___ tide

NEAP

"Here’s a helpful hint for your crossword clue: "Opposite of a spring tide, when the tidal range is smallest." This hint guides the solver by contrasting "neap tide" with its more commonly known counterpart ("spring tide") and emphasizes the key characteristic (smallest tidal range) without directly giving away the answer."

The clue "___ tide" is a fill-in-the-blank style hint that points to a type of tide. The answer "NEAP" refers to a "neap tide," which is a tide with the least difference between high and low water levels, occurring when the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun are perpendicular to each other.