Italian meat-based sauce

Latest answer — August 18, 2026

19 Across

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Clue explained

RAGÙ is an Italian meat-based sauce, commonly served with pasta. The grid omits the accent from the normally written form.

Clue type:
Definition
A bowl of thick Italian ragù meat sauce.

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, August 18, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Like the deity Xipe Totec
  2. 6Bubble bath stuff
  3. 10Rankings above corporals (Abbr.)
  4. 14"Put me in, ___!"
  5. 15Raindrop sound
  6. 16Voyage
  7. 17"Same here!"
  8. 18Skin condition
  9. 19Italian meat-based sauce
  10. 20Program designed to prevent "burn-in"
  11. 23Pittsburgh football player
  12. 26Handy types
  13. 27Rice dish with saffron
  14. 28U-turn from NNW
  15. 29Sicilian peak
  16. 30"Yeah, su-u-ure"
  17. 33"Everywhere you want to be" cards
  18. 38Trash service
  19. 41Scornful look
  20. 42An apple for Apple, e.g.
  21. 43Bread often served with hummus
  22. 44It's "just a number"
  23. 46Warmup band
  24. 48West Texas city
  25. 52Made it to the Olympic podium
  26. 54Person who helps mediate disputes
  27. 56Toolbar heading
  28. 57Pop-ups' paths
  29. 58Restless
  30. 63Toaster waffle brand
  31. 64Puerto ___
  32. 65Photographer Arbus
  33. 66Crystal ball user
  34. 67___ USA
  35. 68Trade fairs

Down

  1. 1Cooling systems, for short
  2. 2Metaphor for a chaotic place
  3. 3Smidgen
  4. 4___ mode (hybrid vehicle setting, often)
  5. 5Wedge-shaped hand tool
  6. 6Result from picking up a 7-10 split
  7. 7Stomach sore
  8. 8Over
  9. 9Doesn't save
  10. 10Wander off course
  11. 11"Take This to Your ___" (Fall Out Boy album)
  12. 12Tony the ___ (Frosted Flakes mascot)
  13. 13Victor Wembanyama's 67-Across
  14. 21Insurance filing
  15. 22Kitchen tool with holes, or a metaphorical faulty memory
  16. 23The Devil
  17. 24High-strung
  18. 25Fill with joy
  19. 27Church benches
  20. 28Doe's mate
  21. 31Unit of hay
  22. 32"Discreet Music" artist Brian
  23. 34Push into action
  24. 35River that served as a backdrop for the 2024 Olympics' opening ceremony
  25. 36Paid for some cards
  26. 37One of an estimated 100-400 billion in the Milky Way
  27. 39Dry-___ marker
  28. 40"Imagine Me & You" star Matthew
  29. 45Racing vehicle
  30. 47Pride Month celebration with floats
  31. 48Many fencing blades
  32. 49Climber's resting area
  33. 50WNBA player Bueckers
  34. 51Performer in a play
  35. 52Hajj destination
  36. 53___ salts
  37. 55Lake named after an Indigenous people
  38. 59Veto
  39. 60Keg component
  40. 61___-cone
  41. 62Hai, in English

The answer to “Italian meat-based sauce” in the USA Today crossword is RAGU — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 18, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 19-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.

“Italian meat-based sauce” answer

RAGU (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 RAGU.

What does RAGU mean?

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

(noun)

  • (in Italian cooking) a sauce typically made with minced meat, onions, tomato puree, and red wine, and served with pasta

When else has “Italian meat-based sauce” appeared?

USA Today 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 18, 2026 (most recent) → RAGU. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Italian meat-based sauce”?

The answer is RAGU, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 18, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Italian meat-based sauce”?

4 letters: RAGU.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on August 18, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 19-Across.

Can “Italian meat-based sauce” have a different answer?

Yes — USA Today 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 USA Today answers?

The full grid for August 18, 2026 is on the USA Today answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

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