Home/Archive/Dec 17, 2025

NYT Crossword — December 17, 2025

Wednesday’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

1C

2O

3I

4F

5S

6A

7R

8A

9B

10S

11T

12E

13P

14U

B

O

A

T

15L

A

N

A

16U

R

G

E

17P

O

U

T

Y

18P

A

R

T

Y

19B

U

G

S

20S

E

S

H

21U

S

E

S

22Q

U

E

S

T

23O

24U

R

25C

U

R

T

26C

27H

28A

M

P

S

29A

30T

31T

H

E

B

O

32U

33T

34R

A

P

35D

E

C

R

E

E

36A

L

L

Y

37A

M

O

38C

O

39T

U

E

40K

N

I

T

S

41B

U

L

L

42N

O

S

T

43R

A

44F

R

O

45S

P

O

U

46T

I

N

T

H

E

O

47C

E

A

N

48G

E

E

K

49P

S

A

50C

51H

I

L

E

52S

53L

54O

E

55T

56I

57P

58S

59O

O

Z

E

60S

P

E

L

L

61I

T

O

U

T

62S

E

E

S

63K

I

N

D

64C

O

T

T

A

65A

D

D

S

66A

N

T

E

67H

Y

A

T

T

Across

37 clues

1Lock combinations?

10Single instruction

14Enemy W.W. II vessel

15Turner of old movies

16Powerful impulse

17Group of grumps sitting around kvetching?

19Elmer's nemesis

20Meeting, casually

21A smartphone has lots of these

22Centerpiece of "The Hobbit"

23Community property pronoun

25Like barked orders

26Ali vs. Frazier, e.g.?

34Genre for GloRilla

35Official mandate

36Fellow fighter

37Brand once known as "Standard Oil Company of Indiana"

39Mardi Gras day, in brief

40Works on a muffler, say

41Welcome figure on Wall Street, unwelcome figure in a china shop

45Welcome sight on a whale-watching cruise?

49TV freebie of a sort

50Easter Island's country

52Dark-skinned fruit

55Pieces of advice

59Primordial substance

60Painstakingly explain something ... or a hint to 17-, 26- and 45-Across

62Takes a tour of

63Compassionate

65Does the math, in a way

67H, on the N.Y.S.E.

Down

41 clues

1Tarot suit associated with the element of water

2Yamaha product

3What makes a stud become studious?

6"That's a real shame"

7Steakhouse order

8Marchers in sidewalk cracks

9Howl at the moon

12Ones from platypuses have leathery shells

13Fly by night ... or by day

18Compact holder

22Neighbor of Ont.

24Red carpet hairstyle, perhaps

25Jost's longtime "Weekend Update" co-anchor

26Food you might eat wearing a bib

27Overplay for the audience

28Was the bigger person, say

29Follow, as advice

30Have faith in

31Canines, e.g.

33Big name in chicken or boxing

381990s comedy inspired by "Emma"

40"Get Smart" bad guys

42Suffix with beat or neat

46Stick in the ground?

47Just about anything on a string

50With 42-Across, the Mafia

51Cultivated, in a way

52Start a turn in Twister

53Time to do without

54Gary's ___ Towne Tavern (rival bar on "Cheers")

56Minuscule amount

58Batting avg., e.g.

60Rocksteady relative

61"___ bin ein Berliner"

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 17, 2025

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorGary Larson and Doug Peterson

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 41 down

Longest entries

26AAli vs. Frazier, e.g.?15 ltrs 45AWelcome sight on a whale-watching cruise?15 ltrs 17AGroup of grumps sitting around kvetching?10 ltrs 60APainstakingly explain something ... or a hint to 17-, 26- and 45-Across10 ltrs 11DAuthentic10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.