Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters

Latest answer — December 22, 2025

59 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, December 22, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Deep sleeps
  2. 6High-speed Amtrak train
  3. 11Word with punching or sleeping
  4. 14One of a battery's poles
  5. 15Older but ___
  6. 16Under the weather
  7. 17Saxophone, trumpet, piano and bass, perhaps
  8. 19Day-___ paint
  9. 20"Garfield" dog
  10. 21"It's freezing!"
  11. 22Typical "Survivor" locales
  12. 24Rapper ___ Uzi Vert
  13. 25Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, for two
  14. 28Fish that may have an electric charge
  15. 29Stammering sounds
  16. 30Indignation
  17. 31What each U.S. senator represents
  18. 33Raggedy ___
  19. 34Breyers competitor
  20. 35Some exams allow them
  21. 39Cops, slangily
  22. 42Rode the bench
  23. 43Yoga pose
  24. 47Enjoying great success
  25. 49What electric cars don't use
  26. 51Like a 49-Across gauge that's near "Empty"
  27. 52Overly fussy
  28. 54Bit of forensic evidence
  29. 55Pink ___ (rock band)
  30. 56Singer DiFranco
  31. 57Bill
  32. 58Mideast export
  33. 59Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters
  34. 63French "a"
  35. 64Hearing-related
  36. 65Playwright Chekhov
  37. 66Kind of lamp that's energy-efficient
  38. 67Easily irritated
  39. 68Romeo and Juliet, agewise

Down

  1. 1Persuades with flattery
  2. 2Doing keto, perhaps
  3. 3Creator of Firefox and Thunderbird
  4. 4Woodworking tool
  5. 5Orderly arrangement: Abbr.
  6. 6Oscars and Grammys, e.g.
  7. 7Wispy clouds
  8. 8Approx.
  9. 9Harper ___, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
  10. 10Monet or Manet
  11. 11Don't blow it!
  12. 12Reaction to pollen, e.g.
  13. 13Shiny coatings
  14. 18Lyft competitor
  15. 23Heart attack risk factor
  16. 25Cherokee maker
  17. 26"The kissing disease"
  18. 27Em, to Dorothy
  19. 32Foot, in baby talk
  20. 33Word after fire or carpenter
  21. 36Actor Morales
  22. 37Drug agent, informally
  23. 38"No sweat!"
  24. 39Ball batted up and behind the catcher, say
  25. 40Length of a pithy joke
  26. 41Released from jail early
  27. 44Pasta preference
  28. 45Nine-sided figure
  29. 46Stirs from sleep
  30. 48Is over by
  31. 49With a light touch
  32. 50Suffix with problem
  33. 53Gold standard
  34. 57Scourge
  35. 60Shade of color
  36. 61Surgery sites, in brief
  37. 62Beanie or bowler

The answer to “Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters” in the New York Times crossword is SHORTCHANGE — a 11-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 22, 2025, a Monday puzzle, at 59-Across. 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.

“Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters” answer

SHORTCHANGE (11 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is SHORTCHANGE.

Why the answer is SHORTCHANGE

SHORTCHANGE is the 11-letter solution that fits "Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters" in the NYT Crossword crossword on December 22, 2025 (59-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does SHORTCHANGE mean?

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

(verb)

  • cheat (someone) by giving insufficient money as change

When else has “Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters” appeared?

New York Times 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.

December 22, 2025 (most recent) → SHORTCHANGE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters”?

The answer is SHORTCHANGE, a 11-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 22, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters”?

11 letters: SHORTCHANGE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on December 22, 2025 (a Monday puzzle), at 59-Across.

Can “Cheat ... or a punny hint to the four sets of circled letters” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times 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 this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for December 22, 2025 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times 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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