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Crossword Difficulty: 7/10

NYT The Crossword Answer Yesterday — Monday, August 31, 2026

Puzzle #24365 • Difficulty 7/10

Wordle solution today's Connections answer Mini Crossword daily answers today's Crosswordle Nerdle daily puzzle

Yesterday's NYT The Crossword Answer

Clues & Answers for Yesterday's NYT Crossword

Click a square to reveal its letter. Get hints below.

Across

1. Part of a dance
5. Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper
9. Slightly intoxicated
14. Fancy
15. Worms and such on hooks
16. Be of the same mind
17. Redding with two posthumous Grammys
18. "Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli
19. Ransacks
20. One who regularly drops things
23. The : English :: ___ : French
24. Letter after sigma
25. One dining on Friskies
28. Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building"
31. Umbrella-shaped sea creature
34. Director DuVernay
35. Pathetic
36. Examine at length
37. Took shots first, then paid for them later
40. Clothing sizes for shorter women
41. Ski in zigzags
42. "Far out!"
43. Tetra- minus one
44. Newlyweds' getaway
46. Owl sounds
48. Actress de Armas
49. 401(k) relative
50. "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g.
51. "Tell everyone!" … or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?
58. Inuit for "house"
60. Italian hello
61. Et ___ (and others: Lat.)
62. Tennis locale
63. Pre-Easter observance
64. R-rated, maybe
65. A cube has 12 of them
66. Petrol brand
67. Easter egg decorating supplies

Down

1. Mess maker
2. Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy
3. Off-ramp
4. Pulverizing tool
5. Alternatives to Lyfts
6. Baby whale
7. In finite supply
8. Lacking a musical key
9. A ___ as old as time
10. Composer Stravinsky
11. Ham on an antipasto platter
12. Solidify
13. "You called?"
21. Sinuous swimmer
22. Swallowed hard
26. Aver
27. Graduate student's project
28. ___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist)
29. Island of Arthurian legend
30. Fruit-resembling mollusk
31. The "one" of a one-two
32. So far
33. Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr.
35. Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang
38. Ginger ___
39. Cup-and-ball or yo-yo
40. Deep-dish vessel
42. Support staff for a rock band
45. Soothsayer
46. Tint
47. "To victory!"
50. Part of an Instagram post
52. Skin opening
53. Goes bad
54. Gets bronzed at the beach
55. Brand with "anti-aging" products
56. Bibimbap base
57. Pages on a desk calendar
58. "Rocks" at a bar
59. Lead-in to forbid or forsaken
15×15 grid · 38A / 40D · 78 words · Difficulty 7/10 ·#24365

Deep Dive

Word Analysis

Longest word: BUTTERFINGERS (13 letters)

Shortest word: LES (3 letters)

Average length: 4.8 letters

Total words: 78 (38 across, 40 down)

Grid Stats

Fill percentage: 84% (188/225 cells)

Unique letters used: 23

Grid dimensions: 15×15

Blocked cells: 37

Most Common Letters

E
44x
A
44x
S
34x
T
34x
O
32x

Puzzle Analysis

Yesterday's NYT The Crossword offered a solid challenge. BUTTERFINGERS and BANANASLUG were the longest fill entries. BUTTERFINGERS at 13 letters required some clever crossing. BANANASLUG, also 13 letters, felt a bit more obscure. The clue for SPREADTHEWORD, "Broadcast a message," was a straightforward example of the fill. The difficulty felt accurate at 7/10. Some of the longer answers demanded significant wordplay. The intersection of BUTTERFINGERS and SPREADTHEWORD was a good test. Overall, it was a satisfying solve.

How to Play NYT The Crossword

The NYT Crossword is the flagship 15×15 grid puzzle published daily by The New York Times, larger and more challenging than the Mini and Midi.

Fill in the grid by solving Across and Down clues. Every answer intersects with other words at shared letters.

The puzzle always features a theme with a clever title. Theme answers span the longest entries in the grid.

Difficulty increases through the week: Monday is easiest, Saturday is hardest. Sunday puzzles are larger (21×21) but Wednesday-level difficulty.

Play at nytimes.com/crosswords. A new puzzle is available every day.

Tips & Strategy

  • Start with Monday puzzles to learn common crossword fill like ERA, ORE, ATE, OREO, and ALOE.
  • Read the theme title. It often hints at wordplay used in the longest answers.
  • Fill in crossing letters first. A single confirmed letter can crack a tricky clue.
  • Question marks in clues signal wordplay, puns, or non-literal interpretations.
  • Three-letter answers repeat across puzzles. Learn common ones like ERA, ORE, ATE, ALOE.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does NYT The Crossword repeat past grids?
No. Each NYT The Crossword puzzle is a unique grid that has never appeared before.
Where can I find all past NYT The Crossword solutions?
Our archive lists every past NYT The Crossword solution with all grid words, organized by date.
How many words are in each NYT The Crossword grid?
Grids typically contain 3-8 words crossing horizontally and vertically. Longer words generally indicate harder puzzles.

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