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NYT Crossword — August 26, 2026

Wednesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1R

2A

3G

4E

5M

6A

7G

8M

9A

10M

11O

12P

13E

14A

H

E

M

15A

T

L

A

S

16A

V

O

N

17B

E

A

U

18T

Y

M

A

R

K

19R

E

N

D

20B

A

R

21R

A

F

A

22W

A

R

Y

23I

D

S

24A

Y

25E

D

26U

27M

A

C

A

T

28E

29N

O

30S

E

31C

A

R

A

C

A

S

32M

A

U

I

33A

L

T

34T

I

P

35S

A

L

T

E

36D

C

A

R

37A

38M

E

L

39H

A

N

40S

E

E

41O

V

I

D

42M

R

S

43L

44A

T

E

45C

N

E

T

46M

A

C

A

D

A

M

47I

A

48R

E

49A

50M

51S

52J

A

B

S

53A

M

54O

S

55P

E

W

56R

E

P

O

57S

58O

M

E

P

E

59O

P

L

E

60E

V

E

R

61A

R

B

O

R

62F

L

E

A

63P

O

D

S

64M

E

S

S

Y

65F

E

E

T

Across

37 clues

1Modern lead-in to quit or bait

5Heat source for many hydrothermal vents

10Act all teenagerly, say

14[I have something to say ...]

15He has the weight of the world on his shoulders

16River by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

17Enhancing "blemish" (3x)

20Something to belly up to

21Tennis's "King of Clay," familiarly

23"My guess is ..."

25Teach, playfully (3x)

29Pinocchio's tell

31South American capital where Simón Bolívar was born

32___ Wowie (cocktail with a rhyming name)

35Sweet popcorn coating (4x)

39Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo

40Call, as a poker bet

41Roman author of "Metamorphoses"

42Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry

45Tech review site

46Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x)

48Bundles in a stationery shop

52Pointed remarks

53"Famous" cookie entrepreneur

55Church fixture

56Black mark on a credit report, in brief

57"Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise?

60Never Have I ___ (party game)

61April's ___ Day

63Alien incubators in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

64Acrimonious, as a breakup

65Units of verse

Down

39 clues

2Bridge Out ___ (sign)

3They have teeth but don't bite

4Ground-dwelling bird in a eucalyptus forest

5Chichén Itzá builders

6Taking charge?

7Happy-sounding advocacy grp.

9Set, as a price

10Instrument associated with beans and salsa?

12Scrunchied hairstyle

13"The ___" (final track listed on the original "Abbey Road")

22Word that can precede cry or baby

24Picky, picky, picky

26Sch. attended by Steve Martin, James Dean and Jack Black (none of whom stayed to graduate)

28What cards with circles, stars, pluses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief

32Got it all off his chest?

33Disc golf "hole"-in-one

35Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans"

38Small bug with a strong-sounding name

39"Well, let me think"

43Herculean tasks

44Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time

45Sometimes-uncredited appearances

47da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example

49Gift from a teacher's pet

51Result of a hot pursuit?

54Grand Ole ___

56One leg press, say

58Minecraft resource

59Command to a jumpy dog

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Aug 26, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

40/185

Black / letter cells

4.9

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedAug 26, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJohn Kugelman and Lance Enfinger

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 39 down

Longest entries

35ASweet popcorn coating (4x)13 ltrs 17AEnhancing "blemish" (3x)10 ltrs 57A"Unbelievable!" ... or what 17-, 25-, 35- and 46-Across are made from, letter-wise?10 ltrs 25ATeach, playfully (3x)9 ltrs 46ANut in Sausalito cookies (3x)9 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 40 black squares and averages 4.9 letters per entry.