Crossword Maxi
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Puzzle Theme: Smiles 2026
"It's World Smile Day."
This Crossword Maxi puzzle was curated by Chris.
Across
- 2. Place before birth
- 5. Attack aggressively
- 8. Shout loudly?
- 10. Bureau overseeing alcohol and firearms: Abbr.
- 13. Move with a breeze?
- 14. Directs attention toward
- 16. Small branch to snap?
- 17. Group of ships sailing fast?
- 18. Afternoon pick-me-up?
- 19. Unpleasant experience
- 21. Look for eagerly?
- 23. Long for deeply?
- 26. Opposite of narrow?
- 29. Comedy show sure to entertain?
- 32. Lower limb segment?
- 34. Current fashion
- 35. Front leg bone?
- 36. Making noise like a snake's tail
- 39. Civil liberties org.: Abbr.
- 40. Sedan or coupe
- 41. Look closely?
- 42. Dedicate wholeheartedly?
- 43. Take a break?
Down
- 1. Jump energetically?
- 3. Enigma to solve?
- 4. ___ Boys (rap group)
- 5. Distribute in portions
- 6. Holiday gift givers
- 7. Set on fire?
- 9. Turned on, informally
- 11. Soybean product
- 12. Captured on camera
- 15. Basketball target, for short
- 20. Buddy
- 22. Relating to cultural heritage
- 24. Snake known for its noise
- 25. Care for tenderly?
- 27. Breathe in deeply?
- 28. Weather phenomenon involving warm ocean currents
- 30. Hair styling product
- 31. Poet St. Vincent Millay
- 33. Fruit used in wines?
- 37. Top card?
- 38. Increase in size?
About Crossword Maxi
A 15x15 themed crossword with about 76 clues. The full-sized daily puzzle for people who actually like crosswords -- a theme to crack, trickier cluing, and a timer to keep things honest.
The Maxi is the big one. A 15x15 grid, the size of a newspaper daily, with a theme: its long answers share a trick, and the title or a revealer answer ties them together. Clues range from straight definitions to genuine misdirection. If you finish the Mini and Midi and still want more, this is where you end up. New puzzle every day on DailyPlay, same grid for everyone.
Crossword Maxi on DailyPlay is completely free to play with no ads, no pop-ups, and no interruptions.
How to Play
Goal
Fill every white cell in the 15x15 grid so that each across and down answer matches its clue. The puzzle is complete when every word is correct.
Rules
- Tap or click a cell to select it, then type your letter. The cursor advances automatically.
- Tap a selected cell again (or press the arrow keys) to toggle between across and down.
- Black cells separate the words and cannot be filled.
- Clue numbers appear in the top-left corner of the starting cell for each answer.
- Answers range from three letters to fifteen. Every letter is shared between an across and a down word.
- The longest answers are the theme: they share a trick, named by the title above the grid or by a revealer answer.
Strategy
- Scan for gimmes. Every grid has a handful of clues you can answer cold. Fill those first -- the crossing letters open up everything around them.
- Crack the theme. Once you see what the long answers have in common, the title and the other theme answers fall faster.
- Work in clusters. Focus on one corner or section at a time rather than jumping all over the grid. Tight areas with a lot of short intersecting words often solve themselves once you get two or three in place.
- Re-read stubborn clues. Come back to a clue after filling in some crossing letters. Seeing _A_E instead of five blanks changes how you read the clue entirely.
Tips
- Short fills are underrated. Three-letter answers are usually common words (ERA, ORE, ATE). Fill them in fast and use those letters to attack the longer answers nearby.
- Think about word endings. English crossword answers often end in -ED, -ER, -ING, or -LY. If a clue points to a past tense or a comparison, try penciling the ending in first.
- Use hints strategically. If you're stuck, a single revealed letter in a long answer is more valuable than one in a three-letter word. Spend hints where they unlock the most crossings.
- Check the clock, but don't panic. The Maxi is meant to take a while. Steady solving beats frantic guessing. Your time improves naturally as you get used to the clue style.
How It Works
Daily Puzzle
A new puzzle every day at midnight
Same for Everyone
Everyone plays the same puzzle each day
Share Results
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No Ads, Ever
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