Excellent, average or bad, depending on the context

The answer to “Excellent, average or bad, depending on the context” in the New York Times crossword is MEAN — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on March 22, 2025, a Saturday puzzle, at 43-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.

“Excellent, average or bad, depending on the context” answer

MEAN (4 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 MEAN.

Why the answer is MEAN

MEAN is the 4-letter solution that fits "Excellent, average or bad, depending on the context" in the NYT Crossword crossword on March 22, 2025 (43-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does MEAN mean?

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

When else has “Excellent, average or bad, depending on the context” 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.

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

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