Home/Archive/Apr 12, 2026

NYT Crossword — April 12, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 136 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 136 revealed

1W

2I

3T

4H

5D

6O

7L

8T

9S

10C

11U

12B

13A

14M

15A

16S

17H

18C

H

L

O

E

19A

F

O

O

T

20A

N

O

N

21A

L

O

E

22H

E

L

E

N

23O

F

T

R

O

Y

24N

I

N

J

25A

S

T

A

R

26A

R

A

B

27S

T

E

N

T

28G

I

V

E

O

R

T

A

K

E

29S

E

L

E

30N

A

31N

E

A

32T

H

33R

U

S

E

34L

A

U

G

35H

36L

I

E

37I

38N

S

39O

R

40C

41A

42S

43B

44L

O

N

D

E

O

45N

46B

L

O

N

D

E

47I

N

C

O

D

E

48L

O

W

49E

S

T

E

R

50T

E

N

51P

M

52L

O

I

N

53T

R

I

54M

S

55S

W

I

56F

57T

58D

E

E

P

59F

A

K

E

S

60S

I

T

U

61M

A

D

E

I

R

62A

63R

E

I

S

S

U

E

64M

65A

I

L

O

R

D

E

R

66B

67R

I

D

E

S

68P

69I

70T

B

O

S

S

71E

N

C

L

O

S

E

72E

73P

74E

75E

76I

N

A

L

L

C

A

77P

78S

79T

O

U

C

H

80A

S

A

D

A

81T

E

T

E

82U

S

A

I

83D

84E

C

I

85G

S

86R

E

V

87A

R

A

R

88A

T

89S

N

A

90K

91E

S

O

N

A

P

92L

A

N

E

93S

T

R

A

T

94A

S

K

M

O

M

95G

R

E

E

D

96P

E

97A

S

98O

N

O

99F

100F

101I

R

V

I

102N

103G

104K

105E

106E

P

I

T

D

107O

108W

N

109T

I

L

110T

S

111E

D

I

E

112A

R

G

E

N

T

I

N

A

113T

E

X

A

S

H

114O

L

D

E

M

115L

I

A

R

116I

D

I

G

117E

R

I

K

A

118L

U

L

L

S

119E

N

D

S

120C

I

T

E

121A

S

T

E

R

122A

P

E

S

Across

63 clues

1Words ___ Friends

10Starting point of Diana Nyad's 2013 swim to Florida

14Reduce to a pulp

18Actress ___ Grace Moretz

19"The game's ___": Henry V

20Mystery writer?

21Soothing succulent

22HOT woman worth fighting for?

24Throwing weapon known in Japanese as a shuriken

262010-12's ___ Spring

27Coronary insert

28GOT in the ballpark?

29Gomez of "Only Murders in the Building"

31Under, poetically

34Music to a comedian's ears

36Some 1960s-style protests

39Contents of a black-and-white pod

43BOB Dylan album?

47Impossible to read, perhaps

48Word before cut or class

49Fragrant compound

50"It's ___. Do you know where your children are?" (old P.S.A.)

52Butcher's cut

53Takes a little off

55Time's 2023 Person of the Year

58A.I.-powered video hoaxes

61Portuguese wine

63Put out again

68Casino supervisor

72Poker in the Olympics?

76How an urgent text may be written

79Affect emotionally

81Word on either side of "à"

82Org. founded to fund foreign projects

84Vapes, familiarly

86King's title, in brief

87Turkish summit

93Alternative to a Les Paul, for short

94Dad's deflection

95One of the seven deadly sins

96Vegetables rarely cut with a knife

98Switch positions

101Washington or Berlin

104KID napper's demand?

109Loses emotional control, in gamer-speak

111Socialite Sedgwick, the supposed inspiration for Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone"

112Winning country at the 2022 World Cup

113THE big game?

115"You're full of baloney!"

116"Right on, man"

117"Baywatch" actress Eleniak

121Fall perennial

122Primatologists' subjects

Down

73 clues

1One of a reporter's W's

2Line of latitude?

3Squishy part of a cat's paw, cutesily

72025 biography subtitled "The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live"

8Nickname for the 6'9" Dallas Cowboys great Ed Jones

10Kid's repeated request

11Part of U.C.L.A.: Abbr.

12Idiot mistakes

14Dazzling displays of skill

15Utah ski resort

16Linger in the bath

17Roll call response

18Nickname that's an alternative to Chuck

23Native Oklahomans

25Bad lighting?

28Treaty of ___, official close to the War of 1812

30Some N.S.F.W. texts

32Madre's hermano

37Named, informally

40Manipulates dishonestly

41Common Wordle starting word (for all those vowels)

43Crunchy sandwiches, for short

44___ Greiner, inventor and "Shark Tank" personality

46Prickly patch

51Disappearing from the earth

54Hip-hop artists with unintelligible lyrics

57Council of ___ (Counter-Reformation body)

61Trading card error

62Bowed, musically

65Big inits. in 1990s internet

66Genre for Stevie Ray Vaughan

67Celebrity chef DiSpirito

70Turkic language

73Basic drumming pattern

74Steinbeck's "East of ___"

75Place for Christmas lights

77"Not interested"

78Head toward bankruptcy, say

83Matt of "Oppenheimer"

85Overly bright and showy

88Used DoorDash, say

90___Mari Method (tidying system)

92Advance in a video game

94"That was true for me, too"

99Demand from a disgruntled customer

100Unreliable sort, in slang

102What a Bohr!

103Diamonds, but not clubs

105"The Office" receptionist

107"Don't worry, boss!"

108Kind of hike

110Position removed by the February Revolution

113Drink "for two," in song

114Portuguese greeting

Click a clue for its own page with the answer and a short explanation.

Stats & info

Sunday, Apr 12, 2026

21×21

Grid size

136

Total entries

68/373

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedApr 12, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeInitial Thoughts

ConstructorLance Enfinger and John Kugelman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split63 across · 73 down

Longest entries

64AMOB wives?15 ltrs 43ABOB Dylan album?14 ltrs 89ASOAP film?14 ltrs 14DDazzling displays of skill13 ltrs 54DHip-hop artists with unintelligible lyrics13 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 68 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.