You’re staring at your phone or the physical paper, three cups of coffee deep, and the grid just isn’t grid-ing. It’s a classic New York Times crossword struggle. You see the clue: tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt. Maybe you have the first letter. Maybe you have a "P" or an "R" and you're thinking, "Is it 'raps'? No, that's too short." Crossword puzzles are basically a psychological war between you and the constructor, and today, the constructor is winning.
The NYT crossword doesn't just test your vocabulary. It tests your ability to think like a person who lives in a world of puns, outdated lingo, and very specific cultural niches. When the puzzle asks for someone who tries to talk smoothly in slang, it’s usually looking for a specific four or five-letter word that bridges the gap between old-school cool and modern annoyance.
The Answer You’re Looking For: Pive or Raps?
Usually, the answer to tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt is JIVES.
Wait, or is it RIVE? No. Most often, the puzzle is looking for PIVOT? No, that’s not it either. Let’s be real: the most common culprit is RAPS or JIVES. But if we’re talking about "talking smoothly" or "sweet-talking," you’re likely looking for PIVET—actually, scratch that. It’s SPIFFS? No.
The actual, gold-standard answer for this specific clue is often JIVE. Or, if the clue is looking for something a bit more modern, it might be RIZZ. If you've been living under a rock, "rizz" is the Oxford Word of the Year for 2023, short for "charisma." People with rizz talk smoothly. But the NYT likes to play with older slang too. They love SPIEL. They love PATTER.
The thing is, "slang" in the NYT Crossword can mean anything from 1920s jazz talk to something a TikToker said yesterday. It’s frustrating. It’s a mess. Honestly, it's why we love it.
Why the NYT Crossword Loves Slang
The editor, Will Shortz (or the current team including Joel Fagliano), loves to use "indicator words." When you see "in slang" or "informally" in a clue, it’s a massive neon sign. It means the answer isn't going to be "orates" or "articulates." It’s going to be something like GABS or CHATS.
But "tries to talk smoothly"? That implies effort. It implies a certain level of "hustle."
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If the answer is JIVES, it’s a callback to African American Vernacular English (AAVE) that became mainstream in the mid-20th century. If it’s SHMOOZE, you’re looking at Yiddish influence. The NYT is a melting pot of linguistics. You have to be a polyglot of street talk and Ivy League prose.
Sometimes, the clue refers to MUSH. Ever heard someone "mush-mouth" their way through a conversation? Probably not in 2026, but the crossword doesn't care about what year it is. It cares about what fits the boxes.
Decoding the Difficulty Curve
Crosswords get harder as the week goes on. A Monday clue for tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt might be a very simple RAPS. By Friday or Saturday? You’re looking for something obscure like PALAER or VAMP.
I remember one Saturday puzzle where the clue was just "Talk" and the answer was YAK. Three letters. It took me twenty minutes because I was looking for something much more complex. We overthink. We assume the constructor is smarter than us. They are, but they also want you to finish. Eventually.
- Monday/Tuesday: Expect common words. JIVE, RAPS, CHATS.
- Wednesday: Things get tricky. Maybe SPIEL.
- Thursday: Look for rebuses. Maybe "slang" is part of a larger theme.
- Friday/Saturday: Pure pain. The word might be MAMBO (metaphorically) or something highly specific like GLOSS.
The Etymology of the "Smooth Talker"
Why do we have so many words for talking smoothly? Humans are obsessed with persuasion. From the Greek sophists to the modern "influencer," the ability to manipulate language is a survival skill.
When you're trying to solve tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt, you're tapping into a history of fast-talkers. Think about the "Music Man" or a 1940s film noir protagonist. They don't just talk; they patter. They vamp.
The NYT often uses "slang" to mean "not the King's English." It’s a broad category. If you’re stuck, try to think of verbs that involve your mouth but aren’t "speak."
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- BLAB
- GAB
- JAW
- GAS (as in "gassing someone up")
These are all favorites of the crossword world. They are short, vowel-heavy, and fit perfectly into those tight corners of the grid where you have an "A" and an "S" and nothing else.
The "Rizz" Revolution in Puzzles
Lately, the NYT has been trying to stay "hip." It’s a bit like your dad wearing a backward baseball cap. You’ll see clues that reference "Gen Z slang" or "Internet lingo." If the clue is tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt, keep RIZZED in the back of your mind.
It hasn't appeared as often as JIVE, but the tide is shifting. Crossword puzzles are living documents. They reflect how we speak now, even if "now" is filtered through the lens of a 60-year-old editor in Westchester.
Honestly, the best way to get better at these specific slang clues is to read more than just the news. Read Reddit. Watch a few TikToks. Listen to how people talk in line at a bodega. The NYT is trying to catch up to the street, and that’s where the answers live.
Common Pitfalls for This Clue
Don't get trapped by the word "tries." Sometimes the clue says "tries to talk," but the answer is just the verb for the talking itself. "Tries" might just be flavor text to lead you toward a word like COAX or WHEEDLE.
Wait, WHEEDLE isn't slang. See? I just fell for it too.
The "slang" part of the clue is the most important constraint. It narrows the field from thousands of verbs to a few dozen. If you have __ V E S, it’s almost certainly JIVES. If you have R A P _, it’s RAPS.
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Another one people miss? CON. To "con" someone is to talk smoothly with an ulterior motive. It’s short, it’s slangy, and it fits the "tries to talk smoothly" vibe perfectly if you’re a grifter.
Real Talk: How to Finish Your Grid
If you're still stuck on tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt, it’s time for the "alphabet run."
Go through every letter for the first box. A-ives? B-ives? C-ives? By the time you hit J, it clicks. "Oh, Jive! Like 'Don't jive me, man!'" It’s an old-school expression, but it’s a crossword staple.
Crosswords are about patterns. Once you realize the NYT uses the same twenty "slang" words over and over, you stop being a casual solver and start becoming a pro. You start seeing the "J" and instantly knowing what’s coming.
Actionable Next Steps for Crossword Success
If you want to stop getting stumped by clues like tries to talk smoothly in slang nyt, you need to build a mental library of "crosswordese." These are words that exist almost exclusively in the world of puzzles because of their convenient letter combinations.
- Study the "Shorties": Memorize 3- and 4-letter slang words. YAK, GAB, RAP, JIVE, CON, RIZ. These are the building blocks of any grid.
- Look for the "?" at the end: If a clue ends in a question mark, like "Tries to talk smoothly in slang?", it means there’s a pun involved. The answer might be a play on words, not a literal definition.
- Check the crosses: This sounds obvious, but if you can't get the slang word, solve the words crossing it first. The "J" in JIVE might come from a much easier clue like "Morning brew" (JAVA).
- Use a Crossword Database: If you’re truly defeated, sites like XWordInfo or NYTCrosswordAnswers can show you how often a specific clue has been used before. You’ll find that "talk smoothly" has been clued as JIVE dozens of times over the last twenty years.
- Follow the Theme: If it's a Thursday, the slang word might be part of a larger joke. Don't take it literally. The "smooth talk" might actually be a reference to "butter" or "oil" if the theme is about food.
Getting better at crosswords is just about exposure. The more you play, the more you realize that the constructor isn't trying to hide the answer; they're trying to lead you to it through a very specific, slightly weird path. Grab a pencil, keep your eraser handy, and remember that even the pros get stuck on the slang.