"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"

Editorially verified for the Sep 30, 2026

21 Down

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A chicken crossing a road.

Clue explained

DID completes the familiar joke-opening question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” It is the past-tense helping verb that makes the question grammatical.

Clue type:
Fill-in-the-blank

NYT Midi Crossword

This clue's Wednesday, September 30, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1School stat
  2. 4Gently apply
  3. 7Hawaiian neckwear
  4. 8Gardener's watering aid
  5. 9Screw up
  6. 10Like a tooth that's barely attached
  7. 11To the ___ degree
  8. 12"Baseball is 90% mental. The ___ half is physical" (quote attributed to Yogi Berra)
  9. 13Whiskey barrel material
  10. 15Org. with auditors
  11. 16To the point
  12. 19Signs, as an important document
  13. 20"Only playing with you!"
  14. 22Dessert slice that a Trivial Pursuit game token resembles
  15. 23Big name in jeans
  16. 24Muddy enclosure
  17. 25Observed

Down

  1. 1Powell of 2025's "The Running Man"
  2. 2Cheeky
  3. 3Tabletop game with a plastic puck
  4. 4Thingamajig
  5. 5Not shy about speaking one's mind
  6. 6Sudsy six-pack
  7. 8Like a ghost pepper
  8. 10Mischievous Norse god ... or a homophonic hint to the ends of 3- and 4-Down
  9. 14Cooling appliances: Abbr.
  10. 16Nurses, as some 6-Down
  11. 17Absolute ___ (slang term for an exceptionally muscular person)
  12. 18River in Egypt
  13. 21"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"

The answer to “"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"” in the New York Times Midi crossword is DID — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 30, 2026 at 21-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"” answer

DID (3 letters)

Use the reveal tiles above to uncover the solution one letter at a time if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Prefer the full answer straight away? It's DID.

What does DID mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of DID is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(verb)

  • perform (an action, the precise nature of which is often unspecified)
  • achieve or complete
  • act or behave in a specified way

When else has “"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"” appeared?

New York Times Midi reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 30, 2026 (most recent) → DID. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"”?

The answer is DID, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 30, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"”?

3 letters: DID.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times Midi crossword on September 30, 2026, at 21-Down.

Can “"Why ___ the chicken cross the road?"” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times Midi sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of today's NYT Midi answers?

Every clue and answer from that day's puzzle is linked above, and the full grid is on the NYT Midi answers page.

New York Times Midi Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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