Smear Crossword Clue

We have the 4-letter answer for Smear crossword clue, last seen in the The Atlantic Crossword August 16, 2026 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

Smear Crossword Answer

→43.

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

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Find more clues, hints, and info below.

SMUDGE

(6 letters)

MALIGN

(6 letters)

DISCREDIT

(9 letters)

HITJOB

(6 letters)

TAR

(3 letters)

Helpful Hints

(noun)
1. a blemish made by dirt
2. an unskillful painting
(verb)
1. coat with plaster
2. cover (a surface) by smearing (a substance) over it

Hint 2: Clue Definition

SMEAR (noun)
1. an act that brings discredit to the person who does it
2. a thin tissue or blood sample spread on a glass slide and stained for cytologic examination and diagnosis under a microscope
SMEAR (verb)
1. charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
2. make a smudge on; soil by smudging

Hint 3: Other Answers Used in the Past

SMUDGE
(6 letters)
MALIGN
(6 letters)
DISCREDIT
(9 letters)
HITJOB
(6 letters)
TAR
(3 letters)

Hint 4: Anagram

Unscramble the letters below to solve for today's answer.
BAUD

More The Atlantic Crossword (8/16/2026) Answers

Across

1. "I'm not going to spell it out"

13. Organization that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012

15. Do again, say

17. Word with fire or farm

18. What some bills become

19. Swim-bike-run event for short

21. What the yellow part of the New Jersey license plate represents, to haters

24. Set

25. Certain subatomic particle

26. Pepper-spray maker

27. ___ Technica (news website)

28. Turned way up

29. "___ Sweet Day" (Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men hit)

30. "___ This Mess" (phrase on some kitschy home decor)

32. Large, in Starbucks jargon

33. Hack (off)

35. First U.S. state, alphabetically

37. Runs away to Las Vegas, maybe

38. Put the kibosh on

39. Spy novelist Deighton

40. Material for some luxe pillowcases

41. Surname of the NFL's J.J. or T.J.

44. Aspect of the sun visible during a total solar eclipse

46. Indigenous people of the Labrador Peninsula

47. Last hurrah

50. Start of a proposal, maybe

52. The "C" of "TLC"

53. Shangri-la, e.g.

55. Light German brew, briefly

56. Alamo alternative

57. Sign in an apartment window, maybe

58. Before, poetically

59. Things in a pillbox, for short

60. Grazes

61. Came together

All Answers

Down

1. “___ Blues” (Beatles song)

2. French assent

3. Vessel that holds "Survivor" votes

4. Part of a treatment plan

5. Taking orders, say

6. Milk conveyor

7. "Scruffy-looking nerf herder" of the Star Wars franchise

8. Like a Möbius strip

9. Big picture?

10. Fresh

11. Supplemental income, for some

12. Gardener's implement

14. Country music?

16. French fish dish sometimes served en amandine

20. Naan event?

21. Classic fireside fare

22. "Thrilla in ___" (legendary Ali-versus-Frazier match)

23. Leopardlike creature

24. Test for some aspiring Ph.D.s

25. Commoner, casually

27. “Force Majeure” setting

30. ___ Aires, Argentina

31. Seasonal-delivery driver?

32. Type of shot, for short

34. Awesomeosity

36. "Awesome!"

41. Soup dumpling

42. Wool from rabbits

43. ___ de los Muertos (fiesta tradicional de México)

45. Overthrows

47. Catfish, for example

48. Silent goodbye

49. Desertlike

50. Get some shut-eye

51. ___ off

54. Bench press target, for short

All Answers