Lead-in to "drink and be merry"

Latest answer — December 23, 2025

27 Across

It’s the mealtime verb that comes before the familiar festive invitation to drink and celebrate 🍽️

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, December 23, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Longtime CBS procedural with multiple spinoffs
  2. 5Highly capable
  3. 10Ctrl+S command
  4. 14Alternative to check or credit card
  5. 15Secondary subject for a college student
  6. 16Short video
  7. 17Appropriately named bus driver on "The Simpsons"
  8. 18Alternative to épée or foil, in British English
  9. 19Tokarczuk who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature
  10. 20Classic Hanukkah treat
  11. 23Brownish-yellow fabric
  12. 24Institution of higher education, to a Brit
  13. 25Sleeper's breathing problem
  14. 27Lead-in to "drink and be merry"
  15. 28Classic classroom party treat
  16. 31Antitrust enforcement org.
  17. 32Unfortunate accident
  18. 34Clever
  19. 36Highly pleased about
  20. 38Colored, as church glass
  21. 39Classic Halloween treat
  22. 41It's part of the job
  23. 44Prefix with classic
  24. 45Carve
  25. 49Take advantage of
  26. 50"Where'd you hear that?"
  27. 54Dream Team country, for short
  28. 55Take responsibility
  29. 57Cry from a movie director
  30. 59Classic Yuletide treat
  31. 63Prayer ender
  32. 64This should clear things up!
  33. 65Reject, as a bill
  34. 66Nothing, in Nogales
  35. 67Cries out
  36. 68Biblical garden

Down

  1. 1Sgt. or cpl.
  2. 2Go off a ski jump, say
  3. 3"Oh, really?"
  4. 4Tried to identify, in a way, as a wrapped gift
  5. 5Playground retort
  6. 61990s internet option
  7. 7With all judges present
  8. 8___ de Rossi, "Arrested Development" actress
  9. 9Aspen or pine
  10. 10Reporter's big get
  11. 11Just for grins
  12. 12Short version of an impactful story
  13. 13Org. regulating water safety
  14. 21Insect that emerges en masse every 13 or 17 years
  15. 22Kind of salad whose dressing contains anchovies
  16. 23Former N.B.A. star Shawn with the nickname "Reign Man"
  17. 26Nailed, as a test
  18. 29"Once ___ a time ..."
  19. 30Character played by Bruce Lee on "The Green Hornet"
  20. 33___ Finn
  21. 35One of three on the pitchfork in "American Gothic"
  22. 37Big Apple org. that's going to blazes?
  23. 38Flat-bottomed boat
  24. 40"That's correct!"
  25. 41Resident of Pisa or Lucca
  26. 42Condition that may require an inhaler
  27. 43Get more than a little mad
  28. 46Like many a dress shirt, with "in"
  29. 47Top execs, colloquially ... or what 20-, 28-, 39- and 59-Across are, phonetically?
  30. 48Make negative remarks about
  31. 50Not on the up and up, slangily
  32. 51In a fitting way
  33. 52Breaks (into), as a computer system
  34. 53Middle name for Lennon starting in 1969
  35. 56"Escape (The ___ Colada Song)"
  36. 58Sign of peace
  37. 60Sallie or Fannie follower
  38. 61Hand-y communication method, for short?
  39. 62Drink slowly

The answer to “Lead-in to "drink and be merry"” in the New York Times crossword is EAT — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 23, 2025, a Tuesday puzzle, at 27-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.

“Lead-in to "drink and be merry"” answer

EAT (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 EAT.

Why the answer is EAT

It’s the mealtime verb that comes before the familiar festive invitation to drink and celebrate 🍽️

What does EAT mean?

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

(verb)

  • put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it
  • perform fellatio or cunnilingus on (someone)

When else has “Lead-in to "drink and be merry"” 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.

December 23, 2025 (most recent) → EAT. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Lead-in to "drink and be merry"”?

The answer is EAT, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 23, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Lead-in to "drink and be merry"”?

3 letters: EAT.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on December 23, 2025 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 27-Across.

Can “Lead-in to "drink and be merry"” 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 December 23, 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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