Starting point

Latest answer — December 08, 2025

45 Across

Think of where a journey or idea begins. 🚩

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, December 08, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Sir's counterpart
  2. 6Folded Mexican snack
  3. 10Young chap
  4. 13"___ is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings": Robert Benchley
  5. 14Sean of "The Lord of the Rings"
  6. 16Chicken ___ king
  7. 17Wyoming skiing mecca
  8. 19Female pig
  9. 20Gold, in Spanish
  10. 21Dessert with icing
  11. 22Motor City hoopster
  12. 24Run out of clothes?
  13. 26Like an envelope that's ready to be sent
  14. 28___ Major (constellation)
  15. 30"Enola Holmes" actress ___ Bobby Brown
  16. 32Bicycle shorts material
  17. 35Computer image
  18. 37ID checkers at an airport
  19. 39Gallery-filled Big Apple neighborhood
  20. 40Finger or toe ... or, when read as two words, what you can do to the ends of 17- and 62-Across and 10- and 34-Down
  21. 41"Get outta here!"
  22. 42Artificial colorant
  23. 43Half of a train track
  24. 44"That's boring!"
  25. 45Starting point
  26. 48Grand ___ (achievement in baseball or tennis)
  27. 50Hardest to find
  28. 52"Let me clarify ..."
  29. 56Gesture suggesting "I see what you did there"
  30. 58Top poker cards
  31. 60Monarch at Versailles
  32. 61Golfer's target ... or prize
  33. 62End successfully
  34. 65Comedian Wong
  35. 66Medieval stringed instruments
  36. 67"___, meenie, miney, mo"
  37. 68Crunchy sandwich, for short
  38. 69Camp shelter
  39. 70Religious ceremonies

Down

  1. 1Magic charms
  2. 2Not together
  3. 3Interior design
  4. 4Genesis boat
  5. 5The eyes may have it
  6. 6Scuba gear
  7. 7Remnants of a volcanic spew
  8. 8Corp. exec overseeing engineers, say
  9. 9Stuff on an artist's palette
  10. 10Eleventh-hour
  11. 11Potatoes, in Indian cooking
  12. 12From ___ to dusk
  13. 15Actor Sam of "Jurassic Park"
  14. 18Acorn droppers
  15. 23Salt, in Paris
  16. 25Money across the Atlantic
  17. 27Messages on which you might be cc'd
  18. 29Iraqis and Iranians
  19. 31Biblical brother of Jacob
  20. 32Psychedelic tab
  21. 33Toy on a string that's not a kite
  22. 34Center of a stone fruit
  23. 36Film special effects, for short
  24. 38After-hours source of $$$
  25. 40Lost moisture
  26. 41Nonspecific amount
  27. 44Pet that stores food in cheek pouches
  28. 46Author Fleming
  29. 47What empty stomachs do
  30. 49In ___ of
  31. 51No longer available
  32. 53"There ___ enough hours in the day"
  33. 54"That's the truth!"
  34. 55Mosaic pieces
  35. 56Covering over a wound
  36. 57Pause in the action
  37. 59"It's gonna ___ you!"
  38. 63Hwy.
  39. 64Early Chinese dynasty

The answer to “Starting point” in the New York Times crossword is ORIGIN — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 8, 2025, a Monday puzzle, at 45-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.

“Starting point” answer

ORIGIN (6 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 ORIGIN.

Why the answer is ORIGIN

Think of where a journey or idea begins. 🚩

What does ORIGIN mean?

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

(noun)

  • the point or place where something begins, arises, or is derived
  • the more fixed end or attachment of a muscle
  • a fixed point from which coordinates are measured

When else has “Starting point” 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 8, 2025 (most recent) → ORIGIN. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Starting point”?

The answer is ORIGIN, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 8, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Starting point”?

6 letters: ORIGIN.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on December 8, 2025 (a Monday puzzle), at 45-Across.

Can “Starting point” 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 8, 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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