By Barbara Lin & Jess Rucks · Edited by Patti Varol

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Across

Down

Crossword clues, hints, and answers

Across

  1. 1. Teddy bear — Answer: SOFTY. Hint: A cuddly nickname for someone gentle and tender-hearted. 🧸
  2. 6. Carousel rider? — Answer: BAG. Hint: An item that may circle around an airport baggage carousel. 🧳
  3. 9. Basaltic plain on the moon — Answer: MARE. Hint: Its name is Latin for “sea,” though it is a dark, flat lunar plain. 🌙
  4. 13. Roadside snack — Answer: STREETTACO. Hint: Picture a handheld Mexican bite bought from a curbside vendor. 🌮
  5. 16. Driver on a movie set — Answer: ADAM. Hint: This performer shares a surname with someone behind the wheel. 🎬
  6. 17. Sign that means it's time to turn around — Answer: NOENTRANCE. Hint: This warning tells you that continuing forward is not allowed. 🚫
  7. 18. Spam musubi wrapper — Answer: NORI. Hint: This savory sea vegetable forms the dark outer wrap around the rice snack. 🍙
  8. 19. White-hot — Answer: SEETHING. Hint: Describe anger or emotion boiling with extreme intensity. 🔥
  9. 20. Lights up — Answer: SMILES. Hint: A happy face does this when joy suddenly appears. 😊
  10. 22. Quick kiss — Answer: PECK. Hint: It is a brief, light smooch rather than a lingering one. 💋
  11. 23. Useful spot — Answer: PSA. Hint: This brief message offers helpful information to the public. 📢
  12. 24. Some sci-fi villains — Answer: ETS. Hint: These extraterrestrial baddies come from beyond Earth. 👽
  13. 25. Multipurpose tool — Answer: SPORK. Hint: This hybrid utensil combines the jobs of two familiar table tools. 🍴
  14. 27. Verb coined in "Stranger in a Strange Land" — Answer: GROK. Hint: It means to understand something deeply and intuitively. 📖
  15. 28. Hindi honorific — Answer: SRI. Hint: This respectful title can precede a person’s name in South Asia. 🙏
  16. 29. Berry grown in Ohio? — Answer: HALLE. Hint: The fruit is a playful nod to the famous Ohio-born actress. 🍓
  17. 30. Jordan who won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay — Answer: PEELE. Hint: This filmmaker and comedian shared the Academy Award for a groundbreaking horror screenplay. 🏆
  18. 31. Org chart leader — Answer: CEO. Hint: This executive sits at the top of a company’s reporting structure. 🏢
  19. 32. "Sure, that tracks" — Answer: ISEEWHATYOUMEAN. Hint: Use this phrase to show that another person’s explanation makes sense. 👍
  20. 35. "J to __ L-O!": 2002 remix album — Answer: THA. Hint: This title playfully spells a familiar three-letter article by sound. 🎶
  21. 36. Replacements after leaving marks? — Answer: EUROS. Hint: They took over from Germany’s former currency. 💶
  22. 37. Huffs and puffs — Answer: PANTS. Hint: Someone short of breath may do this after strenuous exertion. 😮‍💨
  23. 38. __ de deux — Answer: PAS. Hint: A ballet term for a performance involving two dancers. 🩰
  24. 39. Mass agreement — Answer: AMEN. Hint: A congregation may say this together at the end of a prayer. 🙏
  25. 40. Huffs and puffs — Answer: RANTS. Hint: Complains loudly and at length. 😤
  26. 41. "Yes, captain" — Answer: AYE. Hint: A nautical affirmative from a crew member. ⚓
  27. 42. Clear (of) — Answer: RID. Hint: Get free from an obligation or burden. 🧹
  28. 43. Clear of contaminants — Answer: PURE. Hint: Unmixed and uncontaminated. 💧
  29. 44. Varied — Answer: RANGED. Hint: Covered a broad assortment or spread. 🌈
  30. 46. Opportunities to learn the hard way — Answer: MISTAKES. Hint: Lessons learned through unsuccessful attempts. 🛠️
  31. 50. Mil. no-show — Answer: AWOL. Hint: Absent from duty without permission. 🪖
  32. 51. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" — Answer: IWANTITALL. Hint: A greedy declaration of wanting everything. 🛍️
  33. 53. "The Goonies" role for Ke Huy Quan — Answer: DATA. Hint: He played the gadget-loving kid in the 1985 adventure film. 🎬
  34. 54. Brings the temperature down, maybe — Answer: TALKSSENSE. Hint: Calms things down by reasoning with everyone. 🗣️
  35. 55. Googly-__ — Answer: EYED. Hint: Describes someone with comically wide, staring eyes. 👀
  36. 56. Fashion letters — Answer: YSL. Hint: The initials of a renowned French fashion house. 👗
  37. 57. Trapped, in a way — Answer: TREED. Hint: Cornered with escape routes blocked by branches. 🌳

Down

  1. 1. Fed. IDs — Answer: SSNS. Hint: Numbers used to identify taxpayers federally. 🪪
  2. 2. Della Warrior's heritage — Answer: OTOE. Hint: This Native American heritage is associated with a Great Plains people. 🪶
  3. 3. Priceless? — Answer: FREE. Hint: It has no cost whatsoever. 🎁
  4. 4. One-night stand, perhaps? — Answer: TENTPOLE. Hint: A campsite shelter that may be pitched for just one evening. ⛺
  5. 5. Frustrated expression — Answer: YETHEREWEARE. Hint: A resigned remark when a situation has reached this point again. 😩
  6. 6. [All of a sudden!] — Answer: BANG. Hint: A sharp sound effect for an unexpected event. 💥
  7. 7. Stanford's gp. — Answer: ACC. Hint: This university competes in a major collegiate athletic league. 🏈
  8. 8. Disbands? — Answer: GOESSOLO. Hint: A musical group may do this when its members split into separate acts. 🎸
  9. 9. Digital art, informally? — Answer: MANI. Hint: A playful pun linking fingertip creativity with artwork on a screen. 🎨
  10. 10. Juvenile — Answer: ADOLESCENT. Hint: A person between childhood and adulthood. 🧑‍🎓
  11. 11. Special indulgences — Answer: RARETREATS. Hint: Occasional luxuries reserved for especially memorable occasions. ✨
  12. 12. Targets of smog checks — Answer: EMISSIONS. Hint: Vehicle exhaust pollutants are measured during these inspections. 🚗
  13. 14. Bridge unit — Answer: TRICK. Hint: In this card game, one round of played cards goes to the highest play. 🃏
  14. 15. Choke — Answer: TANK. Hint: In sports slang, deliberately perform poorly or collapse under pressure. 🏟️
  15. 21. One who tries not to overshadow the star? — Answer: MAKEUPARTIST. Hint: This backstage professional enhances a performer without stealing the spotlight. 💄
  16. 23. Feeds (on) — Answer: PREYS. Hint: Hunts and feeds upon another creature. 🐺
  17. 25. "Shantay, you stay" opposite — Answer: SASHAYAWAY. Hint: The command meaning a contestant is sent home. 👋
  18. 26. "This is important" — Answer: PLEASENOTE. Hint: A formal way to draw attention to a key message. 📌
  19. 27. Mount — Answer: GETON. Hint: A phrasal verb meaning board or climb onto something. 🚌
  20. 29. Top tunes — Answer: HITPARADE. Hint: A ranking of the most popular songs. 🎶
  21. 30. Trimmed (down) — Answer: PARED. Hint: Reduced in size or scope. ✂️
  22. 33. Hair curler? — Answer: HUMIDITY. Hint: The atmosphere’s dampness can give locks an unexpected curl. 🌫️
  23. 34. 1982 Hall & Oates song — Answer: MANEATER. Hint: This early-eighties hit warns of a ferocious romantic predator. 🎵
  24. 40. Shows signs of age — Answer: RUSTS. Hint: Develops the reddish coating associated with weathered metal. 🧲
  25. 43. Chappell Roan's "__ Pony Club" — Answer: PINK. Hint: Complete the title of the singer’s brightly colored club-themed song. 🎤
  26. 45. Chuffed — Answer: GLAD. Hint: Feeling genuinely pleased is a good start here. 😊
  27. 46. Edina, Minnesota is home to the first U.S. indoor one — Answer: MALL. Hint: Think of a covered shopping destination where many stores share one roof. 🛍️
  28. 47. Lucci role — Answer: KANE. Hint: Susan Lucci's famous daytime-drama character fits this entry. 📺
  29. 48. Conditional word in Python — Answer: ELSE. Hint: In a Python decision, this word handles the alternative branch. 🐍
  30. 49. Blair Braverman vehicle — Answer: SLED. Hint: This winter conveyance glides over snow, often behind a team of dogs. ❄️
  31. 52. Portrayed — Answer: WAS. Hint: A simple past-tense form can mean “portrayed” in a sentence. 🎭

Recent LA Times Answers

The last 7 days of solutions

Need today's LA Times Crossword answers? The full solution to the daily Los Angeles Times puzzle — dated August 15, 2026 — sits at the top of this page, updated the moment the new grid is released. The LA Times crossword is one of the most widely syndicated puzzles in America, printed in hundreds of papers and played free online, so millions solve it every day. Whether you're checking a finished grid, stuck on a single square, or want the whole answer key, every across and down solution is listed below.

Full LA Times Crossword answer list for today

Every clue from today's grid next to its solution — the same answers as the board above, in one plain list you can scan without tapping.

Today's LA Times Crossword answers

Today's solution appears above, split into Across and Down exactly as the puzzle numbers them. If you only need one word, each answer is listed separately so you can reveal the clue that's stumping you and keep going on the rest. The grid is confirmed and refreshed daily as soon as the LA Times publishes it, so this is always the fastest place to check today's answers.

About the LA Times Crossword

The Los Angeles Times crossword is a syndicated daily 15×15 puzzle (with a larger Sunday grid) distributed by Tribune Content Agency, which means it appears in newspapers far beyond Los Angeles and online across many sites. Edited by Patti Varol, it's known for being friendly and accessible — smooth, fair cluing with playful themes — which makes it a favourite for solvers who find the toughest end of the New York Times week too punishing. It follows a gentle-to-harder weekly arc, but even its late-week puzzles tend to be more approachable than the NYT's Fridays and Saturdays.

How the LA Times puzzle compares to the NYT

They're both classic American 15×15 crosswords, but they have different reputations:

LA TimesNYT (main)
Grid size15×15 (larger Sunday)15×15 (21×21 Sunday)
DifficultyAccessible, smoothRamps to a hard Saturday
CostFree onlineGames subscription
Cluing styleFair, playful themesHeavy wordplay, misdirection
Best forEveryday solversSolvers who want a stiff challenge

Tips for solving the LA Times Crossword

  • Crack the theme early. LA Times puzzles are usually themed, and the long theme answers often share a twist — spotting it hands you several long entries at once.
  • Start with the fill-in-the-blanks. They're the quickest points and flood the grid with crossing letters.
  • Trust the crossings. A clue you can't get alone usually falls once its crossing words are in place.
  • Watch the endings. Plurals end in S, past-tense answers in ED — free letters once you notice the clue's tense.
  • Use the solver for one answer. Our crossword solver reveals a single clue's answer from your known letters, without spoiling the rest.

Browse past LA Times answers

Every previous LA Times puzzle is archived on this page by date, with its complete across and down solutions. It's the quickest way to check yesterday's grid, finish a Sunday you set aside, or track down a clue you couldn't crack. The archive updates automatically each day — today's answers roll into it as the next puzzle publishes — so it stays complete without spoiling the current day.

Browse more puzzles on the crossword solver, or use it to crack any clue from any publication.

Frequently asked questions

What are today's LA Times Crossword answers?

The full Across and Down solution for today's puzzle (August 15, 2026) is listed at the top of this page, updated as soon as it's released.

What time is the LA Times Crossword released?

The puzzle is available daily, typically overnight, so it's ready first thing each morning. We post the answers as soon as the grid goes live.

Is the LA Times Crossword harder than the NYT?

Generally it's more accessible — smooth, fair cluing with playful themes, and its late-week puzzles are gentler than the NYT's Fridays and Saturdays.

How do I reveal just one answer?

Each answer is listed separately here, or use the crossword solver to reveal a single clue's answer from your known letters.

Where can I find past LA Times answers?

Every previous puzzle is in the archive on this page, listed by date with full solutions, updated automatically each day.