Crescent moon, for instance

Latest answer — June 30, 2025

23 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, June 30, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Guitar accessory
  2. 5Inventor Nikola with a car named after him
  3. 10Garment for Dracula
  4. 14Big Stuf cookie
  5. 15Exchange of negative commercials
  6. 16Certain draft picks?
  7. 17"My heavens!"
  8. 19Bout enders, for short
  9. 20Shift, Tab and Return
  10. 21Nine-digit ID
  11. 22Nickname for Haydn or Hemingway
  12. 23Crescent moon, for instance
  13. 25"Hold it right there!"
  14. 27Occupation
  15. 28Bay Area airport code
  16. 30Great Lakes tribe
  17. 31Walk heavily, as through muck or snow
  18. 33___ Alamos, N.M.
  19. 35Beast that brays
  20. 36Classic Robert De Niro line in "Taxi Driver" ... or a hint for 17-, 25-, 51- and 61-Across
  21. 41Noah's ___
  22. 42Total up
  23. 43"Fiddlesticks!"
  24. 45George Jetson's dog
  25. 48Timothy Leary's drug of choice
  26. 50___ Lanka
  27. 51"Absolutely, positively not!"
  28. 55No longer on one's plate
  29. 57Sheepish look, maybe
  30. 58Murmur during a massage
  31. 59___ bean
  32. 60"___ we forget"
  33. 61"I'm done with you"
  34. 65Italy's Villa d'___
  35. 66Parisian cap
  36. 67"Hello, sailor!"
  37. 68Eye annoyance
  38. 69Carne ___ (grilled dish)
  39. 70Aloha State goose

Down

  1. 1Gear tooth
  2. 2"Where the Wild Things ___"
  3. 3Baby's game
  4. 4Moves like molasses
  5. 5Art town NNE of Santa Fe
  6. 6End of a school's email address
  7. 7Nothing-but-net sound
  8. 8Cowboy's rope
  9. 9Sporting event venue
  10. 10Counterpart of a dog lover
  11. 11Base that dissolves in water
  12. 12Magazine with a celebrity on almost every cover
  13. 13Pieces of 1,000 words or so
  14. 18Soapmaking supplies
  15. 23Comfy clothes for sleepytime
  16. 24"___ camoly!"
  17. 25Cashmere or angora
  18. 26Where eggs hatch
  19. 29Carping
  20. 32Buyer's protection
  21. 34Mighty Mighty Bosstones music genre
  22. 35"No ifs, ___ or buts"
  23. 37Ancient city fooled by a horse
  24. 38Not being used
  25. 39A milk drinker may have one
  26. 40Raison d'___
  27. 44Confession in a confessional
  28. 45They're right at 90°
  29. 46Most achy
  30. 47Serpentine
  31. 49Hand out hands
  32. 52___ the Hutt ("Star Wars" villain)
  33. 53"Now I remember!"
  34. 54The so-called "Princess of Power"
  35. 56Birdlike
  36. 59Crumbly cheese in a Greek salad
  37. 62Gave sustenance to
  38. 63Particle that's either positive or negative
  39. 64Sea "sí"

The answer to “Crescent moon, for instance” in the New York Times crossword is PHASE — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on June 30, 2025, a Monday puzzle, at 23-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.

“Crescent moon, for instance” answer

PHASE (5 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 PHASE.

Why the answer is PHASE

PHASE is the 5-letter solution that fits "Crescent moon, for instance" in the NYT Crossword crossword on June 30, 2025 (23-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does PHASE mean?

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

(noun)

  • a distinct period or stage in a series of events or a process of change or development
  • each of the aspects of the moon or a planet, according to the amount of its illumination, especially the new moon, the first quarter, the full moon, and the last quarter
  • a genetic or seasonal variety of an animal's coloration

When else has “Crescent moon, for instance” 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.

June 30, 2025 (most recent) → PHASE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Crescent moon, for instance”?

The answer is PHASE, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on June 30, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Crescent moon, for instance”?

5 letters: PHASE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on June 30, 2025 (a Monday puzzle), at 23-Across.

Can “Crescent moon, for instance” 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 June 30, 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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