It's not optional

Latest answer — January 25, 2026

34 Down

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, January 25, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Baggage accessory
  2. 6Apple TV comedy that received 20 Emmy nominations for its first season
  3. 14In which baby spiders develop
  4. 20Home of Diego Velázquez's "Las Meninas"
  5. 21"I want to hear about that!"
  6. 22Makeshift replacement for a Kleenex
  7. 23"That cabinet with plates looks awfully full"
  8. 25Triangular sail
  9. 26Food court pizzeria
  10. 27Some M.I.T. grads, for short
  11. 28Resort amenity
  12. 30Bob who hosted "America's Funniest Home Videos"
  13. 31A noble gas
  14. 33It's good for the long haul
  15. 36Sphere of creativity
  16. 38Private investigator, informally
  17. 41Cheese in a wax coating
  18. 43"It's saying you completed the marathon in under two hours, which can't be right"
  19. 45Persian Gulf nation
  20. 47Sneaker brand that popularized cantilever heels
  21. 49Mix up
  22. 50Actress Edebiri of "The Bear"
  23. 51"Is that a cough I hear?"
  24. 54Event for V.I.P. customers
  25. 58The planets in our solar system, e.g.
  26. 59Sci-fi princess
  27. 60Stretchy material
  28. 62Freight barge
  29. 63Not fantastical
  30. 65La Città Eterna
  31. 67Haunted house sound
  32. 69Something to use on your break?
  33. 70"Sorry, we'll have to put the old panes back in"
  34. 75Group of humpbacks
  35. 76___ Bora (embattled Afghan region)
  36. 77Tel ___
  37. 78Designer Saint Laurent
  38. 79Little bits of energy
  39. 81New Zealanders, familiarly
  40. 84Color of undyed linen
  41. 86Course that doesn't require much studying
  42. 89"Gimme, gimme!"
  43. 91"Those pancakes are piled way too high!"
  44. 94Boxy transport
  45. 95Part of a bouquet, in Bogotá
  46. 96Like close-fitting clothes
  47. 97It's just under a foot
  48. 98"Your emery board will never fit in this tiny toiletry bag"
  49. 103Undesirable roommate
  50. 105Word found in all but four state constitutions, but not the U.S. Constitution
  51. 106Part of M.O.
  52. 107Symbol of transformation in "The Silence of the Lambs"
  53. 109Isn't feeling great
  54. 111Large flightless birds
  55. 112National Poetry Mo.
  56. 114"That ship ___ sailed"
  57. 116Beverage brewed outside using natural heat
  58. 120___ beef
  59. 122"Your waiter's nowhere to be seen!"
  60. 126Passes
  61. 127Chips may go into it
  62. 128Jane who received a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
  63. 129Have no stomach for
  64. 130Doesn't care for
  65. 131Unexpected jerk

Down

  1. 1Major N.Y.S.E. events
  2. 2Beat handily
  3. 3"See ya later!"
  4. 4Deck out
  5. 5Walk
  6. 6Cable co. that was purchased by AT&T; in 1999
  7. 7"What ___?"
  8. 8William, Edward and Harry, e.g.
  9. 9To a ___ degree
  10. 10Stage booster
  11. 11Domain for salty dogs
  12. 12Urges to attack, with "on"
  13. 13What this hand has: AAKQ6
  14. 14Fluency-building subj.
  15. 15Prosthetic facial feature of Peter Falk
  16. 16Convey
  17. 17Pete who co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer"
  18. 18Skin care company
  19. 19Football snapper
  20. 24Thingamabob
  21. 29Either side of a cheerleader's "A"
  22. 32Kind of orange
  23. 34It's not optional
  24. 35Silicon Valley giant
  25. 37Easily detached
  26. 38Pioneering DVR brand
  27. 39George Orwell's first name at birth
  28. 40Purchase for the Atari 2600
  29. 42One cutting corners
  30. 44Neat
  31. 46One of Adolf Anderssen's sacrifices in the "Immortal Game" against Lionel Kieseritzky
  32. 48"Trade discount" quintet
  33. 52German for "city"
  34. 53Something to pitch
  35. 54Univ. worker
  36. 55Site-seeing list?
  37. 56Forte
  38. 57Animal whose name sounds like a pronoun
  39. 61V-shaped designs
  40. 64Visit, as for a safety check
  41. 66Mathematician Lovelace
  42. 68Human organ with the ability to regenerate itself
  43. 70Frayed
  44. 71Court order
  45. 72With, in Oise
  46. 73Exam marks
  47. 74N.H.L. team with the longest Stanley Cup drought, familiarly
  48. 75Smallest Canadian prov.
  49. 80Canning package?
  50. 82Mallorca, por ejemplo
  51. 83Reason for turbulence
  52. 85Anatomical appendage that only humans and gorillas have
  53. 87Modern "seize the day"
  54. 88Stunned
  55. 90Computer model inputs
  56. 92Ship that transported the Golden Fleece
  57. 93Hardly a team player
  58. 95Betrays, in a way
  59. 98Like an unnatural smile
  60. 99Tech debut of 2007
  61. 100Examine creepily
  62. 101___ Mae Brown (Whoopi's role in "Ghost")
  63. 102World's most-produced organic compound
  64. 104Puts up a false front
  65. 108Property of curium, but not cerium
  66. 110Eavesdrop, e.g.
  67. 113Surrealist Magritte
  68. 115Fit of irritation
  69. 117Fish in niçoise salad
  70. 118Cuts off
  71. 119Actor Brody of "The O.C."
  72. 121"Spring forward" hrs.
  73. 123Illegally interfere with, as an election
  74. 124Remote abbr.
  75. 125Special ___

The answer to “It's not optional” in the New York Times crossword is MUST — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on January 25, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 34-Down. 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.

“It's not optional” answer

MUST (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 MUST.

Why the answer is MUST

MUST is the 4-letter solution that fits "It's not optional" in the NYT Crossword crossword on January 25, 2026 (34-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does MUST mean?

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

(verb)

  • be obliged to; should (expressing necessity)
  • expressing an opinion about something that is logically very likely

When else has “It's not optional” 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.

January 25, 2026 (most recent) → MUST. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “It's not optional”?

The answer is MUST, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on January 25, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “It's not optional”?

4 letters: MUST.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on January 25, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 34-Down.

Can “It's not optional” 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 January 25, 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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