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The LA Times Crossword offers daily brain-teasing fun, challenging solvers with clever clues across and down. If you’re stuck on today’s March 21, 2026 puzzle, don’t worry—below you’ll find helpful hints and full answers to get you back on track. Whether you need just a few solutions or the entire puzzle completed, our guide is designed to assist without spoiling more than you want. Enjoy sharpening your skills with this classic crossword!

Check back tomorrow for fresh LA Times Crossword hints and answers to keep your solving streak going strong!

Across

• 1A Shell station?: BEACH HOUSE
• 9A Yet: EVEN SO
• 15A The 24 Hours of Le Mans, e.g.: ENDURANCE RACE
• 16A Networking aid: MODEM
• 17A Exams with answers provided by parents: DNA TESTS
• 18A World capital named for a river: OTTAWA
• 19A Headgear that sparked a riot in New York City (1922): STRAW HATS
• 20A Christmas delivery?: CAROL
• 21A Floral gifts for some graduates: LEIS
• 22A American painter James __ Whistler: ABBOT
• 25A Chef’s coat?: BATTER
• 28A Is revealing: BLABS
• 29A Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN
• 30A Waiter’s annoyance: DIN
• 31D Bucket brigade?: TEAM
• 32A Flooring option: TILE
• 33A Unbroken?: IN ONE PIECE
• 34A “Estoy __”: Spanish “I’m doing all right”: BIEN
• 35A Joint-stabilizing band, for short: ACL
• 36A Gold __: LEAF
• 37A Tree cultivated for its seeds more than 5,000 years ago: CACAO
• 38A Magic City residents: MIAMIANS
• 40A Grows darker: DEEPENS
• 41A Offer to treat: MY BILL
• 42A “The Leavers” novelist Ko: LISA
• 43A Marvel hero Cage: LUKE
• 44A Lines from the heart: AORTAS
• 48A Exhausts: TIRES
• 50A Basis of some ratings: STAR SYSTEM
• 51A “Nearly there”: SOON
• 52A Reef denizen: EEL
• 53A “Knock on wood”: I HOPE
• 54A “I won’t ask again!”: LAST CALL

Down

• 1D Exaggerates, in a way: OVERDRAMATIZES
• 2D Family member: BROTHER
• 3D Outstanding: UNPAID
• 4D Blatant fabrication: LIE
• 5D Confirmation question: ARE WE SET
• 6D Open, as a piñata: BASH
• 7D Represent: ACT AS
• 8D Musical pause: REST
• 9D Battleship precursor: DREADNOUGHT
• 10D More than: OVER
• 11D Contracted pupils, perhaps: EYES
• 12D Granita kin: SORBET
• 13D Bit of Persian language?: CAT
• 14D Young fig.: SON
• 22D Rumble: BRAWL
• 23D Outfitter with signature boots: LL BEAN
• 24D Grassy plains: LLANOS
• 25D Flooring option: BAMBOO
• 26D Bring out: ELICIT
• 27D Go out: REPAIR
• 28D Scholarship materials: BIALS (or ESSAYS)
• 30D Designer von Furstenberg: DIANE
• 33D Spanish steps?: PASOS
• 34D React: BEHAVE
• 36D Small digits: LESSER
• 37D Guide for future rulings: PRECEDENT
• 39D Do stuff?: TAXIDERMY
• 40D Natural detox centers: DIETS
• 42D Access, in a way: LOG IN
• 44D Eastern priest: ABBA
• 45D Simple wager choice: ODDS
• 46D Swarm (with): TEEM
• 47D Catherine the Great portrayer Fanning: ELLE
• 48D Exasperated cry: TSK
• 49D Chef Jiro of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”: ONO