5/23/26 Answer Crosswords With Friends

5/23/26
Smartypants Saturday

Are you stuck with the Crosswords With Friends Puzzle Today? Stuck No More. We offer complete solutions as well as “no spoiler” mode to give you that little extra push. Or simply use this cheat sheet to help you get the best and fastest completion time possible.

1A
Follow the rules
OBEY

5A
___ smear (gynecologist’s test)
PAP

8A
Inflatable boat
RAFT

12A
“___ Want for Christmas Is You”: 2 wds.
ALLI

13A
Outrage
IRE

14A
Lake on the Nevada/California border
TAHOE

15A
32-Across’s Secretary of Defense, who commissioned the Vietnam Study Task Force, which produced the Pentagon Papers: 2 wds.
ROBERTMCNAMARA

18A
Like clichés and day-old bread
STALE

19A
Distinctive atmosphere
AURA

20A
Respectable
DECENT

23A
Information in a spreadsheet
DATA

27A
Large member of the deer family
ELK

30A
___ for apples
BOB

31A
Beautician’s workplace
SALON

32A
US president whose administration lied about the Vietnam War, per the Pentagon Papers: 3 wds.
LYNDONBJOHNSON

36A
Move stealthily
SNEAK

37A
Big animal, or a big brute
APE

38A
“Livin’ ___ Prayer” (Bon Jovi song): 2 wds.
ONA

39A
Firefighters’ tools for cutting through roofs
AXES

40A
Middle
CENTER

43A
Recover from an injury
HEAL

45A
Metronome’s speed
TEMPO

49A
Researcher who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers to the New York Times: 2 wds.
DANIELCELLSBERG

54A
Attacked by a bee
STUNG

55A
Sound of a pigeon
COO

56A
“Mi ___” (“my love,” in Mexico)
AMOR

57A
“Auld ___ Syne” (New Year’s Eve tune)
LANG

58A
Suit for a gala, for short
TUX

59A
Lasso material
ROPE

1D
Rowboat rowers
OARS

2D
Inky smudge
BLOT

3D
“Hijack” star Idris
ELBA

4D
Word on a yellow road sign
YIELD

5D
Hard part of an avocado
PIT

6D
Common place for a tattoo
ARM

7D
Butter ___ (Häagen-Dazs flavor)
PECAN

8D
Islamic month of fasting
RAMADAN

9D
“Oh, I see!”
AHA

10D
“What Was I Made ___?” (Oscar- and Grammy-winning song from “Barbie”)
FOR

11D
Actress Leoni of “Only Murders in the Building”
TEA

14D
___ Heel State (nickname of North Carolina)
TAR

16D
Nike competitor
REEBOX

17D
Hexagonal fastener
NUT

21D
Swindle
CON

22D
Recede, as the tide
EBB

24D
“On top of that …”
ALSO

25D
Porky Pig, for one
TOON

26D
Younger sister in “Frozen”
ANNA

27D
Older sister in “Frozen”
ELSA

28D
Minnesota WNBA team named for a wildcat
LYNX

29D
Joint above the ankle
KNEE

31D
Linen closet items
SHEETS

33D
First word of “Jingle Bells”
DASHING

34D
The first month: Abbr.
JAN

35D
Make a choice
OPT

40D
Baseball’s Ripken
CAL

4D
1 d Choose democratically
ELECT

42D
Concrete reinforcement
REBAR

44D
Brain scan: Abbr.
EEG

46D
Note for office workers
MEMO

47D
Object placed by a stagehand
PROP

48D
Fairy-tale beast
OGRE

49D
High-speed net connection: Abbr.
DSL

50D
One ___ time: 2 wds.
ATA

51D
Convent resident
NUN

52D
“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” singer Rawls
LOU

53D
Salmon on a bagel
LOX