Home/Archive/Dec 14, 2025

NYT Crossword — December 14, 2025

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 138 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 138 revealed

1S

2T

3O

4R

5M

6T

7O

8P

9L

10S

11U

12C

13A

14R

15D

16S

17C

H

A

F

E

18W

R

A

19P

U

P

S

20R

E

V

E

R

E

21O

O

H

I

M

22S

O

S

C

A

R

E

D

23P

A

D

A

W

A

N

24P

R

U

D

E

N

T

25M

I

K

A

26F

A

V

E

27I

F

S

28E

P

A

29A

I

30D

A

N

31R

32H

I

N

E

33U

N

T

O

34D

E

N

35V

36E

R

M

I

N

T

37M

A

R

S

L

38A

N

D

E

R

39E

L

L

E

N

40P

E

T

E

Y

41B

A

S

E

S

42E

N

O

S

43G

44O

45A

L

N

E

T

46G

E

L

47F

L

I

P

A

48H

O

U

S

E

49D

R

50U

M

L

I

51N

52E

53S

54A

L

I

55E

T

E

56T

S

A

57R

58A

B

C

59K

E

N

O

60V

E

S

61T

S

62L

63I

S

A

64V

65A

P

E

66F

E

W

E

R

67O

S

H

A

68S

L

R

69M

70A

L

L

71R

72C

A

73E

M

T

74W

H

A

T

75A

H

O

O

76T

77N

O

T

78E

X

A

C

79T

L

Y

80T

R

Y

81N

E

82G

A

T

O

R

83N

E

A

L

84S

85P

86I

L

T

87D

W

E

L

L

88N

89O

T

I

P

90I

O

W

E

Y

91O

U

O

N

E

92G

93A

I

N

E

D

A

94D

95A

96Y

97C

L

A

D

98P

R

O

S

E

99A

L

E

V

E

100O

L

E

101K

E

N

102M

E

A

D

103C

104O

L

D

105I

N

106E

107R

T

I

A

108B

A

T

109H

I

N

G

110A

L

T

E

R

111E

D

S

T

A

T

E

S

112A

X

I

O

M

S

113C

U

R

S

I

V

E

114A

G

E

N

T

115Y

E

N

T

E

116T

B

A

117N

E

O

118S

U

D

S

Y

Across

68 clues

1Marvel superhero who can manipulate weather patterns

6Something fun to take out for a spin

9Shaquille O'Neal's alma mater, for short

12Parts of a hand

20Paul whose house is one of the 16 historic sites of Boston's Freedom Trail

21False alarm announcement?

23Jedi-in-training

25TV host Brzezinski

26#1 choice, in slang

27"No ___, ands or buts!"

28Pollution-fighting org.

29"Game of Thrones" actor Gillen

31River that borders the Black Forest

33"Render ___ Caesar …"

34Major coin producer

37Viking I or II

39Astronaut Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space

40Nickname for Mark's unsevered best friend in "Severance"

41They turn red litmus paper blue

42First chimpanzee to orbit Earth

43Football blocker?

46Hair-raising stuff

47Remodel and resell some real estate

49Marching band tempo setters

54Who said "It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am"

55Season to enjoy une glace

56Ruler before 1917

58"Black-ish" airer

59It's a numbers game

60Clothing for SWAT teams

62"The Simpsons" character who becomes obsessed with crossword puzzles

66Like the number of Oscars vis-à-vis the number of Emmys

67Plant watcher, for short

68Camera type, in brief

69Site of some Santa sightings

71Longtime record label of Elvis Presley

73911 responder

77"I mean, kind of ..."

80"Don't give up!"

81¬ or ~, in logic

83Beat poet ___ Cassady

84Like some milk, idiomatically

87___ on the past

88Indication of bad service

90"Much obliged"

92Crossed the International Date Line from east to west, or west to east (depending on how you look at it)

98Articles are written in this

99Brand name for naproxen

101Doll that comes in multiple body types, skin tones, eye colors and hair colors

102Drink known also as "honey wine"

105Subject of Newton's first law

108Enjoying a soak

1101980 horror film starring William Hurt ... or what the shaded squares contain?

112Fundamental rules of math

113Loopy writing

114Star pitcher?

115"Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker

116Letters for an unscheduled event

117Prefix with natal

118Like a bubble bath

Down

70 clues

1Surveyed, with "out"

2Early track star Jim

3Resident of Honolulu, e.g.

4Touchless payment tech

6Cheat on, in a way

7Surgery sites, in brief

8Video game character with an endless appetite

9Be in a chat room but not chat

10Soldiers with long arms

11Alternative to the euro, in brief

13Director DuVernay

14Turns back the clock, maybe?

15Opposite of volunteer

16Parts of many robots in robot-sumo

19Area inside the free-throw line, in basketball slang

20"Gaspard de la Nuit" composer

22Addresses angrily

23Variety of violet

26Urban safety hazard

30Australia's largest carnivorous mammal

32Word used 10 times in Roger Ebert's review of "North" (1994)

35Part of a legendary boast

36Skips all the ceremony?

38The brother in "Am I my brother's keeper?"

40What might be made while clasping one's hands

42Engineer Gray who, arguably, invented the telephone — and battled Alexander Graham Bell over it in court for years

44Ballpark figure

46Sierra automaker

47Shylock's security

48Adele song with the lyric "I must have called a thousand times"

50Non-premium option in a rideshare app

51Gaming mogul Gabe

52Ernst Stavro Blofeld, to James Bond

53Put into piles, perhaps

57Parking space for an Airstream, say, in brief

61Did some school reporting?

63Exceptionally hard timber

65Amy Winehouse, e.g.

66Thumbprint alternative on iPhones

68Reluctant to ask out one's crush, maybe

70Particularly particular

75Like many indie films

76Many characters in the 2007 comedy "Superbad"

78He had a Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Rubber Duckie"

79Tortilla de patatas, por ejemplo

82Where high schoolers work on their numbers?

84Starship's medical facility

85Ren faire prop akin to a halberd

86"Sign me up!"

87Hair-care item associated with Black culture

89Like YouTube offerings

92Rough drafts?

93Interview guest whom Ali G calls "my man Buzz Lightyear here"

94Like lowercase i's and j's

95Sci-fi sequel of 1986

96Like soft rolls

102Wordless entertainment

104Other, to Octavio

106Brief announcements from a pilot

107___ alla bolognese (slow-cooked sauce)

110Play a part, or part of a play

111Part of N.Y.E.

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Dec 14, 2025

21×21

Grid size

138

Total entries

75/366

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 14, 2025

DaySunday

ThemeChange Locations

ConstructorZachary Edward-Brown and John Kugelman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split68 across · 70 down

Longest entries

21AFalse alarm announcement?13 ltrs 110A1980 horror film starring William Hurt ... or what the shaded squares contain?13 ltrs 34AMajor coin producer10 ltrs 37AViking I or II10 ltrs 47ARemodel and resell some real estate10 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 75 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.