Practical joke

Latest answer — September 15, 2025

42 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, September 15, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Competitor of Denny's and Waffle House
  2. 5A red cross, for the American Red Cross
  3. 9Headwear for a monarch
  4. 14Home for a Neanderthal
  5. 15Apple tablet
  6. 16Vietnam's capital
  7. 17Ingenious fix (San Francisco)
  8. 20Popular online brokerage
  9. 21Reason for teens to rent a limo
  10. 22Poem of praise
  11. 23Drench
  12. 25Double-click, as a file
  13. 27Hotel discounts for conventioneers (Pittsburgh)
  14. 32Starting alphabet quartet
  15. 35Bank robbery, e.g.
  16. 36One of 18 on a golf course
  17. 37Uncommon
  18. 38Knee part commonly repaired by a sports doc
  19. 39Cracker often eaten with chowder
  20. 42Practical joke
  21. 43Yep's opposite
  22. 45Prompted, on stage
  23. 46Big concert venue
  24. 48Way too uptight
  25. 49Brief appearances by A-listers in films (Baltimore)
  26. 51Location
  27. 53Ford Explorer and Honda CR-V, for two
  28. 54Winter hrs. in D.C.
  29. 56"Really?"
  30. 59Hippie T-shirt technique
  31. 63Coaching axiom suggested by 17-, 27- and 49-Across
  32. 66What each letter in Roy G. Biv represents
  33. 67Common time for lunch
  34. 68Pop ___ (breakfast pastry)
  35. 69Zoom call V.I.P.s
  36. 70Shell-less gastropod
  37. 71Does some summing

Down

  1. 1Summer drink that might cause a brain freeze
  2. 2"Not another step!"
  3. 3Above
  4. 4Winged horse of Greek myth
  5. 5One-dimensional, in math
  6. 6Make a choice
  7. 7Say "Oh, my God!," say
  8. 8Stinky smell
  9. 9___ change (a measly amount)
  10. 10Tattletale
  11. 11Pungent, round deli order
  12. 12Alternative to an iron, in golf
  13. 13Three squared
  14. 18Brings into the family
  15. 19Make less tight
  16. 24Liqueur in a mudslide
  17. 26Part of the body with a lobe
  18. 27Its capital is Accra
  19. 28Spy's info-gathering mission
  20. 29Bright choices for artists
  21. 30___ pole (Native American carving)
  22. 31Skips, as a syllable
  23. 33Common origami bird
  24. 34Edgar ___, "The Ballet Class" artist
  25. 40What security clearance grants
  26. 41Magic Johnson's real first name
  27. 44Hebrew name meaning "high"
  28. 47___ Stone (relic inscribed in three languages)
  29. 50Special trip away from the house
  30. 52Echelons
  31. 54Engrave
  32. 55"Get outta here!"
  33. 57Places to stay overnight
  34. 58Item on a mechanic's belt
  35. 60Out of battery juice
  36. 6136 inches
  37. 62CPR-administering crew, for short
  38. 64Brain ___ (low-quality internet content)
  39. 65"Lemme square up later" note

The answer to “Practical joke” in the New York Times crossword is GAG — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 15, 2025, a Monday puzzle, at 42-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.

“Practical joke” answer

GAG (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 GAG.

Why the answer is GAG

GAG is the 3-letter solution that fits "Practical joke" in the NYT Crossword crossword on September 15, 2025 (42-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does GAG mean?

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

(noun)

  • a piece of cloth put in or over a person's mouth to prevent them from speaking
  • a device for keeping the patient's mouth open during a dental or surgical operation

When else has “Practical joke” 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 15, 2025 (most recent) → GAG. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Practical joke”?

The answer is GAG, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 15, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Practical joke”?

3 letters: GAG.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on September 15, 2025 (a Monday puzzle), at 42-Across.

Can “Practical joke” 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 15, 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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