Cackling carnivores

Latest answer — October 09, 2026

22 Across

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A spotted hyena standing in grassland.

Clue explainedFact checked

The “cackling” clue points to the laugh-like calls made by some hyenas, especially spotted hyenas; the sound can seem startlingly human, but it isn’t a sign of amusement. Hyenas are carnivorous mammals, and spotted hyenas live in large, socially complex clans. Their calls help members communicate and can carry over long distances across the African grasslands they inhabit.

Clue type:
Definition

NYT Crossword

This clue's Friday, October 09, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Mensches
  2. 10"Super Dry" brewer
  3. 15Visual aid with a three-dimensional aspect
  4. 16Persona non grata
  5. 17By an even stronger argument, at law
  6. 18Stars to gaze up at
  7. 19Not mad
  8. 20Squishy projectile
  9. 22Cackling carnivores
  10. 25World's third-largest river by discharge, after the Amazon and the Congo
  11. 27Miserly sorts, informally
  12. 30Rift
  13. 31Like a certain artery
  14. 32Mango leftovers
  15. 33The astronomer Tycho Brahe, for one
  16. 34Org. concerned with screenings
  17. 35Wine leftovers
  18. 36___ Kar-wai, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker behind 1994's "Chungking Express"
  19. 37Hounds that can run up to 35 m.p.h.
  20. 39It's mine, all mine!
  21. 40NPR program since 1987
  22. 41Two aces, say
  23. 43Kind of roll
  24. 47Comfortable
  25. 50"Do I ___ to eat a peach?": T.S. Eliot
  26. 51Record of the year?
  27. 52Drawing on another's life
  28. 55Handle
  29. 56Much-anticipated rivalry game in soccer's La Liga
  30. 57Hidden element of FedEx's logo
  31. 58Extremely difficult and ultimately futile

Down

  1. 1Hit the hay hard
  2. 2Morgan ___, sorceress in King Arthur stories
  3. 3Not having company
  4. 4What Odysseus' crew waxed on about?
  5. 5Mahjong grouping
  6. 6Org. concerned with screenings
  7. 7"Really?!"
  8. 8Zero out, in a way
  9. 9Device geared to draw rotationally symmetrical shapes
  10. 10Accounts for checking?
  11. 11Compact, maybe
  12. 12"My mistake"
  13. 13Some Navy aircraft during W.W. II
  14. 14Org. requiring crypto disclosures beginning in 2025
  15. 21Glenn who co-founded the Eagles
  16. 23A lot of lot
  17. 24Broadway show inits.
  18. 26Psy-___
  19. 28Near failure, colloquially
  20. 29Fertile place
  21. 31Swiss Army knife component
  22. 32Aid for someone studying a culture
  23. 33One who regularly takes a best friend out?
  24. 35Princess who says "Governor Tarkin! I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board"
  25. 36Like some noodles and martinis
  26. 37Habeas corpus, e.g.
  27. 38Cricket's Men in Green, on scoreboards
  28. 40Dormant
  29. 42Student of Socrates
  30. 44"Gymnopédies" composer
  31. 45Jong who wrote "Fear of Flying"
  32. 46Scouting trip
  33. 48Artist with an absurdist humor book all about his mustache
  34. 49Sauron's soldiers in "The Lord of the Rings"
  35. 51___ team
  36. 53Gymnast Raisman
  37. 54Enervate

The answer to “Cackling carnivores” in the New York Times crossword is HYENAS — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on October 9, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 22-Across. 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.

“Cackling carnivores” answer

HYENAS (6 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 HYENAS.

What does HYENAS mean?

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

(noun)

  • a doglike African mammal with forelimbs that are longer than the hindlimbs and an erect mane. Hyenas are noted as scavengers but most are also effective hunters

When else has “Cackling carnivores” appeared?

New York Times 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.

October 9, 2026 (most recent) → HYENAS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Cackling carnivores”?

The answer is HYENAS, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on October 9, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Cackling carnivores”?

6 letters: HYENAS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on October 9, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 22-Across.

Can “Cackling carnivores” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times 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 Crossword answers?

The full grid for October 9, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times 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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