Octet on a chessboard

Latest answer — September 13, 2025

28 Down

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Saturday, September 13, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Student's plan
  2. 16Italian pianist who composed the scores for "Nomadland" and "The Father"
  3. 17Sort of habitat in a bottle garden
  4. 18Gumbo ingredients
  5. 19Top
  6. 20California's ___ Nuevo State Park
  7. 21Contests
  8. 22Contents of Pandora's box
  9. 24Some baseball stats
  10. 25The 21,728th page of 1989's 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary
  11. 26Bad way to make a group decision
  12. 27Batman : Bruce :: Wonder Woman : ___
  13. 28Stray
  14. 29Place for driving
  15. 30Rolled chip brand from Mexico
  16. 31MX-5 and CX-50 maker
  17. 32Province in the names of many Chinese restaurants
  18. 33Great volumes
  19. 34Petunia's partner, in cartoons
  20. 35Rounded, in a way
  21. 36Jazz form
  22. 39Botanical bristles
  23. 40Origin of "The Tale of Genji," considered by many to be the world's first novel
  24. 41Mountain West campus city
  25. 42Network
  26. 43Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
  27. 44Beer alternative to a 38-Down
  28. 45Pooped
  29. 49Completely at ease
  30. 50"I mean, duh!"

Down

  1. 1Hollow, of a sort
  2. 2Actor Kieran of "Succession"
  3. 3Found darling
  4. 4South Asian crepes
  5. 5What are ahead of their times?
  6. 6Prefix with point
  7. 7Much of a comet, typically
  8. 8The solution referred to in Sherlock Holmes's "seven-per-cent solution"
  9. 9You and me both!
  10. 10Stops lying, say
  11. 11Jet-black stone
  12. 12Much of Jupiter
  13. 13Vegetable also called a Swedish turnip
  14. 14DNA compound whose name includes the letters D, N and A
  15. 15Pink-flowered tree
  16. 22Basketball Hall-of-Famer Baylor
  17. 23Who you would be in France?
  18. 24Watermelon detritus
  19. 26Fine
  20. 27Out of it
  21. 28Octet on a chessboard
  22. 29Instant ___
  23. 30Former Australian prime minister Malcolm
  24. 31Home to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, in brief
  25. 32"What's the alternative?"
  26. 33Like about 4% of the citizens of Kansas
  27. 34Soft, yellow fruit
  28. 35Salsas, e.g.
  29. 36"No acting up!"
  30. 37Like paper napkins
  31. 38Beer alternative to a 44-Across
  32. 40Tilt
  33. 41___ test (home inspection component)
  34. 43Yours, in Tours
  35. 44Whose business is just around the block?
  36. 46Chemistry class unit: Abbr.
  37. 47"___ Beso"
  38. 48Unprocessed

The answer to “Octet on a chessboard” in the New York Times crossword is RANKS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 13, 2025, a Saturday puzzle, at 28-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.

“Octet on a chessboard” answer

RANKS (5 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 RANKS.

Why the answer is RANKS

RANKS is the 5-letter solution that fits "Octet on a chessboard" in the NYT Crossword crossword on September 13, 2025 (28-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does RANKS mean?

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

(noun)

  • a position in the hierarchy of the armed forces
  • a single line of soldiers or police officers drawn up abreast
  • the people belonging to or constituting a group or class

When else has “Octet on a chessboard” 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.

September 13, 2025 (most recent) → RANKS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Octet on a chessboard”?

The answer is RANKS, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 13, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Octet on a chessboard”?

5 letters: RANKS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on September 13, 2025 (a Saturday puzzle), at 28-Down.

Can “Octet on a chessboard” 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 September 13, 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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