Styling substance

Latest answer — August 17, 2025

27 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, August 17, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Sign off on
  2. 8Feel the pain
  3. 14One of music's Three B's
  4. 18They're paving the way
  5. 20Island with ferries to Ibiza
  6. 21Tangent line?
  7. 22One of the better morning beverages?
  8. 24Zoom background option
  9. 25Hrs. for Augusta in August
  10. 26"___ Q" (1968 hit)
  11. 27Styling substance
  12. 28"C'mon, the car door's open!"
  13. 29Avoid ___ (GPS option)
  14. 32Slice of the economy
  15. 35First non-English-language film to win Best Picture
  16. 37Just one inning left after this?
  17. 40Annual gala locale, with "the"
  18. 41Meat sauce in Italian cooking
  19. 42Go-getter sorts
  20. 43Trifling
  21. 45View from the Quai d'Orsay
  22. 47Character with a Jamaican accent in Disney's "The Little Mermaid"
  23. 51How a mountain road may rise or fall
  24. 54Threads, e.g.
  25. 57Query of worry
  26. 59Units on a multimeter
  27. 60Seasoning preference when eating Maryland blue crab?
  28. 64Berry plant related to a hawthorn
  29. 65The lion in summer?
  30. 66"So here's my question ..."
  31. 67Humorous ending with hater
  32. 68Sephora competitor
  33. 70Two-pound tomahawk steak, for instance?
  34. 74Underwater respirator
  35. 75Home on the internet, perhaps
  36. 77Prescriptions, for short
  37. 78Arouses
  38. 80Slimy scheme for profit
  39. 83Listing that might include an explanation of benefits
  40. 84Anchors provide this
  41. 85Casual shoe
  42. 89New Jersey?
  43. 91A.C.C. school
  44. 93"Do I *really* wanna start an online bidding war? Hmm ..."?
  45. 99Czech brew
  46. 101Move (over)
  47. 102Michael of R.E.M.
  48. 103The government, at times
  49. 104What Pomeranians do
  50. 106The (middle) sound of "silence"
  51. 108"___ but a scratch"
  52. 109Creature in Magic: The Gathering
  53. 110Give an extra perk to a cigarette smoker?
  54. 115Finish filming
  55. 116___ Attucks, Revolutionary War casualty who posthumously became an abolitionist symbol
  56. 117Cherish
  57. 118No side
  58. 119Become gooey over, as cheese atop a hot burger
  59. 120They're usually found to the left of Q's

Down

  1. 1Actor Will of "BoJack Horseman"
  2. 2British cry of approval
  3. 3Scary snake
  4. 4Joseph who co-invented rocky road ice cream
  5. 5Obstruction to teamwork, maybe
  6. 6Greek crosses
  7. 7Sudden surge
  8. 8Round Table title
  9. 9"___ cerveza, por favor"
  10. 10Phileas in "Around the World in Eighty Days"
  11. 11The power of social media from a marketing standpoint, informally
  12. 12Bit of green legislation
  13. 13Hindi for "reign"
  14. 14Sweethearts
  15. 15One of the best coffee beverages ever?
  16. 16Top execs, collectively
  17. 17Charlotte N.B.A. player
  18. 19Montreal newspaper continuously published since 1778, with "The"
  19. 20Get-together
  20. 23French city from which a soup gets its name
  21. 28Merriment, in one spelling
  22. 30Doesn't own, say
  23. 31Largest college fraternity in the U.S., familiarly
  24. 33No U.S. area code starts with this
  25. 34Nutrition figs.
  26. 36Minnesota county whose seat is St. Paul
  27. 38Artfulness
  28. 39Suffix with journal
  29. 44Some natural borders en México
  30. 46Greek goddess of the night
  31. 48Emperor who founded the Mughal Empire
  32. 49Palindromic constellation
  33. 50Noggin
  34. 51Latin for "only"
  35. 52What fugitives are on
  36. 53What might confirm the worst for an athlete's injury?
  37. 54Many a Bahraini
  38. 55Old El ___ (Tex-Mex brand)
  39. 56Game with an annual World Series since 1970
  40. 58Collapses, with "over"
  41. 61Smartphone clock function
  42. 62A bobcat is one, technically
  43. 63...
  44. 69Actress Bancroft
  45. 70Many-time N.B.A. All-Star Tatum
  46. 71Boot out of Australia?
  47. 72Creature with flat, transparent larvae called "leptocephali"
  48. 73___ change
  49. 74Vodka-and-lime cocktail
  50. 76Metal material used for dishware before porcelain became popular
  51. 79Ta-tas
  52. 81In the style of
  53. 82School bathroom sign
  54. 83Spin a yarn, perhaps?
  55. 86Progressive inits. in the U.S. Congress
  56. 87Puts icing on
  57. 88Methuselah's father
  58. 90Paramount+ docuseries with real-life crime stories
  59. 91Like Manhattan in the 80s and 90s?
  60. 92Cialis alternative
  61. 94Long-eared pal of Pooh
  62. 95Country whose name Americans spell with a "z"
  63. 96Stymie
  64. 97Abode that's abuzz
  65. 98"Ah, that's right!"
  66. 100Trickles
  67. 105Vowelless attention-getter
  68. 107Traveling in waves, say
  69. 110Vintage film channel
  70. 111Milestone for a start-up, for short
  71. 112Sister figure
  72. 113Pre-___ (exercise program in advance of surgery)
  73. 114Vowelless rebuke

The answer to “Styling substance” in the New York Times crossword is GEL — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 17, 2025, a Sunday puzzle, at 27-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.

“Styling substance” answer

GEL (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 GEL.

Why the answer is GEL

GEL is the 3-letter solution that fits "Styling substance" in the NYT Crossword crossword on August 17, 2025 (27-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does GEL mean?

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

(noun)

  • a thick, clear, slightly sticky substance, especially one used in cosmetic or medicinal products
  • a semi-rigid slab or cylinder of an organic polymer used as a medium for the separation of macromolecules

When else has “Styling substance” 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.

August 17, 2025 (most recent) → GEL. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Styling substance”?

The answer is GEL, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 17, 2025.

How many letters is the answer to “Styling substance”?

3 letters: GEL.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on August 17, 2025 (a Sunday puzzle), at 27-Across.

Can “Styling substance” 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 August 17, 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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