Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates

Latest answer — June 26, 2026

28 Down

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Crossword

This clue's Friday, June 26, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1Hectic time for JFK
  2. 5Bar of note?
  3. 9Texter's "Hang on a sec"
  4. 12Tightfisted sort
  5. 14Took an Uber, say
  6. 15Top banana
  7. 16Biggest restaurant size that nevertheless is often topped?
  8. 19Logic gate that is only on when neither input is
  9. 20Like many films in teaser trailers
  10. 21Spanish "both"
  11. 23Top banana, for short
  12. 24Ocean-mapping instruments
  13. 25Upper limit that cannot be exceeded
  14. 29Torment
  15. 30Symbol in the Kentucky Derby logo
  16. 31Jazz singer Anita
  17. 33Holders of nets
  18. 34Schlepped
  19. 35SCOTUS head count
  20. 36"Got it"
  21. 37Those for
  22. 38Sing like Sinatra
  23. 39Mickey Mouse
  24. 41Jewelry fasteners
  25. 42___ will
  26. 43Slangy response to a knock at the door
  27. 44Onetime rap group whose initials spell out a synonym for "Jump Around," appropriately
  28. 49Unresponsive, maybe, for short
  29. 51Current affairs?
  30. 53Polite request
  31. 54Public transport option
  32. 55Popular toys, in a plural form officially discouraged by their maker
  33. 56___ admin (I.T. role)
  34. 57"Look, here's the deal ..."
  35. 58Refuses to

Down

  1. 1Group of mutants
  2. 2Expert on cosmos?
  3. 3Expert on the cosmos
  4. 4"To be," in Tijuana
  5. 5Goals for those in a rush, informally
  6. 6Golf great McIlroy
  7. 7Unlikely scenarios, in techspeak
  8. 8Vacillated
  9. 9[WRONG!]
  10. 10Level
  11. 11Two-pronged fastener
  12. 13Was used up
  13. 15Stan's workplace on "American Dad!," for short
  14. 17Places to go in the U.K.
  15. 18Spur
  16. 22Third-generation Japanese American
  17. 24Draped garment
  18. 25Resting place
  19. 26Pulitzer-winning poet Aiken
  20. 27"Later, dude!"
  21. 28Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates
  22. 30Chess tactic in which the king and queen are attacked simultaneously by a single piece
  23. 32Itches
  24. 34Personalize for
  25. 38Like offspring in a strictly asexual lineage
  26. 40___ Nam
  27. 41Likely contact point of an uppercut
  28. 43Self-driving car company started by Google
  29. 44Closes (in)
  30. 45Big name in skin care
  31. 46Some missed-exit maneuvers, informally
  32. 47Poli-___ (certain college major, for short)
  33. 48Smartphone predecessors, for short
  34. 50Second: Abbr.
  35. 52Copy cats?

The answer to “Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates” in the New York Times crossword is PANOPTICON — a 10-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on June 26, 2026, a Friday 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.

“Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates” answer

PANOPTICON (10 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 PANOPTICON.

Why the answer is PANOPTICON

PANOPTICON is the 10-letter solution that fits "Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates" in the NYT Crossword crossword on June 26, 2026 (28-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does PANOPTICON mean?

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

(noun)

  • a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed

When else has “Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates” 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.

June 26, 2026 (most recent) → PANOPTICON. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates”?

The answer is PANOPTICON, a 10-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on June 26, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates”?

10 letters: PANOPTICON.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on June 26, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 28-Down.

Can “Prison design that allows one guard to keep watch on all the inmates” 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 June 26, 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.

Crossword Clues

Looking up a clue? Jump into today's answers and clue help from top puzzles.