Not that long ago

Latest answer — July 30, 2026

4 Down

Something from the near past, not ages ago 😉

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Thursday, July 30, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1It twinkles in the night sky
  2. 5Fancy neckwear
  3. 10Rounded hairstyle
  4. 14Part of a book
  5. 15Gave out light
  6. 16Gunky buildup
  7. 17Company leader, for short
  8. 18"Frida" actor Hayek
  9. 19Signaled
  10. 20Vast
  11. 21Respected community member
  12. 22Disencumbers
  13. 23"Hold on!"
  14. 25Openly queer
  15. 26Drifts through the air
  16. 28Za'atar and ___ (classic pairing in a dip)
  17. 33Sound heard in a dog park
  18. 34"Sagwa, the Chinese ___ Cat" (cartoon feline with a colorpoint coat)
  19. 37Medication-approving org.
  20. 38Compete
  21. 39Unjust
  22. 40"Waterfalls" girl group
  23. 41"___ the Pearl" (nickname for basketball player Monroe)
  24. 43Highlighter colors
  25. 44Singular or plural pronoun
  26. 45Break a fast
  27. 47Recipient of many returns
  28. 48Forest frolicker
  29. 49Comment made with a wink
  30. 52Central character in Toni Morrison's "Jazz"
  31. 55Itty-bitty mint
  32. 56Make like new
  33. 57Part of a canopy
  34. 59Newsroom figures
  35. 60Surfaces and Zenbooks
  36. 61One-___-million chance
  37. 62Cow's greeting
  38. 63Colorado time zone, for short
  39. 64Tax ID
  40. 65Texting format

Down

  1. 1Gush
  2. 2New York ___ Workers Alliance (drivers' union)
  3. 3Features of May-December relationships
  4. 4Not that long ago
  5. 5Obnoxious people
  6. 6Fossil-yielding rock
  7. 7Something that offers little consolation
  8. 8"This one's ___!"
  9. 9Eye drop?
  10. 10Amass over time
  11. 11Underwear brand whose logo is often misremembered as featuring a cornucopia
  12. 12Deeply regretted
  13. 13Likelihood
  14. 24The "A" of PTA (Abbr.)
  15. 25Not obsessed with anymore
  16. 26Shore sight
  17. 27"___ Code" (opera podcast)
  18. 29Tilts
  19. 30Egyptian goddess
  20. 31Doing nothing
  21. 32Like some lingerie
  22. 35Tiny charged particle
  23. 36Didn't dine out
  24. 42Frothy lavender drink, perhaps
  25. 44Fairy's under-the-pillow find
  26. 46"In other words . . ."
  27. 48Nightclubs with mirrored balls
  28. 49Letters before ://
  29. 50"Unless I'm mistaken . . .," in a text
  30. 51Clickable desktop images
  31. 52Viper's secretion
  32. 53Makes a mistake
  33. 54It may require bubbling in answers
  34. 56Male sheep
  35. 58Prefix with "sexual"

The answer to “Not that long ago” in the USA Today crossword is RECENT — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on July 30, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 4-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.

“Not that long ago” answer

RECENT (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 RECENT.

Why the answer is RECENT

Something from the near past, not ages ago 😉

What does RECENT mean?

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

(adjective)

  • having happened, begun, or been done not long ago; belonging to a past period comparatively close to the present

When else has “Not that long ago” 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.

July 30, 2026 (most recent) → RECENT. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Not that long ago”?

The answer is RECENT, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on July 30, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Not that long ago”?

6 letters: RECENT.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on July 30, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 4-Down.

Can “Not that long ago” 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 July 30, 2026 is on the USA Today answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

USA Today Crossword is published by USA Today; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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