Like a strong handshake

Latest answer — August 02, 2026

12 Down

A handshake with this quality feels steady and confident 🤝

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Midi Crossword

This clue's Sunday, August 02, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Shrek, for one
  2. 5Midwinter mugful
  3. 10Ode or haiku
  4. 11Say angrily
  5. 12Boxer's decoy punch
  6. 13Has a predisposition (to)
  7. 14The Stonewall ___ (gay bar designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000)
  8. 15Top of a company's org chart
  9. 16Person posting intentionally infuriating content online ... or an anagram of BEERGARITA
  10. 22Certain beauty pageant winner in Africa ... or an anagram of MANGO LASSI
  11. 23Adolescent ... or an anagram of GREEN TEA
  12. 24It might be metaphorically sucked out of a room
  13. 26Tasks on a list
  14. 28A pair apiece
  15. 32"Yes, monsieur"
  16. 33One-named R&B; singer with the 2024 hit "Nasty"
  17. 34Chapel Hill sch.
  18. 35Like sharp facial features
  19. 36Six-point N.F.L. scores: Abbr.

Down

  1. 1ChatGPT's company
  2. 2Alive and well
  3. 3___ Faire (jousting venue, informally)
  4. 4Ambulance worker, for short
  5. 5Winter hrs. in St. Louis
  6. 66-Down times 6-Down
  7. 7Negated
  8. 8Be bossy toward
  9. 9In addition
  10. 12Like a strong handshake
  11. 17Suffix in some language names
  12. 18Main squeeze, in 2010s slang
  13. 19___ Arbor, Mich.
  14. 20"So they tell me ..."
  15. 21Country between Ghana and Benin
  16. 24Encouraging word before "boy" or "girl"
  17. 25"Victory is mine!"
  18. 27Orders to attack, with "on"
  19. 29___ Claire, Wis.
  20. 30Language with handshapes, in brief
  21. 31"___-ching!"

The answer to “Like a strong handshake” in the New York Times Midi crossword is FIRM — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on August 2, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 12-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Like a strong handshake” answer

FIRM (4 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is FIRM.

Why the answer is FIRM

A handshake with this quality feels steady and confident 🤝

What does FIRM mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of FIRM is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(adjective)

  • having a solid, almost unyielding surface or structure
  • strongly felt and unlikely to change

When else has “Like a strong handshake” appeared?

New York Times Midi reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

August 2, 2026 (most recent) → FIRM. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Like a strong handshake”?

The answer is FIRM, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on August 2, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Like a strong handshake”?

4 letters: FIRM.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times Midi crossword on August 2, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 12-Down.

Can “Like a strong handshake” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times Midi sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Midi answers?

The full grid for August 2, 2026 is on the NYT Midi answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Midi Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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