8/31/26 Answer Crosswords With Friends

8/31/26
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
Plant’s stalk
STEM

5A
Shoulder-warming garment
SHAWL

10A
“The Joy of Painting” painter Ross
BOB

13A
Bearded Smurf
PAPA

14A
Knightley of Netflix’s “Black Doves”
KEIRA

15A
Large, intelligent animal
APE

16A
Actress who starred in the 2021 Bond film “No Time to Die”: 3 wds.
ANA DE ARMAS

18A
Tell a fib
LIE

19A
Turns bad
ROTS

20A
Bit of hamster food
PELLET

22A
Element that’s often used as an antiseptic
IODINE

25A
Shopping frenzy
SPREE

26A
Loses fur, like a dog does
SHEDS

27A
“Everything ___ Wants” (Wham! hit)
SHE

28A
Metal whose chemical symbol is Fe
IRON

31A
Black-___ event
TIE

32A
See the sights
TOUR

33A
“Now ___ seen everything!”
IVE

34A
“My mistake!”
OOPS

36A
“The professor and Mary ___” (part of the “Gilligan’s Island” lyrics)
ANN

37A
Underwater detection system for submarines
SONAR

39A
Pushovers
WIMPS

41A
Lose hair up top: 2 wds.
GO BALD

42A
Upright and grand instruments
PIANOS

44A
Classroom helper
AIDE

45A
Place with many parking spaces
LOT

46A
2022 Netflix action thriller starring 16-Across and Ryan Gosling: 3 wds.
THE GRAY MAN

51A
Be in arrears
OWE

52A
Squalid dwelling
HOVEL

53A
Vowel-heavy Great Lake
ERIE

54A
Expected golf score
PAR

55A
Tournament rankings
SEEDS

56A
Word that can precede “bike” or “cheap”
DIRT

1D
Place to get a hot stone massage
SPA

2D
Catch some rays
TAN

3D
Federal organization with anti-pollution rules: Abbr.
EPA

4D
Capital of Spain
MADRID

5D
Go Rollerblading
SKATE

6D
That lady’s
HERS

7D
“We ___ to please”
AIM

8D
Covering for a candy bar
WRAPPER

9D
Beam in many sci-fi films
LASER

10D
2025 “John Wick” spin-off starring 16-Across as an assassin in training: 2 wds.
BALLERINA

11D
Andy’s boy on “The Andy Griffith Show”
OPIE

12D
Vegetable in borscht
BEET

17D
Exceedingly long periods of time
EONS

21D
Ring of flowers around the neck, in Hawaii
LEI

22D
“No one ___ blame”: 2 wds.
IS TO

23D
The Buckeye State
OHIO

24D
2022 Hulu psychological drama starring 16-Across and Ben Affleck: 2 wds.
DEEP WATER

25D
Steer clear of
SHUN

27D
Male children
SONS

29D
Shape of a tennis racket’s head
OVAL

30D
Geeky type
NERD

32D
Clicking footwear for Fred Astaire: 2 wds.
TAP SHOE

38D
Did as told
OBEYED

40D
Insects related to butterflies
MOTHS

41D
“___ Just Want to Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper song)
GIRLS

42D
Sound preceding “fizz” in an Alka-Seltzer jingle
PLOP

43D
State where Sioux City is
IOWA

44D
Matured, like fine wines and cheeses
AGED

47D
Sleek robot in “WALL-E”
EVE

48D
Hospital scan: Abbr.
MRI

49D
Broadcast
AIR

50D
Item in the center of a pickleball court
NET