He was né Clay

Latest answer — July 05, 2026

78 Down

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, July 05, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Firm up
  2. 8Capital city on the Gulf of Guinea
  3. 13Gamer's pursuit
  4. 19Aid for a violin player
  5. 20Crocs and mocs
  6. 21Kind of costume that includes a round hat and kerchief
  7. 22{Elijah, Ruth, Natalie}
  8. 24"Send a quick reminder"
  9. 25"___ it and rip it!" (aggressive golfer's mantra)
  10. 26Org. for those leaving the workforce
  11. 27Product displays seen at entrances to store aisles
  12. 28{Kerouac, Dubya, Ginsberg}
  13. 35Colored
  14. 36Org. that accepts returns
  15. 37Grinders
  16. 41{WC, AC, DC}
  17. 49Jewish mysticism, in one spelling
  18. 50Love, in Lima
  19. 51Card game whose name is shouted
  20. 52Knee part often torn by athletes, in brief
  21. 53At any time
  22. 54Small test subjects
  23. 57Enforcer of traveling restrictions, informally?
  24. 60"The Second Coming" poet, 1919
  25. 62Ragú competitor
  26. 63The Shakespearean version of this has three quatrains followed by a couplet
  27. 66{Bonnie, Oscar, Clyde}
  28. 70Some salon tasks
  29. 71"Hammerin' Hank" of baseball
  30. 72Allow someone to pass
  31. 7530-ounce Starbucks size
  32. 78Old Testament patriarch
  33. 80Close by
  34. 81Early email provider
  35. 82Rightmost hour on a grandfather clock
  36. 85Neighbor of an Estonian
  37. 86Evening that a couple spends together, say
  38. 88{Larry, Sue, Emma}
  39. 94Mexican mister
  40. 95Veer, as a ship
  41. 96Org. concerned with plants
  42. 97{Cinnabon, Kool-Aid, Hi-C}
  43. 107Powerhouse in English football
  44. 110Home to Waikiki Beach
  45. 111California's ___ Linda
  46. 112Rested atop
  47. 113{Landfill, goose feathers, junkyard}
  48. 119Pay no mind to
  49. 120Longtime Tribeca restaurant where some say the Cosmopolitan was invented, with "the"
  50. 121Thousands of binary digits
  51. 122Was overflowing
  52. 123Van Halen of Van Halen
  53. 124Extended voyage

Down

  1. 1Angel's ___ (distiller's term for the whiskey that evaporates during aging)
  2. 2Shinbone
  3. 3Completely incompetent
  4. 4Time for Sat. prep?
  5. 5Marshland
  6. 6Suffix for superlatives
  7. 7Unspecified member of a series
  8. 8Nile dam
  9. 9Triad, e.g.
  10. 10Assume
  11. 11Lead-in to River or Rover
  12. 12Dummkopf
  13. 13Broadcaster of many an N.C.A.A. game
  14. 14Called for quiet
  15. 15Penny ___ (miser)
  16. 16Lingerie brand with a Slavic-sounding name
  17. 17Fun time
  18. 18"___ bon!"
  19. 19Bygone N.Y.C. music venue with rhyming initials
  20. 23Wisconsin's ___ Claire
  21. 27Buddy of "The Beverly Hillbillies"
  22. 29Apt name for a conchologist?
  23. 30Ear-related
  24. 31Yank's Civil War foe
  25. 32What has flatter feet?
  26. 33Achieve success, so to speak
  27. 34Chinese instrument with two strings
  28. 38Sound of an approaching subway train
  29. 39Start of a reminiscence
  30. 40Word with confidence or checkout
  31. 41Do some roadwork on
  32. 42Folk religion akin to voodoo
  33. 43Battered by battle
  34. 44Women's areas in old Muslim palaces
  35. 45Last stage of an insect's development
  36. 46"No way, no how!"
  37. 47Neurosurgeons, e.g.: Abbr.
  38. 48Metric unit of weight
  39. 49Map legend
  40. 55Figs. related to car loans
  41. 56Scottish hill
  42. 58Big bunch
  43. 59Eroded
  44. 61Pouty mood
  45. 63Lead-in to sphere, in the atmosphere
  46. 64"Hey! I know the answer!"
  47. 65Atlantic crosser of 1492
  48. 67Sign outside a broadcast booth
  49. 68Wayne's buddy in "Wayne's World"
  50. 69Admit
  51. 73Really weak, as an excuse
  52. 74Beats by ___ (audio brand)
  53. 75They might be up in arms, informally
  54. 76T. ___ Price (investment firm)
  55. 77"I bought this before ___ went crazy" (rueful bumper sticker on a Tesla)
  56. 78He was né Clay
  57. 79___ pork (dish in a Chinese restaurant)
  58. 83Tale of rustic life
  59. 84"Vidi," in Caesar's boast
  60. 87Satirist Freberg
  61. 89You won't actually die of it
  62. 90Rocks smelted to make steel
  63. 91Conflict sparked by an archduke's assassination: Abbr.
  64. 92San Francisco's ___ Valley
  65. 93Madrid's land, in the Olympics
  66. 98Like Olympic pools
  67. 99Like some cars parked next to "No Parking" signs
  68. 100Vietnam's capital
  69. 101Old-fashioned "your"
  70. 102Soldier for Attila
  71. 103Black suit
  72. 104Good pal
  73. 105Out of gas
  74. 106Lip
  75. 107Settled down, in a way
  76. 108All the ___
  77. 109Kind of wave
  78. 113Last name for an unnamed person
  79. 114Curious
  80. 115Ring result, in brief
  81. 116Secreted away
  82. 117Ron who played Tarzan
  83. 118Two in Tijuana

The answer to “He was né Clay” in the New York Times crossword is ALI — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 5, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 78-Down, and it has also run on 1 earlier date with the same answer. 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.

“He was né Clay” answer

ALI (3 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 ALI.

Why the answer is ALI

ALI is the 3-letter solution that fits "He was né Clay" in the NYT Crossword crossword on July 5, 2026 (78-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

When else has “He was né Clay” 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.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “He was né Clay”?

The answer is ALI, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 5, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “He was né Clay”?

3 letters: ALI.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on July 5, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 78-Down. Earlier appearances: September 28, 2025 → ALI.

Can “He was né Clay” 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 July 5, 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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