Contractor's detail, in brief
Crossword Answer — July 28, 2025
NYT Crossword
Monday, July 28, 2025
By Brian Callahan
Tap a square to reveal a letter.
Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.
Crossword clues, hints, and answers
Across
- 1. "Catfish" channel — Answer: MTV
- 4. Center's stat in an N.B.A. game: Abbr. — Answer: REB
- 7. Cole ___ (cabbage dishes) — Answer: SLAWS
- 12. Cry of discovery — Answer: AHA
- 13. Cupid, to ancient Greeks — Answer: EROS
- 15. Combustible fuel for trucks — Answer: DIESEL
- 16. Corn, to a Midwest farmer — Answer: CASHCROP
- 18. Canada's capital — Answer: OTTAWA
- 19. Children's song refrain ("Old MacDonald had a farm ...") — Answer: EIEIO
- 20. Characteristic of a penetrating mind — Answer: KEEN
- 22. "Count me as a yes!" — Answer: IMIN
- 23. Casino no-no — Answer: CARDCOUNTING
- 26. Chapel oath — Answer: IDO
- 29. Casual top — Answer: TEE
- 30. Constellation part — Answer: STAR
- 31. Cloud ___ (blissful spot, in an idiom) — Answer: NINE
- 33. Course standard on the links — Answer: PAR
- 35. Climaxes — Answer: PEAKS
- 39. Carbonated beverage as reintroduced in 1985 — Answer: COCACOLACLASSIC
- 43. Childish retort — Answer: ARESO. Hint: Think of a playful response that kids might use when they feel challenged! 😜
- 44. Chi preceder — Answer: PHI
- 45. Comedian Fey — Answer: TINA
- 46. Croquet locale — Answer: YARD
- 49. Concert equipment — Answer: AMP
- 51. Contribute — Answer: ADD
- 52. College basketball phenom drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2024 — Answer: CAITLINCLARK
- 57. Chain of luxury hotels — Answer: OMNI
- 58. City of Honolulu's island — Answer: OAHU
- 59. Central artery — Answer: AORTA
- 63. Cellphone's weather app, e.g. — Answer: WIDGET
- 65. Clear sailing areas ... or, homophonically, a feature of 16-, 23-, 39- and 52-Across (and every clue in this puzzle!) — Answer: OPENSEAS
- 67. Crested wading birds — Answer: EGRETS
- 68. Crossing guard's command — Answer: WALK
- 69. "Can't believe I missed something so obvious!" — Answer: DUH
- 70. Crowd sounds — Answer: ROARS
- 71. Charlotte Brontë, to Anne and Emily, informally — Answer: SIS
- 72. Complete dump — Answer: STY
Down
- 1. Ceremonial rod — Answer: MACE
- 2. Cuisine with pad see ew — Answer: THAI
- 3. Carnation holder — Answer: VASE
- 4. Cover again, as with paint — Answer: RECOAT
- 5. Calculate something incorrectly, say — Answer: ERR
- 6. Contract from a publisher — Answer: BOOKDEAL
- 7. Command to a dog — Answer: SIT
- 8. "Could you please stop talking about that?!" — Answer: LETITREST
- 9. "Completely the same for me" — Answer: ASAMI
- 10. "Call us the champs!" — Answer: WEWIN
- 11. "Chill," e.g., for "relax" — Answer: SLANG
- 14. Contractor's detail, in brief — Answer: SPEC
- 15. Cousin of a cruller or bear claw — Answer: DONUT
- 17. Cartoon sound from an intoxicated person — Answer: HIC
- 21. Canon camera brand named for a goddess — Answer: EOS
- 24. Certain tow job, informally — Answer: REPO
- 25. California wine valley — Answer: NAPA
- 26. Cuzco dweller of old — Answer: INCA
- 27. Christian of fashion — Answer: DIOR
- 28. "Christmas comes but ___ a year" — Answer: ONCE
- 32. "Calm down there, buddy" — Answer: EASYTIGER
- 34. Cardi B's genre — Answer: RAP
- 36. China's continent — Answer: ASIA
- 37. Compassionate — Answer: KIND
- 38. Copious amount — Answer: SCAD
- 40. Christmas stocking filler for a naughty child — Answer: COAL
- 41. Concoctions with masa, cheese, lettuce and salsa — Answer: CHALUPAS
- 42. Capital of Peru — Answer: LIMA
- 47. Comical sorts — Answer: RIOTS
- 48. Crime lab material — Answer: DNA
- 50. Calls that may start "Is your refrigerator running?," e.g. — Answer: PRANKS
- 52. Cringe out of fear — Answer: COWER
- 53. Compadre — Answer: AMIGO
- 54. Chief Hindu god — Answer: INDRA
- 55. Chicken ___ mein — Answer: CHOW
- 56. Certain bout enders, in brief — Answer: KOS
- 60. Cincinnati baseball team — Answer: REDS
- 61. Completely stretched — Answer: TAUT
- 62. Cinder-covered — Answer: ASHY
- 64. Coneheads, e.g., for short — Answer: ETS
- 66. Cooper and Peyton Manning's QB brother — Answer: ELI
The answer to “Contractor's detail, in brief” in the New York Times crossword is SPEC — a 4-letter word. This clue ran in the New York Times crossword on July 28, 2025, a Monday puzzle, at 14-Down. If it's the entry standing between you and a clean grid, that's the word you need — and below you'll find why it fits, plus links to the day's other clues if more than one square is giving you trouble.
“Contractor's detail, in brief” answer
SPEC (4 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 SPEC.
Why the answer is SPEC
SPEC is the 4-letter solution that fits "Contractor's detail, in brief" in the NYT Crossword crossword on July 28, 2025 (14-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.
When else has “Contractor's detail, in brief” 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 before, and what the answer was each time — handy if you landed here from a puzzle on another date.
July 28, 2025 (this puzzle) → SPEC. We haven't indexed an earlier appearance of this exact clue yet.
More clues from the NYT Crossword crossword on July 28, 2025
Stuck elsewhere in the grid? Here are some of the crossing and nearby clues from the same puzzle — tap any for its answer and explanation.
- Cupid, to ancient Greeks → EROS
- Corn, to a Midwest farmer → CASHCROP
- Characteristic of a penetrating mind → KEEN
- Casino no-no → CARDCOUNTING
- Combustible fuel for trucks → DIESEL
- Cousin of a cruller or bear claw → DONUT
- Cry of discovery → AHA
- "Chill," e.g., for "relax" → SLANG
Want every clue in one place? The full New York Times answer list for July 28, 2025 is on that day's grid page, and today's live NYT Crossword answers are always one tap from the today page.
About the NYT Crossword
The New York Times crossword, edited by Will Shortz, is the most famous daily puzzle in the United States. It runs a 15×15 grid Monday through Saturday and a larger 21×21 grid on Sunday, and its difficulty deliberately ramps through the week: Monday is the most approachable, Saturday the toughest, with Thursday often reserved for a trick or twist like rebus squares. This page covers a Monday puzzle. A straight-definition entry is the kind of solid mid-grid answer that anchors the trickier crossings around it. Because the NYT reuses short, crossing-friendly words regularly, seeing them once makes them easier to spot next time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the answer to “Contractor's detail, in brief”?
The answer is SPEC, a 4-letter word. It appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 28, 2025.
How many letters is the answer to “Contractor's detail, in brief”?
4 letters: SPEC.
Where did this clue appear?
In the New York Times crossword on July 28, 2025 (a Monday puzzle), at 14-Down.
Can “Contractor's detail, in brief” 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 28, 2025 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.