Home/Archive/Aug 29, 2025

NYT Crossword — August 29, 2025

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 72 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 72 revealed

1D

2I

3S

4C

5B

6N

7A

8I

9D

10E

11E

12T

13L

U

N

A

R

14B

E

L

L

15C

U

R

V

E

16A

B

O

D

E

17K

I

L

L

E

R

B

E

E

18M

A

N

D

A

19R

I

N

20B

L

U

E

S

21P

I

E

22T

I

N

23D

I

E

M

24S

25W

I

N

G

26S

E

T

S

27A

28S

29H

30H

E

R

O

D

31M

E

E

T

32C

U

T

E

33R

O

N

I

N

34D

U

D

35I

O

T

A

S

36C

U

S

T

O

37M

E

R

38C

A

N

O

N

39A

R

E

40F

U

N

F

41I

L

L

E

D

42R

A

N

T

43D

E

E

44I

45M

46S

47M

48O

O

D

S

49I

L

O

V

50E

D

I

T

51R

A

P

B

A

T

52T

L

E

53E

V

A

D

E

54F

R

E

E

M

E

A

L

S

55N

O

C

A

P

56K

E

N

S

57R

U

S

T

58T

O

T

S

Across

35 clues

1Coaster, usually

5Start of some temple names

9Bug spray ingredient

13Kind of rover

14Figure with two tails

17Queen's guard?

18Language whose name consists of four consecutive U.S. state postal abbreviations

20Genre for 5-Down

21Certain graph shape

22Word with Man or can

24Places where it's OK to push someone at school

27Evidence of a fire

30Christmas story villain

31Plot device in many a rom-com

33Samurai with no master

35Little pieces

36Welcome sight for a business

38What fan fiction is not

39"Odds" follower

40Loaded with excitement

42Blow off steam, say

44Some Slack convos

47Happiness and excitement, for two

49Four-star review, say

51Spitting contest?

53Manage to lose

54Some workplace perks

55"Seriously!," in slang

56Fighters on the beach in 2023's "Barbie"

57Old car concern

58Preschoolers, e.g.

Down

37 clues

1Home to the torus-shaped Museum of the Future

2By some measure

3Safety org. for young people

4Painting on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, with "The"

5"The Thrill Is Gone" musician, 1970

7Even more than most

8"OK, now you've got me intrigued ..."

9Macaroni wheat

10Kathryn of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"

11Anticipatory times

12Anger, with "off"

13Lantern, e.g.

15Eclipse, for one

23Proof of a plot

25Order in the court

261980s cartoon foe of Gargamel

27Library regular, perhaps

28Eminem song that samples Dido

29"___ a real nowhere man ..."

32Dog's post-op wear

33Label that sold the first 33 1/3 r.p.m. records

34Make an impression on

37Member of a 1960s TV family

38Geppetto's pet goldfish in Disney's "Pinocchio"

42They might hang out in a hotel room

45Big name in mufflers

46Bit of a how-to

48Move the first pawn, say

50High-quality flavoring for salad dressings, in brief

51Inits. of the statesman who said "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly"

52Time constant symbol in physics

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

Stats & info

Friday, Aug 29, 2025

15×15

Grid size

72

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedAug 29, 2025

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorJesse Cohn

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 37 down

Longest entries

4DPainting on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, with "The"14 ltrs 15DEclipse, for one14 ltrs 2DBy some measure10 ltrs 27DLibrary regular, perhaps10 ltrs 14AFigure with two tails9 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.