Home/Archive/Dec 21, 2025

NYT Crossword — December 21, 2025

Sunday’s 21 × 22 puzzle, 143 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 143 revealed

1S

2K

3I

4P

5L

6A

7N

8E

9S

10B

11A

12M

13A

14S

15O

16D

17ASH

18O

19P

20T

E

T

R

O

M

I

N

O

21A

M

I

R

22P

R

O

W

L

S

23E

A

S

E

S

I

N

T

O

24D

A

R

N

25R

E

M

E

D

Y

26A

N

I

L

27L

E

E

28S

U

N

R

O

29S

E

S

30D

M

C

31M

E

N

U

32A

P

R

33I

L

34D

O

L

C

E

35N

A

H

36D

37A

T

A

38R

I

39C

A

R

D

O

40O

41V

E

N

42S

43P

44H

E

R

E

S

45A

P

A

46PALM

O

47F

F

A

S

48C

O

A

T

S

49T

50E

T

O

N

51R

E

B

R

A

N

D

52E

53D

54I

M

S

OAK

E

55D

56V

E

N

T

57N

O

R

58O

N

S

A

L

E

59O

M

N

I

60N

61O

I

R

62F

A

N

S

63I

T

E

64Y

I

N

65N

E

T

S

66C

A

P

E

67S

E

T

I

68T

H

R

69U

70S

A

B

E

71S

T

ELM

O

72R

H

I

A

N

73N

74O

75N

76P

77O

78P

79B

A

R

80C

L

A

Y

81B

I

E

N

82D

E

L

I

83T

O

O

84K

I

N

85L

A

Y

F

86L

A

T

87G

88R

E

W

I

N

89S

H

R

I

N

K

90R

A

Y

91A

U

R

A

92S

93B

R

A

V

E

94C

A

E

S

A

R

95C

L

E

96C

97H

I

T

T

E

R

98M

U

S

T

99V

E

100S

101S

E

L

S

102H

U

S

H

103S

U

PINE

104M

E

N

L

O

105E

T

106H

E

R

107E

108S

109P

110N

111E

L

F

112D

A

N

CEDAR

O

U

113N

D

114I

M

S

115T

H

E

E

116E

L

I

117D

E

S

118R

A

R

E

119S

K

A

T

120E

R

A

T

S

121Y

E

S

Y

E

S

122O

N

C

E

123G

E

T

O

V

E

R

I

T

124A

D

H

E

R

E

125W

E

E

D

126T

R

A

N

S

E

P

T

S

Across

72 clues

1Some Arctic transports

10S.E.C. football powerhouse, for short

141950s hangout with a jukebox

20Game piece made of four squares

21"The Kite Runner" protagonist

23Joins gradually

24"Doggone it!"

26Blue colorant obtained from the indigo plant

27Wrangler alternative

28Brightly colored Mediterranean flowers

30Rap's Run-___

31Course catalog?

32When Aries transitions to Taurus

34Sweetly, on scores

36Input of certain mining

38Montalbán who played Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

40Timer setting

42Areas of influence

45Mental health org.

46Fraudulently make seem like

48Covers completely

51Like a corporation with a new logo, perhaps

54Comment from someone caught in the rain

56Yellow avenue in Monopoly

58A bit off, say

59Hyatt alternative

60Hard-boiled genre

62TheForce.net for "Star Wars," for example

65Former big name in browsers

67U.F.O.-watching org.

68By way of, informally

70Kemo ___ (the Lone Ranger)

71Sailor's patron

72Fleetwood Mac hit named for a Celtic goddess

79Eponymous British financier James ___

81By saying this you mean well

83Adopted, as a pet

85Wasn't folded in a suitcase, say

87Developed, as baby teeth

89Sci-fi miniaturizer

94Kind of cipher in which A becomes B, B becomes C, e.g.

95Guardians, on a scoreboard

96Bit of birdspeak

98Damp, mildewy quality

99They hold water

103Lying faceup

104___ Park, Calif.

105Air

107Disney subsidiary

111A little help?

112Evaded, as a sensitive issue

114Some pings, in brief

115"Fie on ___!" (Shakespearean cry)

118Few and far between

119Regulars at parks with ramps, informally

121Reply after having one's memory jogged

122Some time ago

123"What's done is done!"

125Garden interloper

126Church parts crossing naves

Down

71 clues

2"The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil ___

3Tennis line judge's ruling

4Duke Ellington classic with the lyric "That was my heart serenading you"

5West side of L.A.?

6"Is there still time for me to join you?"

751 to the hour

8Stage direction

9Phillipa of Broadway

10Grammy winner Erykah

11___ Gorman, "The Hill We Climb" poet

13Iced-tea-and-lemonade refreshments

14Spending romp

15Output of certain mining

16Counterpart of a sub

18Father, familiarly

19Mentally overpower, with "out"

28Like most moccasins

29Great Dane of cartoons, informally

37Keister, in Leicester

392015 chart-topping hit for the Weeknd

40Symbolic for its time

41Shoe company with an iconic checkerboard design

47Rabid in appearance

50Woman's nickname that sounds like two letters

52"Borderlands" director ___ Roth

57Org. with its own alphabet

61Abbr. not found on most smartphones

63"Aren't ___ lucky one?!"

66It has a lot of secretaries

67Shirt collar stiffener

69Where to find six "presents" in this puzzle?

71Knock ’em dead

72Coolidge who sang the theme for "Octopussy"

73Just getting started with

75What Joe Montana was in the '80s

76A TD scores six of these

77"Fancy, that!"

78Prickly denizen of coral reefs

80Famed lawyer in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial

84Some Korean exports

86Calmed deceptively

88Baseball slugger's stat

90Bird used to deliver messages on "Game of Thrones"

97Author Zora Neale ___

98Noodled on, with "over"

100Girlfriend in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

104Tricky pool shot

106Someone enjoying a walk in the park

108Mentally with it

110Fits one inside the other

112Porcine : pigs :: cervine : ___

117It might be good for a change

119One who knows the drill?: Abbr.

120Teslas, e.g., for short

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Dec 21, 2025

21×22

Grid size

143

Total entries

72/390

Black / letter cells

5.7

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 21, 2025

DaySunday

ThemePresent Time

ConstructorDavid Kwong

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split72 across · 71 down

Longest entries

4DDuke Ellington classic with the lyric "That was my heart serenading you"14 ltrs 39D2015 chart-topping hit for the Weeknd14 ltrs 80DFamed lawyer in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial14 ltrs 13DIced-tea-and-lemonade refreshments13 ltrs 78DPrickly denizen of coral reefs13 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 72 black squares and averages 5.7 letters per entry.