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NYT Crossword — December 12, 2025

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 70 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 70 revealed

1P

2S

3A

4S

5C

6A

7U

8S

9E

10A

11C

12T

13S

14I

K

N

O

15W

R

I

G

H

T

16S

U

I

T

17T

I

N

F

O

I

L

H

A

T

18P

L

E

A

19T

E

A

M

S

20W

A

21S

H

T

U

B

22B

E

S

23T

24S

25H

A

S

P

S

26V

27A

28L

E

N

C

I

A

29M

O

L

T

30I

P

A

D

31R

A

W

32F

O

O

T

A

33G

34E

35S

O

B

36F

O

N

D

A

N

T

37T

O

E

38A

P

P

39L

E

S

A

U

C

E

40D

U

A

L

41A

I

D

S

42S

T

Y

43L

I

S

T

S

44S

45E

R

V

E

46T

S

T

O

P

47A

R

T

E

X

48P

49O

50R

I

L

51K

52E

53P

I

N

S

54A

S

55S

56E

E

N

O

N

T

57V

58I

C

E

E

59T

H

E

R

E

S

M

O

R

E

60D

A

R

T

61H

A

N

G

S

62A

B

E

T

Across

33 clues

1Some free spots, for short

10Doesn't just talk

14"You're telling me!"

16Word with wet or sweat

17Conspiracy theorist's accessory

18"Don't leave me!," e.g.

1916 in a Sweet Sixteen

20Main component of a "gutbucket," a jug band instrument

22Personal records

25Padlocked fasteners

26Variety of orange named for a European city

29What blue crabs do roughly 20 times in their lifetimes

30Jobs announcement of 2010

31News feed, perhaps

36Thick confection used for cake icing

37Part of a golf club

42Photo session workers

46Skater's braking method with the back foot positioned horizontally

47Relative of a craft fair

50"Duino Elegies" poet

53Saves, as a digital location

54Clichéd line from the side of a product package

58It's cool to drink

59"I haven't told you the best part ..."

60Impressively accurate pass, in football slang

62Give a bad hand?

Down

37 clues

2Vaudeville highlight

3Pulitzer-winning journalist Applebaum

4You might pull one out for a guest

5With 38-Across, one way to sit

8Playwright who wrote "You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'"

9"Tell Mama" singer James

10Rocky road ingredient?

11Distinction for a classic underground work

13Sticks a fork in

21"Fiddlesticks!"

23Disney princess in New Orleans

24Workshop debris

26Possible need for entry

28Colleague who might be solutions-oriented?

29Tropical plants said to bring good fortune

32"That's the truth"

34Hagfish lookalikes

36Company whose logo has a hidden arrow between its fourth and fifth letters

39Performance that isn't prerecorded

40Word from the Greek for "folded paper"

43Butcher shop buys

44Pleasing to the palate

45"Buss It" rapper ___ Banks

49Arm of the Dept. of Labor

51Part of a cabinet

52French 101 verb

55Whitehouse in D.C., e.g.: Abbr.

56Physics unit equivalent to roughly 624 gigaelectronvolts

57Thoroughly evaluate

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

Stats & info

Friday, Dec 12, 2025

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

34/191

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 12, 2025

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorAdrian Johnson and Jess Rucks

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split33 across · 37 down

Longest entries

14A"You're telling me!"10 ltrs 17AConspiracy theorist's accessory10 ltrs 31ANews feed, perhaps10 ltrs 38ASee 5-Down10 ltrs 54AClichéd line from the side of a product package10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 34 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.