Tell a tall tale

Latest answer — July 07, 2026

31 Down

Sometimes, it's just a stretch of the truth! 🤫

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, July 07, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1___ ghanouj
  2. 5Like a couch potato
  3. 9"Rise and shine!"
  4. 14Patron saint of Norway
  5. 15Combustible rock
  6. 16No longer in dreamland
  7. 17Charisma
  8. 18"Orinoco Flow" singer
  9. 19Like a credit card at its limit
  10. 20*Surfer girls, in old lingo
  11. 23Ease off
  12. 24D.C. URL ending
  13. 28*Frankfurters
  14. 31Easy mark for a hustle
  15. 32Subject of Weird Al Yankovic's "The White Stuff"
  16. 33Common car freshener scent
  17. 34Score that's better than a bogey
  18. 35"Barbie" actress Issa
  19. 36*Relative of a grizzly that's named for its bright chest patch
  20. 39Umpire's clenched-fist call
  21. 40Sgt., but not pvt., e.g.
  22. 41Orgs. that may hold raffles
  23. 42Mechanical memorization
  24. 43Accessories pointed at the North Pole?
  25. 45*Internet browser borrowing a nickname for the red panda
  26. 48Slander
  27. 49What to call people ... or what not to call people
  28. 50Like a feeling of tender happiness ... or how you might feel after reading both halves of the answers to the starred clues?
  29. 55Common default computer font
  30. 58Mistake-correcting command
  31. 59Rebel Alliance princess
  32. 60Portmanteau for a screened-in feline lounge
  33. 61Fresh powder, e.g.
  34. 62Sci-fi franchise with light cycles
  35. 63Break things off
  36. 64"Amazing Grace," for one
  37. 65Eurovision contest entry

Down

  1. 1Tell jokes to total silence, say
  2. 2Soothing succulent
  3. 3___ California (Mexican border state)
  4. 4Fruit from a tree that can self-pollinate
  5. 5Cooler in a cooler
  6. 6Hole foods?
  7. 7___ Staley, original lead singer of Alice in Chains
  8. 8Pizazz
  9. 9Last words on a pinball machine
  10. 10Discarded tech
  11. 11Levy
  12. 12Luau instrument, informally
  13. 13___ Xing
  14. 21"Curb Your Enthusiasm" network
  15. 22"Let It Go" singer Menzel
  16. 25Vanish into thin air
  17. 26Acting unthinkingly
  18. 27Geometrical corner
  19. 28Like a triceratops
  20. 29Delphi prophet
  21. 30Start a long drive, in a way
  22. 31Tell a tall tale
  23. 33"This Old House" network
  24. 36Monty Python musical with a portmanteau title
  25. 37Absolute, as nonsense
  26. 38"Illmatic" rapper
  27. 42What doers produce
  28. 44Luau locale
  29. 45Obsessive pop culture subculture
  30. 46"Count me in!"
  31. 47Yellow card wielder
  32. 49Job for Mrs. Doubtfire
  33. 51Sled dog command
  34. 52Number of years that George Washington lived in the White House
  35. 53Last U.S. national park alphabetically
  36. 54Bowen formerly of "S.N.L."
  37. 55High card
  38. 56Hightailed it
  39. 57"___ be my pleasure!"

The answer to “Tell a tall tale” in the New York Times crossword is LIE — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 7, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 31-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.

“Tell a tall tale” answer

LIE (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 LIE.

Why the answer is LIE

Sometimes, it's just a stretch of the truth! 🤫

What does LIE mean?

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

(verb)

  • (of a person or animal) be in or assume a horizontal or resting position on a supporting surface
  • be, remain, or be kept in a specified state
  • (of a place) be situated in a specified position or direction

When else has “Tell a tall tale” 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.

July 7, 2026 (most recent) → LIE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Tell a tall tale”?

The answer is LIE, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 7, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Tell a tall tale”?

3 letters: LIE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on July 7, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 31-Down.

Can “Tell a tall tale” 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 July 7, 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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