NYT Crossword Answers - Jul 31

By Rafael Musa

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NYT Crossword Clues

Across

Down

Crossword clues, hints, and answers

Across

  1. 1. Withholding something? — Answer: TAX. Hint: What you owe the government when your paycheck feels a little lighter 💸
  2. 4. It'll pass! — Answer: FAD. Hint: Something trendy today may be forgotten tomorrow, no big deal 😌
  3. 7. Silent type — Answer: MIME. Hint: A performer who tells the story without saying a word 🎭
  4. 11. Sex work? — Answer: KAMASUTRA. Hint: Ancient guide to the art of pleasure, not a modern job listing 😉
  5. 14. Screen name — Answer: IMAX. Hint: Big-format cinema where the picture seems to swallow the whole wall 🎥
  6. 15. Tennis feat involving four consecutive major tournament wins in two calendar years — Answer: SERENASLAM. Hint: It’s the rare grand-slam run that spans two seasons and a single unstoppable player 🎾
  7. 16. Grime — Answer: DIRT. Hint: What your shoes pick up after a muddy walk 🥾
  8. 17. Honey, for example — Answer: PETNAME. Hint: A sweet little nickname you might call your sweetheart 💕
  9. 18. Energy source for distance runners — Answer: GEL. Hint: A handy little boost runners often grab mid-race for quick energy ⚡
  10. 20. World Economic Forum, e.g., for short — Answer: NGO. Hint: A global group that pushes big ideas without being a government 😄
  11. 21. Tripping — Answer: ONLSD. Hint: Feeling a little spacey from a psychedelic misadventure 😵
  12. 22. Style secured with a scrunchie — Answer: PONYTAIL. Hint: A practical hairdo that gets gathered up high and kept in place with a band 😄
  13. 24. Tobiko or masago — Answer: ROE. Hint: Tiny fish eggs that add a salty pop to sushi 🍣
  14. 25. Twists of fate, say — Answer: UPSANDDOWNS. Hint: Life’s dramatic highs and lows, in a nutshell 🎢
  15. 28. Pharyngitis docs — Answer: ENTS. Hint: Ear, nose, and throat specialists often handle this kind of throat trouble 😊
  16. 30. Exuding joy — Answer: ALLSMILES. Hint: Beaming with happiness from ear to ear 😄
  17. 31. Went hell for leather — Answer: TORE. Hint: Raced ahead with wild abandon, like you were really tearing it up 🏎️
  18. 33. Cry when shaking hands — Answer: DEAL. Hint: A handshake can seal an agreement, and that’s the sort of moment that might make someone feel a little emotional 🤝
  19. 34. "This is too much" — Answer: ICANTEVEN. Hint: A dramatic way to say you’ve reached peak overwhelm 😵
  20. 37. Blind component — Answer: SLAT. Hint: A window covering that lets you peek through in little strips 😊
  21. 41. Wiseacre — Answer: SMARTYPANTS. Hint: A know-it-all who can’t resist showing off their brilliance 😏
  22. 43. What a closed fist with an extended index finger represents, in A.S.L. — Answer: ONE. Hint: A tiny hand signal can mean the very first number. ☝️
  23. 44. Where to be above all the drama? — Answer: OPERABOX. Hint: A fancy seat with the best view of all the high notes and theatrics 🎭
  24. 45. Pierre : French :: ___ : Russian — Answer: PYOTR. Hint: A Russian version of a familiar name, just with a different flair 😄
  25. 47. Maryland governor Moore — Answer: WES. Hint: A familiar first name for Maryland’s governor, not the one on the ballot sign 😄
  26. 48. Perspective, for short — Answer: POV. Hint: Camera-view shorthand everyone uses in reviews and captions 📷
  27. 49. Casual Friday option — Answer: SNEAKER. Hint: A comfy pick for a relaxed workday, especially when the dress code loosens up 👟
  28. 51. Result of a shopping spree — Answer: HAUL. Hint: What you come home with after treating yourself to a little retail therapy 🛍️
  29. 53. Highly flexible discipline? — Answer: AERIALYOGA. Hint: A calming workout that lets you stretch, balance, and pose while hanging above the floor 🤸
  30. 55. Brazilian state whose name is a unit of measurement — Answer: ACRE. Hint: A place in Brazil shares its name with a small land area used to measure property 🗺️
  31. 56. Relative of a tumbler — Answer: TRAVELMUG. Hint: A cozy cousin of the tumbler that’s built for life on the move ☕
  32. 57. Cuisine with tom kha kai — Answer: THAI. Hint: A fragrant, spicy Southeast Asian favorite 🍜
  33. 58. Business with lockers — Answer: SPA. Hint: A place where you go to unwind, often with robes and quiet lockers nearby. 💆
  34. 59. All good — Answer: SET. Hint: A tidy trio that means everything’s in order 😊

Down

  1. 1. Palm-sized pastry — Answer: TARTLET. Hint: A petite dessert that fits in the palm and packs a fruity punch 🥧
  2. 2. Assenting chorus — Answer: AMENS. Hint: A congregation’s warm reply after a prayer or blessing 🙏
  3. 3. Shangri-La — Answer: XANADU. Hint: A dreamy, legendary place that sounds more like a pop song than a map 🏞️
  4. 4. Make one — Answer: FUSE. Hint: Join two things so they act as one ⚡
  5. 5. Seat of Fulton County: Abbr. — Answer: ATL. Hint: Think of the Georgia capital that hosts the county named for inventor Robert Fulton ✈️
  6. 6. British counterpart to "Shark Tank" — Answer: DRAGONSDEN. Hint: Where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a fiery panel across the pond 🐉
  7. 7. Just OK, in modern lingo — Answer: MID. Hint: A lukewarm rating for something that didn’t quite wow you 😐
  8. 8. "Mind. Blown." — Answer: IMINAWE. Hint: What you say when something is so impressive it leaves you speechless 🤯
  9. 9. Part of Fermat's copy of "Arithmetica" where he wrote his Last Theorem — Answer: MARGINS. Hint: Where a mathematician might leave his most famous scribble in the book’s edge notes 📚
  10. 10. Glorifies — Answer: EXTOLS. Hint: Praises someone or something very enthusiastically 🌟
  11. 11. Into — Answer: KEENON. Hint: Very interested in something, almost to the point of obsession 😄
  12. 12. Tech mogul Altman — Answer: SAM. Hint: A famous Silicon Valley leader with the same first name as a common nickname for Samuel 🤖
  13. 13. Change for a bill — Answer: AMENDMENT. Hint: A tweak to a proposal or document can be the change you need 📝
  14. 15. Reproductive part of a fern — Answer: SPORE. Hint: Tiny dispersal unit that helps ferns make more ferns 🌿
  15. 19. Youngest Bennet sister in "Pride and Prejudice" — Answer: LYDIA. Hint: The Bennet girl most likely to rush headlong into trouble and flirtation 😏
  16. 22. Patrick, to SpongeBob — Answer: PAL. Hint: A true underwater best friend who’s always nearby 🤝
  17. 23. Rings — Answer: TOLLS. Hint: What you pay on the road to keep moving along 🚗
  18. 26. Venue for events that guests are always on board to attend? — Answer: PARTYBOAT. Hint: A floating bash where the guest list loves to drift along 🚤
  19. 27. Some all-nighters — Answer: SLEEPOVERS. Hint: Sleepy gatherings where staying up late is the whole point 😴
  20. 29. "Yellow Submarine" lead vocalist — Answer: STARR. Hint: The drummer who lent his voice to that Beatles classic 🎤
  21. 32. Ready to go — Answer: ONTAP. Hint: All set and eager for action, like a drink already waiting to be poured 🍺
  22. 34. Censure, in a way — Answer: IMPEACH. Hint: A formal way to call out and challenge someone in office 🏛️
  23. 35. Formal pause in a line of poetry — Answer: CAESURA. Hint: A rhythmic pause that gives a poem a little breathing room 🎭
  24. 36. Certain shot, colloquially — Answer: VAX. Hint: A casual term for a vaccine jab that keeps you protected 💉
  25. 38. "Heads up!" — Answer: LOOKOUT. Hint: A warning shouted when danger might be nearby 👀
  26. 39. Insect product in the salad yum khai mod daeng — Answer: ANTEGG. Hint: A tiny garden-forager’s contribution to the bowl, from a Thai-style clue 😄
  27. 40. ___ incognita — Answer: TERRA. Hint: A mapmaker’s phrase for an unexplored landmass 🌍
  28. 41. "And ...?" — Answer: SOWHAT. Hint: A shrug in two words when you’re not impressed 🤷
  29. 42. Brief periods — Answer: SPELLS. Hint: Short stretches of time that come and go in bursts ✨
  30. 46. Self-congratulation — Answer: YAYME. Hint: A little cheer turned inward, like applauding yourself for a job well done 🎉
  31. 49. Hindu deity depicted with four arms — Answer: SIVA. Hint: A major Hindu god often shown in sacred art with an extra pair of arms for divine power 🕉️
  32. 50. Denial in Aberdeen — Answer: NAE. Hint: A Scottish way of saying no, heard around Aberdeen too 😉
  33. 52. Chain that can symbolize friendship — Answer: LEI. Hint: A floral necklace often shared in island welcomes and celebrations 🌺
  34. 54. Genre for Logic — Answer: RAP. Hint: A style built on rhythm and wordplay, not singing along smoothly 🎤

Here are the NYT Crossword answers for Friday, July 31, 2026 — every solution for that day's 15×15 (21×21 on Sunday) puzzle, listed at the top of this page. Whether you're catching up on a puzzle you missed, settling a “what was the answer on July 31?” question, or checking a grid you finished that day, the complete clue-by-clue solution is right here. Looking for today's puzzle instead? Head to our live NYT Crossword answers page.

NYT Crossword answers for July 31, 2026

The full solution for the July 31 NYT Crossword is shown above, laid out clue by clue — every Across answer followed by every Down answer, exactly as that day's grid read. Each answer is listed separately, so you can check just the clue you were stuck on and leave the rest. This is the confirmed grid as published on Friday, July 31.

Full NYT Crossword answer list for July 31, 2026

Every clue from the July 31 grid next to its solution — the same answers as the board above, in one plain list you can scan without tapping.

Across

#ClueAnswer
1Withholding something?TAX
4It'll pass!FAD
7Silent typeMIME
11Sex work?KAMASUTRA
14Screen nameIMAX
15Tennis feat involving four consecutive major tournament wins in two calendar yearsSERENASLAM
16GrimeDIRT
17Honey, for examplePETNAME
18Energy source for distance runnersGEL
20World Economic Forum, e.g., for shortNGO
21TrippingONLSD
22Style secured with a scrunchiePONYTAIL
24Tobiko or masagoROE
25Twists of fate, sayUPSANDDOWNS
28Pharyngitis docsENTS
30Exuding joyALLSMILES
31Went hell for leatherTORE
33Cry when shaking handsDEAL
34"This is too much"ICANTEVEN
37Blind componentSLAT
41WiseacreSMARTYPANTS
43What a closed fist with an extended index finger represents, in A.S.L.ONE
44Where to be above all the drama?OPERABOX
45Pierre : French :: ___ : RussianPYOTR
47Maryland governor MooreWES
48Perspective, for shortPOV
49Casual Friday optionSNEAKER
51Result of a shopping spreeHAUL
53Highly flexible discipline?AERIALYOGA
55Brazilian state whose name is a unit of measurementACRE
56Relative of a tumblerTRAVELMUG
57Cuisine with tom kha kaiTHAI
58Business with lockersSPA
59All goodSET

Down

#ClueAnswer
1Palm-sized pastryTARTLET
2Assenting chorusAMENS
3Shangri-LaXANADU
4Make oneFUSE
5Seat of Fulton County: Abbr.ATL
6British counterpart to "Shark Tank"DRAGONSDEN
7Just OK, in modern lingoMID
8"Mind. Blown."IMINAWE
9Part of Fermat's copy of "Arithmetica" where he wrote his Last TheoremMARGINS
10GlorifiesEXTOLS
11IntoKEENON
12Tech mogul AltmanSAM
13Change for a billAMENDMENT
15Reproductive part of a fernSPORE
19Youngest Bennet sister in "Pride and Prejudice"LYDIA
22Patrick, to SpongeBobPAL
23RingsTOLLS
26Venue for events that guests are always on board to attend?PARTYBOAT
27Some all-nightersSLEEPOVERS
29"Yellow Submarine" lead vocalistSTARR
32Ready to goONTAP
34Censure, in a wayIMPEACH
35Formal pause in a line of poetryCAESURA
36Certain shot, colloquiallyVAX
38"Heads up!"LOOKOUT
39Insect product in the salad yum khai mod daengANTEGG
40___ incognitaTERRA
41"And ...?"SOWHAT
42Brief periodsSPELLS
46Self-congratulationYAYME
49Hindu deity depicted with four armsSIVA
50Denial in AberdeenNAE
52Chain that can symbolize friendshipLEI
54Genre for LogicRAP

Hints for the July 31 puzzle

Not ready for the full answer? Here are lighter, spoiler-free nudges for that day's grid, above the solutions. The July 31 puzzle fell on a Friday, and with the New York Times crossword that matters: the grid gets harder as the week goes on, from an easy Monday to a fiendish Saturday, with a large themed puzzle on Sunday. So a Friday grid tells you how much misdirection to expect — and if a clue that day seemed to make no sense, the weekday is usually the reason. Use the hints for the trickiest clues, then reveal the answers above only if you need them.

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Frequently asked questions

What were the NYT Crossword answers on July 31, 2026?

Every answer for the Friday, July 31, 2026 NYT Crossword is listed at the top of this page — the confirmed grid as published that day.

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Today's live puzzle is on our NYT Crossword answers today page, updated the moment each new grid goes live.

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