Crossword Difficulty: 5/10 Live data

NYT The Crossword Solver & Clues & Answers Today — Oct 16, 2026

NYT The Crossword Solution • Last updated Friday, October 16, 2026 Resets in --:--:--

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Clues & Answers for Today's NYT Crossword

Tap a clue to reveal its answer. Click the lock to reveal the full word.

Across

1. Word with strip or skirt

6. Conniption

9. Cuban poet/philosopher José

14. 2000 hit song with the lyric "But to lose all my senses / That is just so typically me"

17. Mail-centric fiction?

18. Virginia is in it, in brief

19. "Hah!"

20. "___ had it!"

21. Former home of Mr. and Mrs. Met

23. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" spinoff

24. Riot

25. Spiller of tea

27. Smelling things?

28. Date night viewing, often

34. High concept?

35. They explain what's in the cards

39. Comic strip sound of impact

40. Infant discomfort

42. Battery-powered string instrument player

43. Predicated

48. It has its highs and lows

49. Rocky openings?

50. Burrowing animal whose name is made up of two other animals

52. It may begin with a +1: Abbr.

53. Idolizes

56. Indiana Jones or Rocky Balboa, e.g.

57. Losing causes?

58. Yoga ___

59. The 22nd Amendment limits them

Down

1. "Piece of cake!"

2. Reality show whose contestants report to the Judge's Table

3. Not gendered

4. Dope

5. Some emergency resources

6. Serious dirt

7. State whose official fruit is the huckleberry

8. Done to death

9. Flow down the neck

10. Past word

11. Hot pockets?

12. 20-20, e.g.

13. Small sounds

15. One of 412 in the White House

16. Supermodel Banks

22. Took back one's words

24. One struggling to make ends meet

26. Grant

27. Foe of Dr. Eggman, in video games

29. Procured

30. "___ Share of Night" (acclaimed 2019 Mariana Enríquez book)

31. Complimentary lines

32. Tool for tracing family trees

33. Prefix with the name of any month

35. Mideast salad, in one spelling

36. Simon the Zealot, e.g.

37. Sparkly bits in a school art project

38. Like some deliveries

39. Holder of all the digits, from 1 to 0

41. Stage-left orchestra section

43. Coccyx or phalange, e.g.

44. Unwelcome sound during a dream

45. Brown tint

46. Construct

47. Art movement proclaimed in a 1916 manifesto

50. May honorees

51. Outdoor item with flaps

54. Took a load off

55. 2011 platinum single by Tyler, the Creator

Across: 1. STEAK, 6. FIT, 9. MARTI, 14. OOPSIDIDITAGAIN, 17. EPISTOLARYNOVEL, 18. ACC, 19. SOTHERE, 20. IVE, 21. SHEA, 23. RHODA, 24. HOOT, 25. YENTA, 27. SALTS, 28. FEELGOODMOVIE, 34. CLOUDNINE, 35. TAROTREADINGS, 39. KAPOW, 40. COLIC, 42. EBOW, 43. BASED, 48. TIDE, 49. YOS, 50. MOLERAT, 52. TEL, 53. PUTSONAPEDESTAL, 56. ALLAMERICANHERO, 57. DIETS, 58. MAT, 59. TERMS

Down: 1. SOEASY, 2. TOPCHEF, 3. EPICENE, 4. ASS, 5. KITS, 6. FILTH, 7. IDAHO, 8. TIRED, 9. MANE, 10. AGO, 11. RAVIOLI, 12. TIEVOTE, 13. INLETS, 15. DOOR, 16. TYRA, 22. ATECROW, 24. HAVENOT, 26. ALLOW, 27. SONIC, 29. GOT, 30. OUR, 31. ODE, 32. DNA, 33. MID, 35. TABOULI, 36. APOSTLE, 37. GLITTER, 38. SIDEARM, 39. KEYPAD, 41. CELLOS, 43. BONE, 44. ALARM, 45. SEPIA, 46. ERECT, 47. DADA, 50. MOMS, 51. TENT, 54. SAT, 55. SHE

× grid · 29A / 39D · 68 words · Difficulty 5/10

About Today's NYT The Crossword

The flagship 15×15 NYT crossword puzzle — themed, challenging, and updated daily. Visit nytimes.com/crosswords to play today's puzzle.

Today's puzzle is rated 5/10 difficulty — moderate difficulty. Take your time with the clues.

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.

NYT The Crossword Answer Patterns & Statistics

Computed from 313 archived puzzles · updated

How difficult is NYT The Crossword on average?

Across 313 archived NYT The Crossword puzzles, the average difficulty is 6.5/10. The split: 0.0% easy (1–4), 99.7% medium (5–7), 0.3% hard (8–10).

How many NYT The Crossword puzzles does HintPulse track?

Our NYT The Crossword archive holds 313 daily puzzles, refreshed every day after the new puzzle drops.

About NYT The Crossword — History & Fun Facts

The New York Times crossword puzzle has a long history. It began in 1942. The newspaper published its first crossword on February 15, 1942. It quickly became a popular feature. The puzzles are known for their challenging clues and themed grids.

The New York Times offers its daily crossword puzzles online. This digital version allows players worldwide to participate. The puzzles reset daily at 10 PM ET. Millions of players engage with the puzzles each week.

Fun Facts About NYT The Crossword

The first crossword published by The New York Times was on February 15, 1942.
The puzzles are known for their difficulty and clever wordplay.
The New York Times crossword is published daily.

NYT Mini vs Midi vs Daily Crossword

Feature	Mini	Midi	Daily
Grid Size	5×5	9×9	15×15
Clues	~10	~30	~70+
Solve Time	1–3 min	3–10 min	15–45 min
Difficulty	Easy	Medium	Hard (Mon→Sat)
Themed	No	Yes	Yes (always)
Subscription	Free	NYT Games	NYT Games
Reset Time	10 PM ET	10 PM ET	10 PM ET

Frequently Asked Questions

What are today's NYT Crossword answers?

Today's NYT Crossword clues and answers are revealed in our hints section above. We provide Across and Down answers with progressive difficulty hints.

How big is the NYT Crossword?

The standard NYT Crossword is a 15×15 grid on weekdays and Saturdays. Sunday puzzles are larger at 21×21. Each puzzle has around 70+ clues across and down.

When does the NYT Crossword reset?

The NYT Crossword resets daily at 10:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). The new puzzle is published the evening before its print date.

How does difficulty change through the week?

Monday is the easiest, and puzzles get progressively harder through Saturday. Sunday puzzles are larger (21×21) but roughly Wednesday-level difficulty.

Where to Play & Discuss NYT The Crossword

Play on nytimes.com
Official NYT The Crossword site — solve today's puzzle.
Discuss on r/crossword
Reddit community where players share strategies and reactions.

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