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NYT Crossword — August 31, 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
1S
2T
3E
4P
5U
6C
7L
8A
9T
10I
11P
12S
13Y
14L
U
X
E
15B
A
I
T
16A
G
R
E
E
17O
T
I
S
18E
L
M
O
19L
O
O
T
S
20B
U
T
T
21E
R
F
I
N
22G
E
R
S
23L
E
S
24T
A
U
25C
26A
27T
28M
29A
30B
E
L
31J
E
L
L
32Y
33F
I
S
H
34A
V
A
35S
A
D
36P
E
R
U
S
E
37R
A
N
38A
39T
A
B
40P
E
T
I
T
E
S
41S
L
A
L
O
M
42R
A
D
43T
R
I
44H
O
N
E
Y
M
45O
O
N
46H
47O
O
T
S
48A
N
A
49I
R
A
50P
U
N
51S
52P
53R
E
A
D
54T
H
E
W
55O
56R
57D
58I
59G
L
O
O
60C
I
A
O
61A
L
I
A
62C
O
U
R
T
63L
E
N
T
64R
A
C
Y
65E
D
G
E
S
66E
S
S
O
67D
Y
E
S

Across

38 clues
1Part of a dance
5Sch. with the Daily Bruin newspaper
9Slightly intoxicated
14Fancy
15Worms and such on hooks
16Be of the same mind
17Redding with two posthumous Grammys
18"Sesame Street" character who was once sung to sleep by Andrea Bocelli
19Ransacks
20One who regularly drops things
23The : English :: ___ : French
24Letter after sigma
25One dining on Friskies
28Role for Selena Gomez on "Only Murders in the Building"
31Umbrella-shaped sea creature
34Director DuVernay
35Pathetic
36Examine at length
37Took shots first, then paid for them later
40Clothing sizes for shorter women
41Ski in zigzags
42"Far out!"
43Tetra- minus one
44Newlyweds' getaway
46Owl sounds
48Actress de Armas
49401(k) relative
50"Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g.
51"Tell everyone!" … or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?
58Inuit for "house"
60Italian hello
61Et ___ (and others: Lat.)
62Tennis locale
63Pre-Easter observance
64R-rated, maybe
65A cube has 12 of them
66Petrol brand
67Easter egg decorating supplies

Down

40 clues
1Mess maker
2Attire for the Sugar Plum Fairy
3Off-ramp
4Pulverizing tool
5Alternatives to Lyfts
6Baby whale
7In finite supply
8Lacking a musical key
9A ___ as old as time
10Composer Stravinsky
11Ham on an antipasto platter
12Solidify
13"You called?"
21Sinuous swimmer
22Swallowed hard
26Aver
27Graduate student’s project
28___ P. Johnson (gay rights activist)
29Island of Arthurian legend
30Fruit-resembling mollusk
31The "one" of a one-two
32So far
33Part of the week that workers look forward to: Abbr.
35Lunch item that might be made with cold cuts, in slang
38Ginger ___
39Cup-and-ball or yo-yo
40Deep-dish vessel
42Support staff for a rock band
45Soothsayer
46Tint
47"To victory!"
50Part of an Instagram post
52Skin opening
53Goes bad
54Gets bronzed at the beach
55Brand with "anti-aging" products
56Bibimbap base
57Pages on a desk calendar
58"Rocks" at a bar
59Lead-in to forbid or forsaken

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

Stats & info

Monday, Aug 31, 2026
15×15
Grid size
78
Total entries
37/188
Black / letter cells
4.8
Avg entry length
13 ltrs
Longest entry
Easiest
Monday difficulty
PuzzleThe Crossword
PublishedAug 31, 2026
DayMonday
ThemeUntitled
ConstructorChristopher Youngs
EditorWill Shortz
Clue split38 across · 40 down
Longest entries
20AOne who regularly drops things13 ltrs51A"Tell everyone!" … or what to do with the starts of 20-, 31- and 44-Across?13 ltrs11DHam on an antipasto platter10 ltrs30DFruit-resembling mollusk10 ltrs31AUmbrella-shaped sea creature9 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 37 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.