They're often covered with dirt

Latest answer — July 19, 2026

87 Down

These little treasures can sprout into something beautiful, but they start off quite messy! 🌱

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, July 19, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Teacher's summons
  2. 6-
  3. 11Bench press muscle, for short
  4. 14-
  5. 18___ Basin (D.C. attraction)
  6. 19Progeny
  7. 20Didn't turn away
  8. 22Texas A&M; athlete
  9. 23Prefix with media
  10. 24Person providing a sworn account
  11. 25"I really, really appreciate it!"
  12. 27Unspoken communication syst.
  13. 28After-the-fact discount
  14. 29Not fresh
  15. 30Big movie theater chain
  16. 31Website that calls itself "the heart of the internet"
  17. 32Paramedic's skill
  18. 35Reward for a good puppy
  19. 37Harbingers
  20. 39One-named singer with the 1994 hit "You Gotta Be"
  21. 41Score usually resulting from an error, in baseball
  22. 44Like sheep, so to speak
  23. 46Degree holder, informally
  24. 47Displayed audacity
  25. 48The Psychedelic ___ (rock band)
  26. 49Poet ___ St. Vincent Millay
  27. 50Explosive stuff
  28. 51-
  29. 53Dancing hippo's wear in Disney's "Fantasia"
  30. 54-
  31. 55Actress Shirley of "The Apartment"
  32. 57-
  33. 59"Nice idea!"
  34. 61Beethoven's Third
  35. 62David Foster Wallace's "Tense Present," e.g.
  36. 63Conspiring cliques
  37. 65Judge of diamond value?
  38. 66Grab (onto)
  39. 67Word order
  40. 69Britain's most prestigious military decoration
  41. 71Fantasizes about
  42. 73Block someone's passage, say
  43. 74Scribble on, say
  44. 75Egyptian symbol of life
  45. 76Exits
  46. 77Allow to enroll
  47. 79Brand seen on the U.S. World Cup jerseys
  48. 80Gets more expensive
  49. 82Vague approximation
  50. 85Restrictive undergarment
  51. 86Word employment
  52. 88Pia ___ (brain covering)
  53. 89Pained yelps
  54. 90Linings of nautilus shells
  55. 92Hired detectives, for short
  56. 94Slow ___ (Asian primate)
  57. 97-
  58. 98Prefix with -bar
  59. 99-
  60. 101Stayed somewhere temporarily
  61. 104Peak of religion?
  62. 106"No worries!"
  63. 107Number ones
  64. 108You're doing it every day
  65. 109"I'll pass"
  66. 110Bank offering for a property buyer
  67. 111Roommate who doesn't pay rent?
  68. 1122000 Christina Aguilera #1 hit
  69. 113"T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch's ___" (Notorious B.I.G.'s breakfast in "Big Poppa")

Down

  1. 1"Right now!"
  2. 2This clue's number, cubed
  3. 3Hairstyle similar to a bowl cut
  4. 4Top priority on the agenda
  5. 5Strauss opera inspired by a Sophocles tragedy
  6. 6[See title]
  7. 7Baton Rouge institution, familiarly
  8. 8Five Pillars religion
  9. 9Defeat in competition
  10. 10Mötley Crüe frontman Vince ___
  11. 11Accepts a deal from the D.A., say
  12. 12Spanish folk hero
  13. 13Meets head-on?
  14. 14[See title]
  15. 15Nabokov novel
  16. 16Whitesmith's material
  17. 17Doc using an otoscope
  18. 20TV's Don Draper and his co-workers
  19. 21Took orders, say
  20. 26Fortuneteller
  21. 30Calm
  22. 31"Star Wars" character Kylo ___
  23. 32Plastic cap?
  24. 33Tube-shaped pasta
  25. 34Do some road maintenance on
  26. 36Et cetera
  27. 38Clear as ___ (not clear)
  28. 40Western mountain range, informally
  29. 41Arm bones
  30. 42Christmas display pieces
  31. 43E.R. V.I.P.s
  32. 45Classic Italian appetizer
  33. 46Paper source?
  34. 48Rage
  35. 51[See title]
  36. 52Puerto ___
  37. 53Player's club
  38. 54[See title]
  39. 56Despises
  40. 57[See title]
  41. 58Brandy letters
  42. 60Artist Chagall
  43. 62Big heads
  44. 64Travel a winding route
  45. 67They're at the ends of some rainbows
  46. 68Test for M.A. seekers
  47. 69Explorer da Gama
  48. 70Following behind
  49. 72Making a comeback
  50. 73Ambulance initials
  51. 76"Keep it together!"
  52. 77Summer mo.
  53. 78Expression of frustration
  54. 79Sam Elliott's role in "The Big Lebowski"
  55. 81Suppressed, as emotions
  56. 82It's in the pipeline
  57. 83"___ never fly"
  58. 84Asking for a human's attention, perhaps
  59. 87They're often covered with dirt
  60. 91___ slalom (event at the Summer Olympics)
  61. 93Coastal region of ancient Greece
  62. 95The 'gram
  63. 96Pound the pavement?
  64. 97[See title]
  65. 98"You don't need to tell me"
  66. 99[See title]
  67. 100___-Ball
  68. 101Any of the U.C.s
  69. 102Cry of playful discovery
  70. 103Q: Why was the road sticky? A: Traffic ___
  71. 105Kitchen intruder

The answer to “They're often covered with dirt” in the New York Times crossword is SEEDS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 19, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 87-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.

“They're often covered with dirt” answer

SEEDS (5 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 SEEDS.

Why the answer is SEEDS

These little treasures can sprout into something beautiful, but they start off quite messy! 🌱

What does SEEDS mean?

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

(noun)

  • the unit of reproduction of a flowering plant, capable of developing into another such plant
  • a man's semen
  • any of a number of stronger competitors in a sports tournament who have been assigned a specified position in an ordered list with the aim of ensuring that they do not play each other in the early rounds

When else has “They're often covered with dirt” 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.

July 19, 2026 (most recent) → SEEDS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “They're often covered with dirt”?

The answer is SEEDS, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 19, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “They're often covered with dirt”?

5 letters: SEEDS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on July 19, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 87-Down.

Can “They're often covered with dirt” 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 July 19, 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.

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