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NYT Crossword — December 10, 2025

Wednesday’s 16 × 15 puzzle, 81 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 81 revealed
1W
2E
3V
4E
5S
6W
7A
8T
9A
10T
11Z
12E
13U
14S
15E
V
E
L
16T
A
C
O
M
A
17O
N
T
O
18B
E
G
S
19P
R
E
R
E
C
20O
R
D
E
D
21A
N
G
E
22R
23P
R
I
N
T
E
R
24P
E
I
25U
26H
S
27D
O
28U
29B
30T
31P
R
E
32P
P
Y
33A
34T
35M
36S
37N
E
O
38B
E
A
D
39R
I
C
E
40P
41A
D
D
Y
42N
A
T
U
R
43E
R
E
S
E
R
V
E
S
44E
S
C
A
L
A
T
O
R
45D
O
E
R
46C
F
O
47S
A
W
S
48E
S
C
R
49O
50W
51O
W
N
52E
53D
54S
R
I
55E
R
A
56R
A
57T
58T
59R
60A
P
61T
62U
P
A
C
63R
64O
65S
E
S
A
R
E
R
E
66D
67R
A
C
K
68E
R
I
C
69T
O
I
L
E
T
70S
I
L
O
71V
E
N
T
72S
Y
N
O
D
S
73A
R
E
S

Across

37 clues
1"___ been had!"
5Shoo away, in a way
11Thunderbolt wielder
15First name in daring jumps
16City NE of Olympia
17Familiar with the tricks of
18Emulates a dog around the family dinner table
19Like voice mail messages, for example
21Red "Inside Out" character
23OUT OF ORDER! PAPER TRAY REQUIRES MAINTENANCE!
24J.F.K. Library architect
25Verbal hesitations
27"No ___!"
31Like some boarding school attire
33Green dispensaries?
37Iconic repeated Keanu Reeves role
38Bit of condensation
39Type of flooded field
42Protected lands for plants and animals
44OUT OF ORDER! USE STAIRS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
45One who is acting?
46Corp. money bigwig
47Some pearls of wisdom
48Third-party holding
51Used to have
54___ Chinmoy, 20th-century Indian spiritual leader
55Time piece?
56Hole in the wall
61Rapper who co-starred in 1994's "Above the Rim"
63Love poem opener
67Article of pool equipment
68Children's author Carle who wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
69OUT OF ORDER! USE SECOND-FLOOR BATHROOM INSTEAD!
70Corn container
71Release steam
72Diocese assemblies
73Final boss in the game God of War

Down

44 clues
1Software accessed via an online browser
2Game-tying goal
3Healthier version of a breakfast side dish
4"Or ___ what?"
5Longtime NASCAR sponsor
6Alters the shape of
7Dell competitor
8Singer Amos
9"You can say that again!"
10Sensitivity
11Secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega
12Ax, so to speak
13Beehive State athlete
14Grassy section
20Source of 3.5 million quotations, for short
22Performer of the 1992 dance song "Supermodel (You Better Work)"
26Greek figures with multiple heads
28Status of 23-, 44- and 69-Across, as indicated by their clues and placement in the grid
29Trampoline mats
30Elf product
32Org. opposed to "speciesism"
33Common street sign symbol
34Several things in a pagoda
35Party starters, in brief
36Sowing machine
40"To your health!," in Germany
41___ gaz (carbonated: Fr.)
42[Don't open this at the office!]
43One of four rhyming letters
44Modern prefix with village
49"The Matrix" character, with "the"
50Nuts
52Standing
53Aachen article
54"There is more to life than increasing its ___": Gandhi
57Some needle work, in brief
58"Community" character played by Donald Glover
59Apt letters missing from _ _stra_ _
60Songwriter Guthrie
62___ Minor
63Fire up
64Prize that a prospector pries
65Sloth, e.g.
66Some N.F.L. linemen

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Dec 10, 2025
16×15
Grid size
81
Total entries
42/198
Black / letter cells
4.9
Avg entry length
14 ltrs
Longest entry
Medium
Wednesday difficulty
PuzzleThe Crossword
PublishedDec 10, 2025
DayWednesday
ThemeUntitled
ConstructorKareem Ayas
EditorWill Shortz
Clue split37 across · 44 down
Longest entries
42AProtected lands for plants and animals14 ltrs19ALike voice mail messages, for example11 ltrs63ALove poem opener11 ltrs3DHealthier version of a breakfast side dish11 ltrs28DStatus of 23-, 44- and 69-Across, as indicated by their clues and placement in the grid11 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 42 black squares and averages 4.9 letters per entry.