Home/Archive/Aug 17, 2026

NYT Crossword — August 17, 2026

Monday’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

1L

2I

3M

4E

5M

6U

7S

8T

9P

10L

11O

12T

13I

M

A

M

14A

N

T

E

15P

A

O

L

O

16D

A

P

P

17E

R

D

A

N

18I

N

U

I

T

19S

C

O

R

P

I

O

N

20A

C

T

I

V

E

21E

I

N

22K

23P

H

24H

E

E

D

25K

26I

27S

S

C

A

28M

29E

A

30S

E

L

31I

S

I

S

32R

I

33O

T

34T

R

O

35L

36L

37N

E

T

38J

A

M

J

A

39R

S

40U

A

E

41G

E

E

42S

E

43O

S

L

O

44M

I

N

T

45V

O

T

46E

S

47S

C

48R

E

E

D

S

49S

50N

I

T

51N

A

52T

53K

O

A

54N

O

S

H

55E

D

56H

57A

B

A

N

58E

59R

60O

61O

B

I

E

S

62Y

E

S

A

N

D

Y

E

S

63R

E

T

R

O

64A

T

T

N

65E

R

A

S

66E

L

S

E

67M

A

I

D

68R

E

D

O

Across

39 clues

1One of two fruit flavors in Sprite

9"The ___ thickens"

13Islamic prayer leader

14Poker player's buy-in

15Italian "Paul"

16Well-dressed guy

18Arctic Indigenous group

19Venomous arachnid

20Not dormant, as a volcano

22Autobahn speedometer meas.

24Take, as advice

25It captures ballpark smooches

29Stand for a poster

31Egyptian fertility goddess

32Hilarious person

34Doll with neon hair

37Ping-Pong table divider

38Containers for fruit preserves

40Burj Khalifa's country, for short

41Birds in V-formations

43Capital with fjord tours

44Facility that produces coins

45Casts a ballot

47Lengthy rants

51___ Geo Wild (cable channel)

53Popular chain for RVers

56Hot pepper named for Cuba's capital

61Off Broadway awards

62"Totally agree!" … or what the circled letters are, in different languages

63Like throwbacks

64Abbr. before a recipient's name on an envelope

65The Roaring Twenties and the Swinging Sixties

Down

39 clues

1Covers for pots

2Apple with a big screen

3___ tofu (Sichuan dish)

4Catherine the Great, e.g.

5Sauce for mozzarella sticks

9"Pink" animal of film

101963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title

11Martini garnish

15Insta posting

17Sweeping in scope

20"Now I understand!"

23Fragrant bits tossed at newlyweds

25Key chess piece

26"That makes sense"

27On-location inspections

28Boozy brunch drink

30Lines on a GPS

33Breakfast beverages, for short

35Come down to earth

36"Sounds like a plan!"

38Hot tub nozzle

39Green Day or Pink Floyd

42"And that's that!"

44Wander aimlessly

48Singer Chappell

49Sound asleep?

502016 prize for Bob Dylan

52Greek letter that symbolizes an angle

55That, in Spain

58Brontë's "Jane ___"

59Enjoy a fantasy, say

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

Stats & info

Monday, Aug 17, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedAug 17, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorZhouqin Burnikel

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split39 across · 39 down

Longest entries

10D1963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title10 ltrs 27DOn-location inspections10 ltrs 16AWell-dressed guy9 ltrs 62A"Totally agree!" … or what the circled letters are, in different languages9 ltrs 19AVenomous arachnid8 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.