Taco topper

Latest answer — July 17, 2026

9 Down

This zesty condiment adds a burst of flavor to your favorite Mexican dish! 🌮

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Friday, July 17, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1L.A.'s region
  2. 6Uno, dos, ___
  3. 10Barbie Pop Star Doll accessory
  4. 13Woodworker's securing tools
  5. 15Georgetown athlete
  6. 16"Well, well, well!"
  7. 17Actor who played Jeevan Chaudhary in "Station Eleven"
  8. 19Native American Heritage mo.
  9. 20Pizzeria fixture
  10. 21"Field of Dreams" setting
  11. 22Triangle or trapezoid
  12. 24"The Star-Spangled Banner" contraction
  13. 25Irritating part of shirts, for some
  14. 26Movie theater preview
  15. 28Exams for aspiring JDs
  16. 30Award that sounds like the initials of "Off-Broadway"
  17. 32___ straw (landscaping product)
  18. 33Roadside assistance org.
  19. 35Challah unit
  20. 37Turf
  21. 38Fold on an expanding folder
  22. 43Lookie-___ (nosy person)
  23. 44Garment often "eaten" by the dryer
  24. 45Down in the dumps
  25. 46Bridge fee
  26. 48They create quite a buzz
  27. 50"Indeed"
  28. 54Claims
  29. 56It's a wonder!
  30. 58Debt slip
  31. 59Spiced yogurt dish
  32. 60Not for here
  33. 62Linnaeus who developed scientific nomenclature
  34. 63Pal
  35. 64"She loves me, she loves me not" item
  36. 67Single
  37. 68Awesome, in slang
  38. 69Part of a space station
  39. 70Paystub abbreviation
  40. 71Trees mentioned in the "Iliad"
  41. 72Button that might be pressed with an unbent paperclip

Down

  1. 1Class-y place?
  2. 2One of the seven species in the Torah
  3. 3Shutterbug's gadget
  4. 4"Hard agree"
  5. 5Audiophile's stack
  6. 6Bring to room temperature
  7. 7Trial period in the first year of some Ph.D. programs
  8. 8Optic organ
  9. 9Taco topper
  10. 10Iconic da Vinci painting
  11. 11"That would be horrible"
  12. 12Paid for
  13. 14Branch of Islam
  14. 18___ stick
  15. 23Trendy
  16. 25Former Russian rulers
  17. 27Harvests
  18. 29"___ Te Ching"
  19. 31Chap
  20. 34Pueblo brick
  21. 36Calgary NHL player
  22. 38Priest's assistant
  23. 39Adult who might take kids to their first concert
  24. 40Clashed or crashed
  25. 41Weather event with freezing rain
  26. 42Rave genre (Abbr.)
  27. 47Permit
  28. 49Smudged herb
  29. 51Short pause
  30. 52Team spirit
  31. 53Hairstyle popularized by the Beastie Boys
  32. 55Social faux pas
  33. 57Invertebrate in a compost bin
  34. 61Has to repay
  35. 62Hand over
  36. 65Short, for short
  37. 66___ favor

The answer to “Taco topper” in the USA Today crossword is SALSA — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on July 17, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 9-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.

“Taco topper” answer

SALSA (5 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 SALSA.

Why the answer is SALSA

This zesty condiment adds a burst of flavor to your favorite Mexican dish! 🌮

What does SALSA mean?

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

(noun)

  • a type of Latin American dance music incorporating elements of jazz and rock
  • (especially in Latin American cooking) a spicy tomato sauce

When else has “Taco topper” 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 17, 2026 (most recent) → SALSA. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Taco topper”?

The answer is SALSA, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on July 17, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Taco topper”?

5 letters: SALSA.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on July 17, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 9-Down.

Can “Taco topper” 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 17, 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.

Crossword Clues

Looking up a clue? Jump into today's answers and clue help from top puzzles.