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NYT Crossword — August 29, 2026

Saturday’s 15 × 16 puzzle, 69 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 69 revealed

1A

2B

3C

4S

5N

6B

7A

8C

9H

10A

11M

12P

13S

14B

I

O

R

E

15S

U

S

H

I

B

O

A

T

16I

D

T

A

G

17A

L

I

E

N

S

H

I

P

18G

O

T

M

A

19D

20L

A

N

D

21A

N

A

22A

C

L

S

23E

24W

I

N

G

25P

I

T

T

26S

T

E

27B

A

I

N

28P

A

R

S

29S

O

C

30I

A

L

L

A

31D

32D

E

R

33R

A

N

I

T

S

C

O

U

R

S

34E

35P

A

T

I

O

H

E

A

T

E

R

36S

37T

E

N

N

I

S

L

E

S

S

O

38N

39A

40R

I

D

41N

O

I

R

42T

R

Y

43B

R

I

E

44S

45O

A

K

S

46S

W

A

P

47P

I

G

48T

H

U

S

49T

50E

C

H

N

O

51L

O

G

52A

R

I

T

H

53M

54R

A

I

D

S

55U

S

E

R

E

R

R

O

R

56A

L

L

O

T

57S

I

D

E

S

T

E

P

S

58S

E

E

M

Across

34 clues

1Main characters for an early reader

5They get rings for hoops

14Skin-care brand known for its pore strips

15Large restaurant vessel shaped like another vessel

16Conference handout

17Dubious sighting in the night sky

18Started to boil

20Work, as a joke

21Romance author Huang

22They might be rehabbed with knee flexion

23His #33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003

25Winner of the 2025 Outstanding Drama Series Emmy, with "The"

26Personne canonisée: Abbr.

27___ Capital, investment firm co-founded by Mitt Romney

28Hits the mark, in a way

29Many people climb it

33Naturally concluded

35Ones giving a toast at an outdoor party?

37Court session, perhaps

39Like much of Libya

41Depicting the world bleakly and cynically

42Put your back into it

43"Sweet dreams are made of cheese / Who am I to dis a ___?" (parody lyrics)

46Fair trade, say

47"It is not easy for a ___ to balance himself on a ladder": "Animal Farm"

48A word in closing

49Relative of house music

51Inverse of an exponential function

54Vikings' offense?

55What a supposed bug is often revealed to be

57Deftly evades

Down

35 clues

1Nonhuman provider of medical advice

5Org. featured in 1998's "Enemy of the State"

6Breaking character?

7Like parts of Istanbul

8Common Chinese surname

10Stability aids, informally

11Soft, silky material

12Depicts stylishly

13Green day star, for short

14Humongous, slangily

19Stocked and sold, as goods

24August ___, "Fences" playwright

25Makes sense of

27Deliberately exasperated

30Indecisive way to end

32Binary, in a way

36"Wow ... what are the chances?!"

38Publisher of the front-page headline "This sport is stupid anyway" after a U.S. loss at the World Cup, in brief

39Half-spoken, half-sung passages of an opera

44It goes on top

45Shockingly unconventional

46Stepped-on instrument

50Time divisions

52"___ You That Somebody?" (1998 Aaliyah hit)

53Half of a couple

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Aug 29, 2026

15×16

Grid size

69

Total entries

36/204

Black / letter cells

5.9

Avg entry length

16 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedAug 29, 2026

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRafael Musa and Kate Chin Park

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 35 down

Longest entries

6DBreaking character?16 ltrs 29AMany people climb it12 ltrs 33ANaturally concluded12 ltrs 35AOnes giving a toast at an outdoor party?12 ltrs 37ACourt session, perhaps12 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 5.9 letters per entry.