Common injury site for a basketball player, informally

Latest answer — September 21, 2026

21 Across

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Clue explained

The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is a knee ligament that basketball players commonly injure. “ACL” is the standard abbreviation.

Clue type:
Abbreviation
An anatomical diagram showing the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee

NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, September 21, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Where Mongolia is
  2. 5Scaredy-cat
  3. 9Leafs (through)
  4. 14Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize
  5. 15Berry at a smoothie shop
  6. 16Company behind the game Pong
  7. 17Mentally pooped
  8. 201960s service site, informally
  9. 21Common injury site for a basketball player, informally
  10. 22Thick, as plant growth
  11. 23Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam
  12. 28Commercial that may come with a jingle
  13. 29Took a chair
  14. 30Eager
  15. 31Hair parter
  16. 34Continue a subscription
  17. 38Barely passing grade
  18. 39Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across
  19. 41Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate
  20. 42Sometimes-floral organic compound
  21. 44Draped Indian garment
  22. 45___-X (computer command to cut text)
  23. 46Crosses (out)
  24. 48Conjures up, say
  25. 50"If I'm being honest ..."
  26. 54Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna
  27. 55Opposite of 'neath
  28. 56Fools' mo.
  29. 57"A fight requires more than one person"
  30. 63"I'm available to help"
  31. 64Modern note-taking aid
  32. 65Plant in a marsh
  33. 66Spanish babies
  34. 67What a paper airplane icon may indicate
  35. 68Thing in a grove

Down

  1. 1Big letters in home security
  2. 2___ Paulo, Brazil
  3. 3Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks"
  4. 4Relief for an upset stomach
  5. 5Simple two-player card game
  6. 6Drink cooler
  7. 7Angry with
  8. 8Throw from a mound
  9. 9Butter square
  10. 10Any Olympian
  11. 11First name of Julius Caesar
  12. 12Artist Max
  13. 13Worshiper in a turban
  14. 18Texter's qualifier
  15. 19Cries in a fútbol stadium
  16. 23Barter
  17. 24Roof overhangs
  18. 25It may have a hard or soft shell
  19. 26Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons
  20. 27Paves the way?
  21. 32N.Y.C. subway letters
  22. 33Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper
  23. 35Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery
  24. 36Spearfishing bird
  25. 37People of SW Britain
  26. 39Without charge
  27. 40The Emerald Isle
  28. 43Like skydiving or cliff-diving
  29. 45Dashboard or bumper
  30. 47Place to put a coin
  31. 49Coup d'___
  32. 50Joke with
  33. 51Like some wine barrels
  34. 52___ and Clark
  35. 53Familiar narrative device
  36. 54Leave dumbfounded
  37. 58French possessive
  38. 59Catch some rays
  39. 60Bizarre
  40. 61"Golly!"
  41. 62Poetic tribute

The answer to “Common injury site for a basketball player, informally” in the New York Times crossword is ACL — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 21, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 21-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.

“Common injury site for a basketball player, informally” answer

ACL (3 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 ACL.

When else has “Common injury site for a basketball player, informally” 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.

September 21, 2026 (most recent) → ACL. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Common injury site for a basketball player, informally”?

The answer is ACL, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 21, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Common injury site for a basketball player, informally”?

3 letters: ACL.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on September 21, 2026 (a Monday puzzle), at 21-Across.

Can “Common injury site for a basketball player, informally” 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 September 21, 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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