Home/Archive/Dec 7, 2025

NYT Crossword — December 7, 2025

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 140 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 140 revealed

1C

2O

3I

4F

5S

6I

7P

8A

9S

10S

11A

12H

13A

14B

15A

16L

17P

18O

19U

B

O

L

T

20W

A

S

A

T

21P

A

C

E

22P

O

O

H

23P

O

W

E

R

24C

O

U

P

L

E

25B

I

R

D

26B

R

A

I

N

27S

E

A

A

I

R

28L

I

A

R

29S

30R

E

E

L

31N

N

E

32V

A

33R

34C

A

N

O

35E

36L

I

37O

T

T

A

38C

39A

40B

41L

E

G

U

42Y

43M

O

U

N

44T

45A

I

N

G

O

A

T

46H

U

R

O

N

47N

I

48B

49P

R

E

V

A

I

L

50O

T

I

C

51A

S

P

E

52N

53S

54O

R

E

55S

A

56S

57S

58Y

59M

O

T

I

60O

N

D

E

T

E

C

61T

O

R

62L

O

W

S

63P

T

A

64M

O

E

S

65G

A

I

T

E

66R

67G

A

V

E

L

68U

N

69M

A

D

E

70P

A

R

E

S

71O

72N

E

S

I

E

73A

N

N

A

N

74P

75A

R

T

E

D

76O

M

E

N

77E

T

78C

79N

E

I

N

80S

E

E

D

Y

81C

H

A

R

A

82C

T

E

R

83T

R

A

C

84E

85O

K

S

86Y

E

S

A

N

D

87L

E

N

A

88A

M

89O

R

O

S

90O

91A

R

T

92C

U

R

E

S

93D

94R

95I

V

I

N

G

F

O

R

96C

97E

98A

I

99R

H

E

A

D

S

100R

E

M

E

N

D

101N

E

E

D

102S

103C

O

E

104U

G

H

105E

A

106R

107L

108O

R

I

N

109G

110T

W

111I

112S

113T

114S

115D

R

E

116A

M

T

E

A

117M

118S

T

A

R

119W

I

T

N

E

S

S

120G

E

R

M

121E

A

V

E

122E

E

R

I

E

123O

R

G

A

N

124E

T

E

S

125S

L

A

T

126I

D

E

S

T

127Y

E

A

R

S

Across

67 clues

6"Count me out"

11Cantankerous captain of fiction

15Lab provisions?

19Bit of letter-shaped hardware

21New York university based in Manhattan

22A "bear of very little brain"

23Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison?

25John James Audubon?

27Victorian-era prescription for melancholy

28They'll make it up to you

30Stumble or lurch

31Pittsburgh-to-Buffalo dir.

32Dictionary tag: Abbr.

34Summer camper's conveyance

36Emmy-winning actor Ray

38Samuel Morse?

43Sir Edmund Hillary?

46Lake that's home to the world's largest freshwater island

49Come out on top

50Suffix with hypn-

51Trees commonly confused with birches

54Deposit that might gather interest?

59Sir Isaac Newton?

63"Harper Valley ___" (1968 hit)

64TV tavern visited by Mayor Quimby

65Shoe covering

67It's often rapped but never spoken

68Like beds on lazy Saturdays

71Outfit that may have a hood

73Kofi ___, former secretary general of the United Nations

74Like the Red Sea after a visit from Moses

76Rain on your wedding day, perhaps

79Oui : non :: ja : ___

80Gregor Mendel?

85Gives a thumbs up

86Basic tenet of improv

87Sister to Lex Luthor

88With love, musically

91A urinal, according to Duchamp

98Orville and Wilbur Wright?

100Give a darn, again?

101Food and water, e.g.

103College located in Cedar Rapids

104"That sounds awful!"

108Bit of letter-shaped hardware

110Unexpected endings

115Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung?

118Galileo Galilei?

121Roof overhang

122Weirdly spooky

123Church staple

124"Vous ___ ici" (French map phrase)

125Part of a wooden bench

126"In other words," in other words

127Trips around the sun

Down

73 clues

1Solos at a party, say

2The duck in "Peter and the Wolf"

3Future birthplace of Captain Kirk

4Pest whose name is a homophone for what you might do when you see it

5Gone to great lengths

7One of the Fab Four

8Jelly you wouldn't pair with peanut butter

9Arabic greeting and farewell

10Canned fuel used in making fondue

11Broadcast to squad cars, in brief

12Slim margin of victory

13One chain x one furlong

14Amelia ___, maid of children's literature

15Its showers bring flowers: Abbr.

16Grant a mortgage, say

17Where one's trip begins

18"Golly, that's cool!"

24Rock climber's handhold

26Russian crepes

29Starter, perhaps

33Is felt strongly

35Firmly establishes

37Crazy Horse and fellow tribespeople

38Bite down hard

39Musical tool popularized by T-Pain

40Personification of England, Scotland and Wales

41Sets of points, in math

42"Jeepers creepers!"

45Michigan, in Chicago: Abbr.

48Word after you or wanna

51"And giving ___, up the chimney he rose"

56Like many Russian housing blocks

57Made more enticing

58French fashion inits.

60Oldest independent state in the Arab world

61Alter, as a T-shirt for a Phish concert, say

67Actress Rowlands

69She-shed's counterpart

70Like some nails found in a drugstore

73Drone or queen

76Catherine of "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind"

81Farm-share program, for short

84Self-proclaimed "Rap God"

89Like many couples at theaters

90McFlurry flavor

92Something for canines to sink their canines into

94Wish one could take back

95Arrival announcement

96___ Lannister, "Game of Thrones" queen

97Like professional publications

99Indian flatbread

106Not just theoretical

109Drab color for una casa

112Sonic the Hedgehog company

113Feodor I, for one

114Taxpayer IDs

116Morning times, in brief

119Kind of nurse or suit

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Dec 7, 2025

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

70/371

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedDec 7, 2025

DaySunday

ThemeOriginal Thinkers

ConstructorKate Jensen

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split67 across · 73 down

Longest entries

59ASir Isaac Newton?14 ltrs 80AGregor Mendel?14 ltrs 43ASir Edmund Hillary?12 ltrs 93AHenry Ford?12 ltrs 23ANikola Tesla and Thomas Edison?11 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 70 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.