By Kareem Ayas

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Across

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Crossword clues, hints, and answers

Across

  1. 1. Sahara-esque — Answer: ARID. Hint: Describes a landscape with almost no rainfall. 🏜️
  2. 5. Exams for high school jrs. — Answer: PSATS. Hint: These standardized tests are commonly taken by high school juniors. 📝
  3. 10. Private sleeping accommodations? — Answer: COTS. Hint: Think of simple beds offering privacy only in a playful sense. 🛏️
  4. 14. "Didn't you get the ___?" — Answer: MEMO. Hint: A reminder someone might expect you to have received. 📬
  5. 15. Wipe from one's memory, so to speak — Answer: UNSEE. Hint: To mentally erase an image you wish you had never viewed. 🧠
  6. 16. Section in a textbook — Answer: UNIT. Hint: A self-contained portion of a book covering one topic. 📚
  7. 17. "___ She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder hit) — Answer: ISNT. Hint: Stevie Wonder sings this question about a lovely woman. 🎵
  8. 18. Deceptive move in fencing — Answer: FEINT. Hint: In fencing, this misleading action is meant to draw a false response. 🤺
  9. 19. Depend (on) — Answer: RELY. Hint: Count on someone or something to come through when you need it most 🤝
  10. 20. Natural pillow filling — Answer: GOOSEFEATHERS. Hint: These soft bird plumes make famously cozy pillow stuffing. 🪶
  11. 23. Graffiti, to some — Answer: ART. Hint: Some viewers see this public wall writing as creative expression. 🎨
  12. 24. Three unnamed things, in shorthand — Answer: XYZ. Hint: These three symbols often stand for unspecified examples. 🔤
  13. 25. Quinceañeras, e.g. — Answer: RITES. Hint: These coming-of-age celebrations are especially associated with a fifteenth birthday. 🎉
  14. 28. Lifted — Answer: STOLE. Hint: This can mean both picked up and took without permission. 👜
  15. 30. Services for senior citizens — Answer: ELDERCARE. Hint: These services help older adults with daily needs and support. 🤝
  16. 34. Hybrid tennis attire — Answer: SKORT. Hint: This sporty garment combines a skirt-like front with shorts. 🎾
  17. 36. Word with pan, pump or paint — Answer: OIL. Hint: This three-letter word can follow each of those words to form familiar terms. 🛢️
  18. 37. ___ Minor — Answer: URSA. Hint: This constellation is also known as the Little Bear. ⭐
  19. 38. Unofficial vote — Answer: STRAWPOLL. Hint: An informal survey used to gauge opinions. 📊
  20. 41. President who was a heavyweight wrestling champion in college — Answer: TAFT. Hint: This president also served as chief justice and was a college wrestling standout. 🤼
  21. 44. "___ got it!" — Answer: IVE. Hint: This phrase signals sudden understanding or recognition. 💡
  22. 45. Cats and dogs, for example — Answer: NOUNS. Hint: In grammar, these name people, places, things, or animals. 🐾
  23. 48. Old West outlaw who left behind poetic messages after some robberies — Answer: BLACKBART. Hint: This stagecoach robber was known for leaving verse behind. 🤠
  24. 51. Excludes — Answer: OMITS. Hint: Leaves something out of consideration. 🚫
  25. 53. Mount ___ Health System — Answer: SINAI. Hint: This health system shares its name with a famous biblical mountain. ⛰️
  26. 54. Immature high score initials on an arcade game — Answer: ASS. Hint: An arcade leaderboard may record a player's childish self-description. 🕹️
  27. 56. Something to trust — Answer: GUT. Hint: Your instincts may offer this kind of inner guidance. 🧭
  28. 57. Hides one's central point, in a way ... with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across — Answer: BURIESTHELEDE. Hint: This journalistic faux pas obscures the main news. 📰
  29. 62. They offer support — Answer: BRAS. Hint: They provide lift beneath a blouse. 👚
  30. 64. Speak at a political convention, perhaps — Answer: ORATE. Hint: A candidate might do this from the convention podium. 🎤
  31. 65. Field — Answer: AREA. Hint: A meadow or a branch of study can both be one. 🌾
  32. 66. Facility — Answer: EASE. Hint: It can mean either a building or freedom from difficulty. 🏢
  33. 67. 2008 film about a solitary trash-compacting robot — Answer: WALLE. Hint: This Pixar hero tidies a deserted Earth with compacted rubbish. 🤖
  34. 68. Semiaquatic relative of a weasel — Answer: MINK. Hint: This sleek semiaquatic mammal is prized for its soft fur. 🦦
  35. 69. Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 6 — Answer: DYES. Hint: These color fabrics, hair, or other materials. 🎨
  36. 70. Fall bloom — Answer: ASTER. Hint: This daisy-like flower brightens many autumn gardens. 🌼
  37. 71. Cave wall hangings? — Answer: BATS. Hint: In a playful cave scene, these might hang upside down from the walls. 🦇

Down

  1. 1. Female friends from Fuenlabrada — Answer: AMIGAS. Hint: Use the Spanish word for a group of female friends. 👯
  2. 2. Some vacation destinations — Answer: RESORTS. Hint: Travelers may choose these getaway spots for leisure. 🏖️
  3. 3. "My mood is pretty low" — Answer: IMNOTOK. Hint: A candid way to admit you're struggling emotionally. 💙
  4. 4. Top three sights in Fiji? — Answer: DOTS. Hint: Think of tiny marks rather than tourist attractions. 🔵
  5. 5. Like eyes during an allergy attack — Answer: PUFFY. Hint: Allergy-irritated eyes can become swollen and this way. 🤧
  6. 6. "Bless you!" elicitor — Answer: SNEEZE. Hint: A sudden nasal reflex often prompts this polite response. 🤧
  7. 7. ___ Minor — Answer: ASIA. Hint: This continent includes the region known as Asia Minor. 🌏
  8. 8. Something that's pitched — Answer: TENT. Hint: Campers may sleep in this shelter after pitching it. ⛺
  9. 9. "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane — Answer: SETH. Hint: This animator and actor created the irreverent Griffin family. 📺
  10. 10. Set of courses offered — Answer: CURRICULUM. Hint: A school’s complete collection of classes makes up this. 🎓
  11. 11. Miserable rating — Answer: ONESTAR. Hint: The lowest possible review score is a truly poor endorsement. ⭐
  12. 12. "___ death do us part" — Answer: TIL. Hint: This old-fashioned word means up to the moment when. 💍
  13. 13. What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to — Answer: STY. Hint: A pigpen is a fitting comparison for a disastrously messy room. 🐷
  14. 21. Put forth — Answer: EXERT. Hint: To apply effort is to do this. 💪
  15. 22. Drop the ball — Answer: ERR. Hint: Make a mistake or fail to handle something properly. 😅
  16. 26. Verbal hesitations — Answer: ERS. Hint: These tiny spoken pauses often sound like filler noises. 🗣️
  17. 27. Neptune's territory — Answer: SEA. Hint: The Roman god of the sea would claim this watery domain. 🌊
  18. 29. Situations one might no longer put effort into — Answer: LOSTCAUSES. Hint: These hopeless situations are often abandoned as unwinnable. 🏳️
  19. 31. Drop — Answer: LOWER. Hint: To move something downward is to do this. ⬇️
  20. 32. Drop — Answer: DIP. Hint: A brief downward movement or a tasty accompaniment for chips fits this clue. 🥣
  21. 33. North Carolina university — Answer: ELON. Hint: This North Carolina school shares its name with a famous tech entrepreneur. 🎓
  22. 35. Chicago paper, with "the" — Answer: TRIB. Hint: This abbreviated newspaper name follows “the” in a familiar Chicago title. 📰
  23. 39. ___ Max, singer of the 2018 hit "Sweet but Psycho" — Answer: AVA. Hint: The singer behind “Sweet but Psycho” has this short first name. 🎤
  24. 40. Not taut — Answer: LOOSE. Hint: A relaxed shoelace has this quality. 👟
  25. 41. Longtime "American Dad!" airer — Answer: TBS. Hint: This cable network carried the animated sitcom for many years. 📡
  26. 42. 2001 biopic starring Will Smith — Answer: ALI. Hint: Will Smith portrayed this legendary boxer in a 2001 film. 🥊
  27. 43. The "Beyhive" for Beyoncé, e.g. — Answer: FANBASE. Hint: It is the devoted community surrounding a celebrity or team. 🐝
  28. 46. Country bordering Chad and Benin — Answer: NIGERIA. Hint: This West African nation is home to Lagos and Abuja. 🌍
  29. 47. Lecture attendee — Answer: STUDENT. Hint: Someone sitting in class to learn from a speaker. 🎓
  30. 49. ___ royale (Champagne cocktail) — Answer: KIR. Hint: This elegant cocktail combines bubbly with blackcurrant liqueur. 🥂
  31. 50. Rat (on) — Answer: TATTLE. Hint: To report someone’s misdeeds is to do this. 🤫
  32. 52. They can be well-done — Answer: STEAKS. Hint: These grilled dinner favorites are often ordered by doneness. 🥩
  33. 55. See-through — Answer: SHEER. Hint: A thin fabric or curtain may have this quality. 👗
  34. 58. Part of the Corn Belt — Answer: IOWA. Hint: This Midwestern state is famous for fertile farmland. 🌽
  35. 59. Important stretches — Answer: ERAS. Hint: These broad periods can define a civilization or career. ⏳
  36. 60. The word "salary" derives from the Latin for this — Answer: SALT. Hint: Ancient Roman soldiers were associated with this kitchen staple. 🧂
  37. 61. What a shepherd may shepherd — Answer: LAMB. Hint: A young sheep might follow its flock guardian. 🐑
  38. 62. Bouncy part of a trampoline — Answer: BED. Hint: The jumper lands on this spring-supported surface. 🤸
  39. 63. "A drop of golden sun," in song — Answer: RAY. Hint: In a famous musical lyric, sunlight is described as one of these. ☀️

Next NYT Crossword update in

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A new puzzle unlocks at 10 p.m. Eastern on weekdays and 6 p.m. Eastern on weekends (Thu, Aug 20, 2:10 AM UTC).

Recent NYT Crossword Answers

The last 7 days of solutions

Looking for today's NYT Crossword answers? The complete solution to the daily New York Times puzzle — dated August 19, 2026 — is at the top of this page, updated the moment the new grid is released. The Times crossword is the most famous puzzle in the world and, later in the week, one of the hardest, so getting wedged in a corner is part of the experience. Whether you want to confirm a finished grid, unlock a single square, or see the whole solution, every across and down answer is listed below.

Full NYT 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 NYT Crossword answers

Today's full solution appears above, organised into Across and Down exactly as the puzzle numbers them. If you only need one answer, each is listed separately so you can reveal the clue that's blocking you and keep solving the rest. The grid is confirmed and refreshed daily as soon as the Times publishes it, and — because the puzzle's difficulty climbs through the week — we keep the layout identical every day so you always know where to look.

About the New York Times Crossword

The NYT Crossword has run since 1942 and has been edited by Will Shortz since 1993, making it the benchmark against which every other American crossword is measured. The weekday puzzle is a 15×15 grid; Sundays expand to a 21×21 grid with a title and theme. It's known for clever, layered clues — misdirection, puns, and themed twists — and for its “crosswordese,” the small stock of vowel-heavy words (ETUI, OREO, ERA, ALOE) that recur because they fit tight grids. Solving it requires a Games subscription, which is why so many solvers search for the answers when a clue defeats them.

The Monday-to-Saturday difficulty curve

The single most important thing to know about the Times crossword is that it gets harder as the week goes on — the grid size stays the same, but the cluing grows trickier:

DayDifficultyWhat to expect
MondayEasiestStraightforward, direct clues
TuesdayEasyA little more wordplay
WednesdayMediumThemes get more inventive
ThursdayTrickyRebus puzzles and gimmicks appear
FridayHardThemeless, wide-open grids
SaturdayHardestThe toughest cluing of the week
SundayMedium–hardLarge 21×21 themed puzzle

So if a Thursday clue seems to make no sense, that's by design — Thursdays often hide a trick, like multiple letters crammed into one square (a rebus). Knowing the day tells you how devious the clues are likely to be.

How to break a stubborn NYT clue

  • Solve the crossings first. In a 15×15 grid, every hard answer is crossed by others; three or four crossing letters usually reveal it.
  • Question the clue's angle. A question mark at the end of a clue signals a pun or play on words — read it less literally.
  • Mind the tense and number. Plurals end in S, past-tense answers often end in ED — free letters once you spot them.
  • Know the day. A baffling clue on a Monday is probably you overthinking; the same on a Saturday is probably genuine misdirection.
  • Use the solver for one answer. Our crossword solver lets you enter the clue and your known letters to reveal a single answer without spoiling the rest of the grid.

Browse past NYT Crossword answers

Every previous New York Times puzzle is archived on this page by date, with its complete across and down solutions. It's the fastest way to check yesterday's grid, revisit a Sunday you didn't finish, or look up a clue that's been nagging you. 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. Use the date picker above to jump to any past puzzle.

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

Frequently asked questions

What are today's NYT Crossword answers?

The full Across and Down solution for today's puzzle (August 19, 2026) is listed at the top of this page, updated as soon as the Times releases it.

What time does the NYT Crossword come out?

The daily puzzle is released at 10 p.m. Eastern the night before on weekdays (7 p.m. Pacific) and 6 p.m. Eastern before weekends. We post the answers as soon as it goes live.

Why is the NYT Crossword harder later in the week?

By design: Monday is the easiest and Saturday the hardest, with cluing growing trickier each day. The Sunday puzzle is larger (21×21) and themed, at a medium-hard level.

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 — without seeing the rest of the grid.

Where can I find past NYT Crossword answers?

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