Focus of many a small private college

Latest answer — August 02, 2026

43 Across

Think of the humanities and creative disciplines often emphasized at such schools 🎨

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, August 02, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Pen name
  2. 4Garment whose name is a homophone for a board game
  3. 8Keywords accompanying a YouTube video, say
  4. 12Bellyaches
  5. 17Listing of what's on tap
  6. 18Story
  7. 19It's right around the present
  8. 20Phone notifications
  9. 22"For our ad, how should we list the car that we found in the ditch?"
  10. 25Massachusetts city named for a colonial patriot
  11. 26Like phone numbers in infomercials
  12. 27Team players
  13. 29Boggy place
  14. 30Rightmost word on the front of a penny
  15. 31Their horns don't honk
  16. 33Kerfuffles
  17. 34Moccasin decoration
  18. 35"Physics is like ___: Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" (quote attributed to Richard Feynman)
  19. 36Ankle part
  20. 39"... and how do we add that it was just struck by lightning?"
  21. 41"You will be ___"
  22. 42What's to be with Québec?
  23. 43Focus of many a small private college
  24. 44"... and that the tailpipe is dragging on the ground?"
  25. 4919th-century school item
  26. 51Emulates Cicero
  27. 52Food or water
  28. 54Cover with a black rectangle, say
  29. 58Useful pointers?
  30. 59Rascal
  31. 62Tech models since 1998
  32. 65Country with the all-time greatest number of medals at the Winter Olympics: Abbr.
  33. 66Quickbeam and Leaflock, in fantasy
  34. 67"... and what about the leaky roof?"
  35. 69Point of intersection
  36. 70"Here ___!"
  37. 71Mideast language
  38. 72Surprising result
  39. 73Pretend
  40. 74Achilles, e.g.
  41. 76Family nickname comparable to the Yiddish "bubbe"
  42. 78Smooth, now
  43. 79Gains prominence
  44. 82"... and the broken door locks?"
  45. 86"___ just in ..."
  46. 88Big name in plastic
  47. 90Rudimentary seeds
  48. 91"... and the defective speaker system?"
  49. 93Rudimentary
  50. 94Calling card, for short?
  51. 97Safari destinations?
  52. 98Drink in a red, white and blue cup
  53. 99Donahue on TV Guide's list of "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time"
  54. 100Yemeni neighbor
  55. 102Old gridiron org. for the Boston Patriots
  56. 103End of "Our Town" or "A Doll's House"
  57. 105Spectacular flops
  58. 108Upholsterer's sample
  59. 110"... and finally, the missing front tires?"
  60. 112Capital of Zimbabwe
  61. 113Pupil's surroundings
  62. 114Like toms and drakes
  63. 115State as fact
  64. 116U-Haul alternative
  65. 117Legend who occasionally used his head to achieve greatness
  66. 118SoCal sch.
  67. 119Pink part of a Mr. Potato Head set

Down

  1. 1Caption below the first of two photos
  2. 2Opposite of exodus
  3. 3Dumbbell exercises
  4. 4Giant or dwarf
  5. 5___-de-camp
  6. 6Backs out, say
  7. 7Indignation
  8. 8Ninnies
  9. 9What someone flat-footed lacks
  10. 10Like an honorable knight
  11. 11They might be on one's radar
  12. 12Pet
  13. 13Porters, for example
  14. 14Race prior to a race?
  15. 15Fifth-year student leader at Hogwarts
  16. 16Barely runs?
  17. 17Fruit snack brand
  18. 21Excites
  19. 23Again and again, in verse
  20. 24Over-the-top performers
  21. 28Item on a rack
  22. 32Mercedes alternative
  23. 34Idly doodling, maybe
  24. 37How the car in this puzzle's theme would be sold
  25. 38Blog feed letters
  26. 40Disrelishes and then some
  27. 41Hands (out)
  28. 42Linguistic suffix
  29. 44"Fabulous!"
  30. 45It has a rind but supposedly no rhyme
  31. 46Deliberately malicious
  32. 47Opposite of "You'll pay for that!"?
  33. 48God who aids the Trojan fleet in the first book of the "Aeneid"
  34. 50Long stories have them
  35. 53Runs out of gas
  36. 55Divinely elect
  37. 56Old yeller?
  38. 57Faddish
  39. 59California's Big ___
  40. 60Keeps in the loop, electronically
  41. 61Similar (to)
  42. 63Pioneering astronaut Jemison
  43. 64"The Good Wife" figure: Abbr.
  44. 67Declares off limits
  45. 68Fix a litter problem?
  46. 69Show signs
  47. 71Palm off (on)
  48. 73Mooch
  49. 75Hangs on a clothesline
  50. 77Isis Naija Gaston, ___ Ice Spice
  51. 78Madonna's "La ___ Bonita"
  52. 80Kick out
  53. 81Planned detour
  54. 83"Shark Tank" shark Greiner
  55. 84Horror franchise that includes 1992's "Army of Darkness"
  56. 85It all adds up to this
  57. 86"West Side Story" conflict
  58. 87Edmund who wrote "View From the Summit"
  59. 89"Now, wait just one minute!"
  60. 91Suppress
  61. 92Like cheesecake vis-à-vis sponge cake
  62. 93"That was a close one!"
  63. 94What wets the appetite?
  64. 95"The idea!"
  65. 96Penny pincher
  66. 99Intrinsically
  67. 101Jazz singer Carmen
  68. 103Part of a plot, at times
  69. 104The third one is dangerous
  70. 106Once-common fish in the Thames
  71. 107Veal cordon ___
  72. 109Smidgen
  73. 111Inits. at sea

The answer to “Focus of many a small private college” in the New York Times crossword is ARTS — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 2, 2026, a Sunday 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.

“Focus of many a small private college” answer

ARTS (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 ARTS.

Why the answer is ARTS

Think of the humanities and creative disciplines often emphasized at such schools 🎨

What does ARTS mean?

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

(noun)

  • the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power
  • the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance
  • subjects of study primarily concerned with human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects)

When else has “Focus of many a small private college” 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.

August 2, 2026 (most recent) → ARTS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Focus of many a small private college”?

The answer is ARTS, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 2, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Focus of many a small private college”?

4 letters: ARTS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on August 2, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 43-Across.

Can “Focus of many a small private college” 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 August 2, 2026 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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