Drop the ball Crossword Clue

We have the 3-letter answer for Drop the ball crossword clue, last seen in the NYT Crossword August 19, 2026 puzzle. This answer will help you finish the puzzle you’re working on.

Drop the ball Crossword Answer

↓22.

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

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MESSUP

(6 letters)

SLIPUP

(6 letters)

BLOWIT

(6 letters)

FLUB

(4 letters)

FAIL

(4 letters)

EII

(3 letters)

Helpful Hints

(verb)
1. wander from a direct course or at random
2. to make a mistake or be incorrect

Hint 2: Clue Definitions

BALL (noun)
1. a lavish dance requiring formal attire
2. United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular television program (1911-1989)
BALL (verb)
1. form into a ball by winding or rolling
DROP (noun)
1. a shape that is spherical and small
2. a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
DROP (verb)
1. remove (cargo, people, etc.) from and leave
2. grow worse

Hint 3: Other Answers Used in the Past

MESSUP
(6 letters)
SLIPUP
(6 letters)
BLOWIT
(6 letters)
FLUB
(4 letters)
FAIL
(4 letters)
EII
(3 letters)

More NYT Crossword (8/19/2026) Answers

Across

1. Sahara-esque

5. Exams for high school jrs.

10. Private sleeping accommodations?

14. "Didn't you get the ___?"

15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak

16. Section in a textbook

17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit)

18. Deceptive move in fencing

19. Depend (on)

20. Natural pillow filling

23. Graffiti, to some

24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand

25. Quinceañeras, e.g.

28. Lifted

30. Services for senior citizens

34. Hybrid tennis attire

36. Word with pan, pump or paint

37. ___ Minor

38. Unofficial vote

41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college

44. "__ got it!"

45. Cats and dogs, for example

48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies

51. Excludes

53. Mount ___ Health System

54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game

56. Something to trust

57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across

62. They offer support

64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps

65. Field

66. Facility

67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot

68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel

69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6

70. Fall bloom

71. Cave wall hangings?

All Answers

Down

1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada

2. Some vacation destinations

3. "My mood is pretty low"

4. Top three sights in Fiji?

5. Like eyes during an allergy attack

6. "Bless you!" elicitor

7. ___ Minor

8. Something that's pitched

9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane

10. Set of courses offered

11. Miserable rating

12. ___ death do us part

13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to

21. Put forth

26. Verbal hesitations

27. Neptune's territory

29. Situations one might no longer put effort into

31. Drop

32. Drop

33. North Carolina university

35. Chicago paper, with "the"

39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho"

40. Not taut

41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer

42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith

43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g.

46. Country bordering Chad and Benin

47. Lecture attendee

49. ___ royale (champagne cocktail)

50. Rat (on)

52. They can be well-done

55. See-through

58. Part of the Corn Belt

59. Important stretches?

60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this

61. What a shepherd may shepherd

62. Bouncy part of a trampoline

63. "A drop of golden sun," in song

All Answers