NYT Crossword
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
By Brad Wiegmann
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. What you eat — Answer: DIET
- 5. Campfire confection — Answer: SMORE
- 10. Mama ___ of the Mamas & the Papas — Answer: CASS
- 14. Clearasil target — Answer: ACNE
- 15. Hawkeye — Answer: IOWAN. Hint: Think of what you’d call someone from the state whose teams are the Hawkeyes. 🏈
- 16. Sound of a horse's hoof — Answer: CLOP
- 17. Standard musical progression — Answer: PENTATONICSCALE
- 20. Dry and withered — Answer: SERE
- 21. "Dinner's ready!" — Answer: SOUPSON
- 22. High court judge? — Answer: CHAIRUMPIRE
- 26. Joke (around) — Answer: KID
- 27. Whale groups — Answer: PODS
- 28. Michael of "The Man Who Would Be King" — Answer: CAINE
- 29. Joint thing in the Venn diagram of "instruments" and "fish" — Answer: BASS
- 30. "That's so sweet!" reactions — Answer: AWS
- 31. Semaphore device — Answer: FLAG
- 32. Patty or Selma, to Bart Simpson — Answer: AUNT
- 33. Basketball or baseball, but not boxing — Answer: TEAMSPORT
- 36. Frozen dessert franchise — Answer: TCBY
- 38. New Zealander — Answer: KIWI
- 39. Denali, e.g.: Abbr. — Answer: MTN
- 42. Heads of Hogwarts? — Answer: LOOS
- 43. Spry — Answer: AGILE
- 45. Free-spirited aesthetic — Answer: BOHO
- 46. "Ick!" — Answer: EWW
- 47. Matching pair on many jets — Answer: TWINENGINES
- 49. Massachusetts locale of Manchester-by-the-Sea — Answer: CAPEANN
- 51. "Yikes!" — Answer: EGAD. Hint: When something surprises you, this exclamation might just slip out! 😲
- 52. Requirement at some comedy clubs ... or for 17-, 22-, 33- and 47-Across? — Answer: TWODRINKMINIMUM
- 57. Like a gut course — Answer: EASY
- 58. African country that's another African country minus its final two letters — Answer: NIGER
- 59. Generic canine name — Answer: FIDO
- 60. Breads for Reuben sandwiches — Answer: RYES
- 61. "Beau ___" — Answer: GESTE. Hint: Think of a noble act often celebrated in stories! 🎭
- 62. Leak slowly — Answer: SEEP
Down
- 1. Fist bump — Answer: DAP. Hint: It’s a quick, friendly greeting shared with a knuckle tap. 👊
- 2. Skating exhibition — Answer: ICESHOW
- 3. Groups of nine — Answer: ENNEADS
- 4. Classic falling-block game — Answer: TETRIS
- 5. Basic dog command — Answer: SIT
- 6. It's heard in a herd — Answer: MOO
- 7. ___ goal (soccer blunder) — Answer: OWN
- 8. Gorp tidbit — Answer: RAISIN
- 9. Number added at the end? — Answer: ENCORE
- 10. Cyrillic version of "U.S.S.R." — Answer: CCCP
- 11. From Nome or Juneau — Answer: ALASKAN
- 12. Lone star? — Answer: SOLOIST
- 13. Drops some cash — Answer: SPENDS
- 18. ___ Lingus — Answer: AER. Hint: Think of the Irish airline whose name belongs before “Lingus.” ✈️
- 19. Bird of the W.N.B.A. — Answer: SUE
- 22. Return sender, maybe, in brief — Answer: CPA
- 23. Sch. whose campus is just off Interstate 405 — Answer: UCLA
- 24. Sir's counterpart — Answer: MAAM
- 25. Football, informally — Answer: PIGSKIN
- 29. Slowly ___ surely — Answer: BUT
- 31. Tina who hosted the debut of "Saturday Night Live UK" — Answer: FEY
- 32. "Entourage" agent Gold — Answer: ARI
- 33. Atlanta-based network — Answer: TBS
- 34. Leaves together? — Answer: PILE
- 35. Actor Wilson — Answer: OWEN
- 36. ___ zone (no-parking area) — Answer: TOWAWAY
- 37. Yoga stance on all fours — Answer: COWPOSE
- 39. Term of friendship for a French woman — Answer: MONAMIE
- 40. Nickname for Jeffrey Lebowski in "The Big Lebowski" — Answer: THEDUDE
- 41. Those opposed — Answer: NOS
- 42. Villain in "The Silence of the Lambs" — Answer: LECTER
- 43. Cafe canopy — Answer: AWNING
- 44. Companion to Fannie and Freddie in the mortgage biz — Answer: GINNIE
- 45. Major unknowns — Answer: BIGIFS
- 47. Sailor, informally — Answer: TAR
- 48. ___ Z (Zoomers) — Answer: GEN
- 50. "Grand" ice cream brand — Answer: EDYS
- 53. Units in a tonne: Abbr. — Answer: KGS
- 54. Was introduced to — Answer: MET. Hint: Came face-to-face with someone for the first time 🤝
- 55. Wrath — Answer: IRE. Hint: Feeling a bit fiery? 🔥
- 56. Swiffer WetJet, e.g. — Answer: MOP
The answer to “Frozen dessert franchise” in the New York Times crossword is TCBY — a 4-letter word. This clue ran in the New York Times crossword on May 19, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 36-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.
“Frozen dessert franchise” answer
TCBY (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 TCBY.
Why the answer is TCBY
TCBY is the 4-letter solution that fits "Frozen dessert franchise" in the NYT Crossword crossword on May 19, 2026 (36-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.
When else has “Frozen dessert franchise” 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.
May 19, 2026 (this puzzle) → TCBY. We haven't indexed an earlier appearance of this exact clue yet.
More clues from the NYT Crossword on May 19, 2026
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.
- Tina who hosted the debut of "Saturday Night Live UK" → FEY
- Atlanta-based network → TBS
- ___ zone (no-parking area) → TOWAWAY
- Yoga stance on all fours → COWPOSE
- Actor Wilson → OWEN
- New Zealander → KIWI
- Leaves together? → PILE
- Basketball or baseball, but not boxing → TEAMSPORT
Want every clue in one place? The full New York Times answer list for May 19, 2026 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 Tuesday 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 “Frozen dessert franchise”?
The answer is TCBY, a 4-letter word. It appeared in the New York Times crossword on May 19, 2026.
How many letters is the answer to “Frozen dessert franchise”?
4 letters: TCBY.
Where did this clue appear?
In the New York Times crossword on May 19, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 36-Across.
Can “Frozen dessert franchise” 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 May 19, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.