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NYT Crossword — December 20, 2025

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 64 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 64 revealed
1A
2G
3A
4S
5S
6I
7E
8M
9B
10A
11R
12K
13V
E
N
T
E
D
14C
R
O
O
N
E
R
15O
N
T
I
L
T
16F
O
R
T
N
I
T
E
17W
E
L
L
L
A
18D
I
D
A
H
19M
O
W
20E
V
E
L
21G
I
V
E
N
22F
I
R
E
23D
E
R
M
24A
25N
E
R
D
26F
E
S
T
S
27O
R
28C
A
S
29B
E
E
T
S
30S
O
L
A
R
31C
O
A
L
S
32S
K
I
E
S
33S
A
Y
S
T
34C
H
I
N
S
T
35R
A
P
36T
H
37I
38C
39K
40R
A
N
G
41P
O
L
E
42D
43E
R
I
E
44A
K
C
45S
A
D
T
R
O
46M
B
O
N
E
47F
E
A
48T
U
R
E
S
49R
E
U
B
E
N
50T
O
R
O
N
T
O
51I
N
R
O
M
E
52S
N
E
A
K
Y
53S
U
N
T
A
N

Across

32 clues
1Sampras rival during the 1990s
7Get on board
13Let off steam, perhaps
14Perry Como or Bing Crosby
17"Aren't we all hoity-toity?!"
20First name in hog riding
21Established fact
22Let go of
23Body layer
25Events at which to release one's inner geek
30Higher power?
31They're stoked
32Word with blue or open
33Speak, as thou might
34Kind of beard that follows the jawline
36Dunderheaded
40"You ___?"
41Punted
45[womp, womp]
47Major magazine pieces
49Delicatessen offering
50Loser of the 2025 World Series
52Underhanded
53Beach shade

Down

32 clues
1Sworn
2City, lake or canton de Suisse
3Tip on quite a few bucks?
4Extremely rare, facetiously
5Act bearishly
7Dogsbody
8Io or luna
10Shamans, typically
11Claps back
12Mardi Gras parading societies
14Tech job
16Bills first introduced in 1861
18Currency of Serbia
22Exercise almost to a point of pain
26Significant spread
28Post-show celebration
30Some spa treatments
31Escapade
32Agree to, in a way
33Bath ___
34Fashions
35Clown locale
38Field of the annual César Awards
39One of the Wayans brothers
42Day at the movies
45Like some costs
46Many a drop-down
48___ T

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Dec 20, 2025
15×15
Grid size
64
Total entries
35/190
Black / letter cells
5.9
Avg entry length
11 ltrs
Longest entry
Hardest
Saturday difficulty
PuzzleThe Crossword
PublishedDec 20, 2025
DaySaturday
ThemeThemeless
ConstructorRobert S. Gard
EditorWill Shortz
Clue split32 across · 32 down
Longest entries

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 35 black squares and averages 5.9 letters per entry.