NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for July 8, 2026
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, July 8, 2026. The daily crossword is the classic: a 15×15 grid on weekdays and a larger Sunday puzzle, with difficulty rising from a gentle Monday to a fiendish Saturday. Hints come first and the solution stays hidden until you ask for it.
Across clues & answers
- 19
- 27
- 62
- 67
Down clues & answers
- 5
- 22
- 54
- 63
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
across
- 1. ___ ghanouj: BABA
- 5. Like a couch potato: IDLE
- 9. "Rise and shine!": GETUP
- 14. Patron saint of Norway: OLAV
- 15. Combustible rock: COAL
- 16. No longer in dreamland: AWAKE
- 17. Charisma: MOJO
- 18. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA
- 19. Like a credit card at its limit: MAXED
- 20. *Surfer girls, in old lingo: BEACHBUNNIES
- 23. Ease off: ABATE
- 24. D.C. URL ending: DOTGOV
- 28. *Frankfurters: HOTDOGS
- 31. Easy mark for a hustle: LIVEONE
- 32. Subject of Weird Al Yankovic's "The White Stuff": OREO
- 33. Common car freshener scent: PINE
- 34. Score that's better than a bogey: PAR
- 35. "Barbie" actress Issa: RAE
- 36. *Relative of a grizzly that's named for its bright chest patch: SUNBEAR
- 39. Umpire's clenched-fist call: OUT
- 40. Sgt., but not pvt., e.g.: NCO
- 41. Orgs. that may hold raffles: PTAS
- 42. Mechanical memorization: ROTE
- 43. Accessories pointed at the North Pole?: ELFHATS
- 45. *Internet browser borrowing a nickname for the red panda: FIREFOX
- 48. Slander: DEFAME
- 49. What to call people … or what not to call people: NAMES
- 50. Like a feeling of tender happiness ... or how you might feel after reading both halves of the answers to the starred clues?: WARMANDFUZZY
- 55. Common default computer font: ARIAL
- 58. Mistake-correcting command: UNDO
- 59. Rebel Alliance princess: LEIA
- 60. Portmanteau for a screened-in feline lounge: CATIO
- 61. Fresh powder, e.g.: SNOW
- 62. Sci-fi franchise with light cycles: TRON
- 63. Break things off: ENDIT
- 64. "Amazing Grace," for one: HYMN
- 65. Eurovision contest entry: SONG
down
- 1. Tell jokes to total silence, say: BOMB
- 2. Soothing succulent: ALOE
- 3. ___ California (Mexican border state): BAJA
- 4. Fruit from a tree that can self-pollinate: AVOCADO
- 5. Cooler in a cooler: ICEBAG
- 6. Hole foods?: DONUTS
- 7. ___ Staley, original lead singer of Alice in Chains: LAYNE
- 8. Pizazz: ELAN
- 9. Last words on a pinball machine: GAMEOVER
- 10. Discarded tech: EWASTE
- 11. Levy: TAX
- 12. Luau instrument, informally: UKE
- 13. ___ Xing: PED
- 21. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" network: HBO
- 22. "Let It Go" singer Menzel: IDINA
- 25. Vanish into thin air: GOPOOF
- 26. Acting unthinkingly: ONAUTO
- 27. Geometrical corner: VERTEX
- 28. Like a triceratops: HORNED
- 29. Delphi prophet: ORACLE
- 30. Start a long drive, in a way: TEEOFF
- 31. Tell a tall tale: LIE
- 33. "This Old House" network: PBS
- 36. Monty Python musical with a portmanteau title: SPAMALOT
- 37. Absolute, as nonsense: UTTER
- 38. "Illmatic" rapper: NAS
- 42. What doers produce: RESULTS
- 44. Luau locale: HAWAII
- 45. Obsessive pop culture subculture: FANDOM
- 46. "Count me in!": IMDOWN
- 47. Yellow card wielder: REF
- 49. Job for Mrs. Doubtfire: NANNY
- 51. Sled dog command: MUSH
- 52. Number of years that George Washington lived in the White House: ZERO
- 53. Last U.S. national park alphabetically: ZION
- 54. Bowen formerly of "S.N.L.": YANG
- 55. High card: ACE
- 56. Hightailed it: RAN
- 57. "___ be my pleasure!": ITD
More daily puzzle hints
- WordleGuess the five-letter word in six triesGuide & tips
- ConnectionsSort 16 words into four hidden groupsGuide & tips
- StrandsFind the themed words hidden in a letter gridGuide & tips
- Spelling BeeMake words from seven letters around a center letterGuide & tips
- Mini CrosswordA bite-size crossword you can finish over coffeeGuide & tips
- Connections: Sports EditionConnections with a sports-only word poolGuide & tips
- Letter BoxedChain words around a square using all 12 lettersGuide & tips
- Midi CrosswordThe mid-size crossword between the Mini and the dailyGuide & tips
How the week is built
- Monday and Tuesday: straightforward definitions and familiar answers. These are the best days to learn.
- Wednesday: a step up, often with a playful theme.
- Thursday: the trick day, with rebus squares (several letters in one square) and answers that turn corners or skip squares.
- Friday and Saturday: themeless and tough, with sly clues and long open sections.
- Sunday: a bigger 21×21 grid with a theme, about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday.
Crossword-solving habits worth building
- Learn the common fill. Short vowel-heavy words such as ERA, OREO, ALOE and ETNA appear constantly because they help constructors connect sections.
- Read clue signals. "?" means wordplay, "Abbr." means an abbreviation, "e.g." means an example of a category, and a foreign word in the clue hints at a foreign answer.
- Find the theme. The longest answers usually share a gimmick; the title (on Sundays) or a "revealer" clue explains it.
- Erase without fear. When crossings don't work, the wrong letter is usually in the answer you were most confident about.
- Use targeted help. Reveal one letter here, or try our crossword solver with a pattern like ?R?S?.
The Crossword FAQ
When is the next crossword released?
Weekday puzzles go live at 10 p.m. Eastern Time the night before; weekend puzzles are released earlier in the evening.
What is a rebus square?
A square that holds more than one letter. Sometimes it holds a whole word or a symbol. They are most common on Thursdays.
Which day is the hardest?
Saturday is generally the hardest, followed by Friday. Sunday is larger but closer to midweek difficulty.
Can I see past crossword answers?
Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive.