Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally
Crossword Answer — September 24, 2025
NYT Crossword
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
By Peter A. Collins
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Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.
Crossword clues, hints, and answers
Across
- 1. Light touches — Answer: DABS
- 5. Domino features — Answer: PIPS
- 9. Maine-to-Spain direction — Answer: EAST
- 13. Frequently — Answer: ALOT
- 14. MacDowell of "Groundhog Day" — Answer: ANDIE
- 16. Start of a new deal — Answer: ANTE
- 17. Participate in a blindside on "Survivor," say — Answer: VOTE
- 18. Dance craze named for a Southern city — Answer: CHARLESTON
- 20. Possible meaning of 54-/57-Across — Answer: IHOPESO
- 22. Possible meaning of 54-/57-Across — Answer: IMLYING
- 23. Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally — Answer: SAX
- 24. Lead-in to struck or luck — Answer: DUMB
- 26. Fashionable time to arrive, it's said — Answer: LATE
- 27. "Odyssey" figure with many suitors — Answer: PENELOPE
- 30. Carry a debt — Answer: OWE
- 32. Business magnate — Answer: BARON
- 35. A hawk carrying a dove in its talons, in Book 15 of the "Odyssey" — Answer: OMEN
- 36. Affectionate sign-off — Answer: XOX
- 37. Like thrifted goods — Answer: USED
- 38. What's heard exactly twice in a lifetime? — Answer: LONGI
- 40. The Emerald Isle — Answer: EIRE
- 41. Tabs with psychedelic properties — Answer: LSD
- 42. Hang in the balance — Answer: PEND
- 43. Soft volleyball hits — Answer: DINKS
- 44. Jazz genre for Cannonball Adderley — Answer: BOP
- 45. Worked to learn — Answer: INTERNED
- 48. James of "The Godfather" — Answer: CAAN
- 50. Thailand, once — Answer: SIAM
- 51. A.L. West team, on scoreboards — Answer: LAA
- 54. With 57-Across, gesture depicted by this puzzle's circled letters — Answer: FINGERS
- 57. See 54-Across — Answer: CROSSED
- 59. Taunt that may follow a failed gullibility test — Answer: MADEYALOOK
- 61. Bit of merchandise — Answer: WARE
- 62. ___ impasse — Answer: ATAN
- 63. Put off for now — Answer: TABLE
- 64. Situated above — Answer: ATOP
- 65. Witty remark — Answer: JEST
- 66. Craft store item — Answer: BEAD
- 67. "Hey!" — Answer: PSST
Down
- 1. Viola of "The Woman King" — Answer: DAVIS
- 2. "So long, Oahu!" — Answer: ALOHA
- 3. Wrinkle smoother — Answer: BOTOX
- 4. Part of a flight — Answer: STEP
- 5. Clothing chain that began as a surf shop — Answer: PACSUN
- 6. Like some tutoring and eldercare — Answer: INHOME
- 7. Smooching on a park bench, e.g., for short — Answer: PDA
- 8. One who's given many instructions nowadays — Answer: SIRI
- 9. G.P.A. enhancer — Answer: EASYA
- 10. Neutralizing serum — Answer: ANTITOXIN
- 11. Masonry — Answer: STONEWORK
- 12. 100 C-notes — Answer: TENG
- 15. Stately shade provider — Answer: ELM
- 19. 2011 Peace Nobelist ___ Johnson Sirleaf — Answer: ELLEN
- 21. Word aptly hidden in "unspoiled enclave" — Answer: EDEN
- 25. Lightheaded sorts? — Answer: BLONDES
- 27. Capsule — Answer: POD
- 28. [Shocking!] — Answer: OMG
- 29. Least-populous Canadian province: Abbr. — Answer: PEI
- 31. Ones paying or receiving alimony — Answer: EXES
- 32. Future amaryllis, e.g. — Answer: BULB
- 33. Colleague — Answer: ASSOCIATE
- 34. Colorful ring-tailed mammals of Asia — Answer: REDPANDAS
- 38. Spy novelist Deighton — Answer: LEN
- 39. Most-populous Canadian province: Abbr. — Answer: ONT
- 40. Festival at the end of Ramadan, informally — Answer: EID
- 42. Like the scent of some air fresheners — Answer: PINEY
- 43. Floor model, often — Answer: DEMO
- 46. Swiss cough drop brand — Answer: RICOLA
- 47. Squealed: Var. — Answer: NARKED
- 49. Word with double or free — Answer: AGENT
- 51. Hurdles for future J.D.s — Answer: LSATS
- 52. Nestlé bars filled with tiny bubbles — Answer: AEROS
- 53. Skillful — Answer: ADEPT
- 54. Key of Mozart's Symphony No. 6: Abbr. — Answer: FMAJ
- 55. Squealer — Answer: RAT
- 56. Thick piece — Answer: SLAB
- 58. Cashless deal — Answer: SWAP
- 60. U.K. award — Answer: OBE
The answer to “Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally” in the New York Times crossword is SAX — a 3-letter word. This clue ran in the New York Times crossword on September 24, 2025, a Wednesday puzzle, at 23-Across. 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.
“Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally” answer
SAX (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 SAX.
Why the answer is SAX
SAX is the 3-letter solution that fits "Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally" in the NYT Crossword crossword on September 24, 2025 (23-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.
When else has “Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally” 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.
September 24, 2025 (this puzzle) → SAX. We haven't indexed an earlier appearance of this exact clue yet.
More clues from the NYT Crossword crossword on September 24, 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.
- Viola of "The Woman King" → DAVIS
- "So long, Oahu!" → ALOHA
- Wrinkle smoother → BOTOX
- Possible meaning of 54-/57-Across → IMLYING
- Lead-in to struck or luck → DUMB
- Word aptly hidden in "unspoiled enclave" → EDEN
- Lightheaded sorts? → BLONDES
- Possible meaning of 54-/57-Across → IHOPESO
Want every clue in one place? The full New York Times answer list for September 24, 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 Wednesday 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 “Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally”?
The answer is SAX, a 3-letter word. It appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 24, 2025.
How many letters is the answer to “Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally”?
3 letters: SAX.
Where did this clue appear?
In the New York Times crossword on September 24, 2025 (a Wednesday puzzle), at 23-Across.
Can “Cannonball Adderley's musical instrument, informally” 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 September 24, 2025 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.