Home/Archive/Dec 25, 2025

NYT Crossword — December 25, 2025

Thursday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 72 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 72 revealed

1A

2H

3A

4S

5N

6O

7W

8S

9U

10R

11F

12P

O

L

13K

A

L

E

14U

T

I

L

15E

16L

O

L

17L

Y

G

A

G

18P

A

C

I

N

19G

20O

B

S

E

S

S

21O

22N

E

H

O

R

S

E

23M

O

E

S

24U

R

N

25T

U

E

26B

Y

T

H

27E

28H

29O

30R

N

S

31D

I

R

K

32C

E

R

A

33T

34B

O

N

E

S

35R

36I

37C

H

A

R

D

38H

A

R

R

I

S

39P

E

R

I

O

D

40I

O

T

A

41E

A

S

T

42W

43H

I

T

E

H

44E

45E

46L

47S

48L

G

A

49T

R

U

50A

X

E

L

51L

A

U

52G

H

I

N

53G

54L

55O

C

H

T

E

56A

N

D

Y

E

T

57B

58R

O

U

H

A

H

A

59S

I

R

E

E

60Y

E

A

R

61L

I

Z

62T

O

U

R

63E

F

F

S

64E

M

O

Across

35 clues

1Response to discovering the theme of a crossword

4Dashing through the ___ ...

8Foam on a seashore

12One who runs, informally

13Possible base for a Caesar salad

18Some anxious behavior on one's feet

21In a ___ open sleigh ...

23Where Bart Simpson directs his prank calls

24Buffet stand vessel

25Rare day for an N.F.L. game: Abbr.

26One way to take a bull

31Old dagger carried by Scottish Highlanders

32Michael of "Barbie"

33Hits from the side, informally

35First portrayer of Albus Dumbledore, the final live-action role in his long film career

40Letter after three consecutive rhyming letters

41Right-eous path?

42Footwear for a bride, perhaps

48JFK or EWR alternative

49Cable lead-in to TV

50Jump in skates

51What's seen "all the way" through this puzzle?

54Ryan with swimming gold medals in four straight Olympics

56"All that being said ..."

60Something typed in this field: YYYY

61Fashion designer Lange

62Many a vacation package

63Transcript ruiners

64___ pop (hybrid music genre)

Down

37 clues

2"Oh me, oh my!"

4"___ the Limit" (posthumous hit for the Notorious B.I.G.)

5Horses studied by touts

6Portuguese greeting

7O'er the fields ___ ...

8Eurasia or Oceania, in "1984"

9Like many Mormons

10The "R" of P.R.

11Vodka-and-pineapple juice cocktail popularized on "Sex and the City"

17Phil of the Grateful Dead

19Uber-enthusiasts

22Someone who might ask "Mother, may I?"

27Zoom call issue

28"S.N.L." V.I.P.

29Pilot who shares a tent with Yossarian in "Catch-22"

30Sides of pie slices, essentially

31Ballon ___ (soccer star's award)

34Slangy "dude"

35White House family of the 1980s

36Tax dodger's fear

37Loc. ___ (footnote abbr.)

39Big name in windows and doors

43Raider in times past

45Go "Phew!," say

46"He has my permission"

47Total slimeball

49Intl. org. with 12 stars on its flag

52Halal cart offering

53Elided farewell

54Do pretty much nothing

55Between you and me

58At whom you might yell "Are we watching the same game?!"

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Dec 25, 2025

15×15

Grid size

72

Total entries

42/183

Black / letter cells

5.1

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 25, 2025

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorSam Ezersky

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 37 down

Longest entries

35AFirst portrayer of Albus Dumbledore, the final live-action role in his long film career13 ltrs 26AOne way to take a bull10 ltrs 42AFootwear for a bride, perhaps10 ltrs 8DEurasia or Oceania, in "1984"10 ltrs 28D"S.N.L." V.I.P.10 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 42 black squares and averages 5.1 letters per entry.