Home/Archive/Apr 23, 2026

NYT Crossword — April 23, 2026

Thursday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1F

2A

3C

4T

5I

6S

7A

8C

9H

10S

11H

12A

13M

14A

V

E

E

N

O

15M

A

O

16P

A

L

E

17W

I

N

D

O

W

18S

I

L

L

19E

N

D

S

20N

A

T

21R

H

O

22C

I

23C

A

D

A

S

24C

O

A

T

25I

26N

O

R

M

27A

28B

O

U

T

29F

30E

E

L

S

E

31E

32N

33A

L

E

R

T

34M

I

D

S

T

35D

E

I

36T

O

E

D

37C

A

M

I

S

38C

O

N

K

39O

O

F

40D

O

N

U

T

41B

O

W

I

E

42N

F

L

43G

A

M

E

S

44P

E

N

N

E

45O

L

D

E

46T

47H

O

S

E

48T

49I

M

E

S

U

50P

51A

M

T

52U

53S

54O

55A

S

E

A

56P

R

57I

D

E

M

58O

N

T

H

59S

L

I

M

60O

A

R

61L

A

D

I

E

S

62K

E

N

S

63N

Y

E

64O

N

E

T

W

O

Across

39 clues

1"Truth be told …"

7"___ so!" (German "I see!")

14Big name in skin care

15Leader whose face is shown on renminbi notes

17Spot for a catnap?

19Innings : baseball :: ___ : curling

20Lead-in to Geo

21Symbol of mass density

22They're noisy little buggers

24Kinkajou cousin

26Expected outcome

29Experience deep affirmation, in modern lingo

36Follower of open or closed, sartorially

37Spaghetti-strapped tops, informally

39Reaction to a sock

40Tasty item that, paradoxically, can have "ugh" in the middle

41Queen's collaborator on the 1981 hit "Under Pressure"

42What the "Music City Miracle" and the "Immaculate Reception" took place in

44Alternative to bow ties

45It might follow "ye"

46"___ days are gone"

48Test release?

52G.I. entertainers

55Trawling, say

56When many rainbows appear

59Like some chances

61Sign on a restroom door

62Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu, in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie"

63Science guy Bill

Down

39 clues

1Babe in the woods

2Adidas competitor

3*Material for a sidewalk

4Media exec Sarandos

7"Why ___ even here?"

8It might come after trig

9*Lack of pulchritude

10Pickle portions

11Something that's kept in the family ... or a hint to making sense of three pairs of answers in this puzzle

12Alan of "M*A*S*H"

13State of a playroom, often

24Bungee jumping necessity

25"Assuming there's no other option for me …"

30Go over for publication

31Start of a counting rhyme

32Company that famously used the Beatles' "Revolution" in a 1987 TV commercial

33Lots and lots

37*Supermarket shopper's clipping

38Alternative to a cup

40Owie kissers, perhaps

41Member of a wedding party

44*Sport that uses mallets

47"You ___ me worried!"

48Something to be done

49Louisiana's Grand ___ State Park

50Speak while looking up, perhaps

52Foot or stone

53Goulash, e.g.

54Really, really

58Weird Al's "___ to a Superhero"

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Apr 23, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedApr 23, 2026

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorZhou Zhang and Kevin Curry

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split39 across · 39 down

Longest entries

17ASpot for a catnap?10 ltrs 56AWhen many rainbows appear10 ltrs 11DSomething that's kept in the family ... or a hint to making sense of three pairs of answers in this puzzle10 ltrs 28D*Choice cut10 ltrs 29AExperience deep affirmation, in modern lingo8 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.