: "48. Extension"

5 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ADDON

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35D: "50. Totally bizarre"

5 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a person who is regarded as eccentric or mad
• Similar words include: whacko, nutter
• Pattern: _____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: WACKO

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36D: "52. Places to get masks"

4 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a health resort near a spring or at the seaside
• Similar words include: health spa, health club, watering place
• Pattern: ____

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: SPAS

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37D: "56. Original N.Y.C. subway line"

3 letters 💭 Category: Proper Noun

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: IRT

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38D: "57. Handful"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a small elite group
• Opposite of: many
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: FEW

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39D: "58. Long stretch"

3 letters 💭 Category: Wordplay

Solving Hints:

• Think of something that a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
• Similar words include: earned run average, geological era, epoch
• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: ERA

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40D: "59. Cabinet dept. since 1889"

3 letters 💭 Category: Abbreviation

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: AGR

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41D: "60. Gospel musician Tribbett"

3 letters 💭 Category: General Knowledge

Solving Hints:

• Pattern: ___

Click to reveal answer (spoiler alert!)

Answer: TYE

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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

33 Across Clues

41 Down Clues

74 Total Clues

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Last updated: July 23, 2026 at 06:13 AM