One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe

Latest answer — September 07, 2025

44 Down

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, September 07, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Where Gloria Estefan was born
  2. 7Hairstyle that can be casual or formal
  3. 11Relative of a sultan
  4. 15Strikebreaking sort
  5. 19One who gives a good talking-to?
  6. 20Spring's opposite, tidally
  7. 21Constant nuisance
  8. 22Mansión, por ejemplo
  9. 23As the British pound rises in value, the dollar ___
  10. 25Sure things
  11. 27Area with pews
  12. 28Part of many a morning routine
  13. 29Equipment
  14. 30Orchestra section toward the middle of the pit
  15. 31With 76-Down, individually
  16. 33Fury
  17. 34After spending the afternoon at Epcot, we had dinner at a ___ bistro
  18. 36Ancestor of the tuba or sousaphone
  19. 38Low-quality paper?
  20. 39Like a naughty Beetle Bailey, in brief
  21. 40Overdone
  22. 41The "E" of Q.E.D.
  23. 43Depleted
  24. 48Facetious suffix with most
  25. 51Did Joyce write courtesy of a ___?
  26. 55Blunt negative
  27. 56Philosopher who purportedly said "The best fighter is never angry"
  28. 58Have a bawl
  29. 59Son of Hanna-Barbera's Doggie Daddy
  30. 60Reason to relocate a picnic blanket, maybe
  31. 61Borneo neighbor
  32. 63Female moose or elephant
  33. 65Fish-eating raptors
  34. 66Dab with a towel
  35. 67Subdivisions of some counties: Abbr.
  36. 68An increase in ham prices forced the deli to ___ sandwiches higher
  37. 71Begged
  38. 72Scorch the surface
  39. 73Andean stimulant
  40. 74Source of the films "The Blues Brothers" and "Coneheads," in brief
  41. 75Gerald Ford or William Howard Taft, once
  42. 78Peter, Paul and Mary, e.g.
  43. 79Words before sea or lunch
  44. 81Summer mo.
  45. 83Decks for reading
  46. 84Biblical preposition
  47. 85To Washington ___, Germany, seemed far from Tarrytown, N.Y.
  48. 88Big word in advertising
  49. 89Toady
  50. 91Buzz, so to speak
  51. 92Charles or Ray who lent their name to a kind of chair
  52. 94Unpleasant look
  53. 97Social gathering of a sort
  54. 98Certain canines
  55. 102Some Californians consider Santa ___ on Earth
  56. 107___-cone
  57. 108Stockpile
  58. 109Anesthetic first used on a patient in 1842
  59. 110"Fine as is, actually"
  60. 111Canada's first national park, founded in 1885
  61. 113"___ Three Lives" (early TV drama)
  62. 114The shark-warning notes of "Jaws," for example
  63. 116The supermodel was holding a copy of ___ herself on the beach
  64. 118Tackle box item
  65. 119Home makeover, in brief
  66. 120Election Day is one: Abbr.
  67. 121Work on the score of
  68. 122Carbon compound
  69. 123Beat one's chest
  70. 124Set of pull-ups?
  71. 125Very high

Down

  1. 1Schmooze
  2. 2___ Afghan Airlines, carrier to the Mideast
  3. 3Parts of a heart or trumpet
  4. 4No fewer than
  5. 5"Stat!"
  6. 6Media personalities Melber and Fleischer
  7. 7Remove a restraint from
  8. 8Irk
  9. 9Have the nerve
  10. 10Special ___
  11. 11Buddy who portrayed TV's Jed Clampett
  12. 12Peninsula in southeast Asia
  13. 13Consecutively
  14. 14Somnial acronym
  15. 15Aquatic acronym
  16. 16Collection of laws
  17. 17"Jeez, sorry I ___!"
  18. 18Sarastro in Mozart's "The Magic Flute," e.g.
  19. 24Product of the first three primes
  20. 26Tiny house occupants
  21. 29Get crazy (over)
  22. 32Pushes with force
  23. 34Smears
  24. 35Directs, as cargo
  25. 37Edmonton N.H.L. player
  26. 38International shoe brand originating in England
  27. 42Extremely loyal
  28. 44One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe
  29. 45Why do none of the Fruit of the Loom characters ___-colored clothing?
  30. 46Current
  31. 47Annoyance
  32. 48Trains above street level
  33. 49White wine named for a region in France
  34. 50Peeping ___ for Lady Godiva to appear
  35. 52Like some philosophical arguments
  36. 53Taj Mahal's city
  37. 54Numbskull
  38. 57Bar with drafts
  39. 62Love, in Lyon
  40. 64Spots to go in the U.K.
  41. 69End of any Shakespeare play
  42. 70Powerless
  43. 71Space balls
  44. 72Bed-___ (Brooklyn neighborhood, familiarly)
  45. 73Shakespeare, vis-à-vis the expression "brave new world"
  46. 76See 31-Across
  47. 77Sydney's state: Abbr.
  48. 80How some risks are taken
  49. 82Immaturity
  50. 86Secluded valley
  51. 87"Take it easy, will you?!"
  52. 90Startle
  53. 93Mounted below the surface of
  54. 95___ Sunday
  55. 96Body part containing photoreceptors
  56. 99Relating to the wind's movement
  57. 100Vingt + dix
  58. 101Equivocated
  59. 102Ball girl?
  60. 103Didn't dine out
  61. 104Large safari sight
  62. 105Intoxicating Asian plant whose name sounds like an insect
  63. 106Clear, in a way, as a windshield
  64. 107Beaver State capital
  65. 111Sight of a speeding car, maybe
  66. 112Season ticket holders, presumably
  67. 115Spherical shape
  68. 116Info for a traveler, for short
  69. 117Follower of waste and want

The answer to “One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe” in the New York Times crossword is ENABLER — a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 7, 2025, a Sunday puzzle, at 44-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.

“One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe” answer

ENABLER (7 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 ENABLER.

Why the answer is ENABLER

ENABLER is the 7-letter solution that fits "One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe" in the NYT Crossword crossword on September 7, 2025 (44-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does ENABLER mean?

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

(noun)

  • a person or thing that makes something possible

When else has “One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe” 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 7, 2025 (most recent) → ENABLER. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe”?

The answer is ENABLER, a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 7, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe”?

7 letters: ENABLER.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on September 7, 2025 (a Sunday puzzle), at 44-Down.

Can “One who's a well-meaning but bad influence on a friend, maybe” 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 7, 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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