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NYT Crossword — January 18, 2025

Saturday’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

2M

3A

4N

5A

6P

7L

8A

9N

10A

11C

12A

13N

14A

15L

16C

A

R

E

T

O

E

L

A

B

O

R

A

T

E

17C

H

R

I

S

T

M

A

S

S

P

I

R

I

T

18R

O

A

N

19M

I

A

20A

C

T

S

21A

N

Y

22G

23W

E

N

24T

25I

L

26K

O

I

27M

U

M

28S

29N

30O

31O

32S

33C

A

R

N

34O

35M

I

N

A

36T

I

O

N

37S

P

A

N

I

S

H

O

M

E

L

E

T

T

E

38S

A

T

E

L

L

I

T

E

D

I

S

H

E

S

39O

R

E

40L

E

O

41I

V

S

42K

A

T

43S

44A

N

E

45L

46B

47J

48W

49R

50E

N

51C

A

N

52B

A

R

E

53H

O

T

E

54L

55C

A

L

I

56F

57O

R

N

I

A

58I

T

A

L

I

A

N

A

M

E

R

I

C

A

N

59T

E

S

T

E

D

T

H

E

W

A

T

E

R

S

Across

27 clues

1Famous palindrome starter

16"Is there more?"

17It can be infectious after Thanksgiving

18Coloring sometimes confused with dun

19Female rapper with the 2008 hit "Paper Planes"

21Lead-in to day, way or more

22Love interest of Peter in the "Spider-Man" universe

24Informal preposition

26Fish with a shy-sounding name

27It's the word

31One of 12 for Katharine Hepburn

37Dish that's different from its cousins by the inclusion of potatoes

38Catchers of waves

40Constellation with the star Regulus

41Informal hookups

42Half a candy bar?

45Initials for a 20th-century president (and his wife)

48Avian symbol of good fortune in Celtic culture

53Hit 1976 album whose title track won the Grammy for Record of the Year

58Yogi Berra or Joe DiMaggio, e.g.

59Sent out feelers, so to speak

Down

45 clues

1City that's the "heart of Africa's art scene," per National Geographic

2Capital and second-largest city of Minorca

4How to turn down a Hamburger

5They share keys with 2's

6Nursery purchase

7"I can handle this!"

8___ LeRoy Locke, "Father of the Harlem Renaissance"

9Org. with a climate research program

10Required safety feature on cars, in brief

1113-Down, e.g.

12It preceded Calibri as Microsoft's default font

14Plugging away

15Some do-overs

22Chest-beating sort

23Kate who won an Academy Award for "The Reader"

24On the right radio frequency

25Cry after a close shave

26Memorable title role of a 1941 film

27Handy person?

28Dark Lord of the ___ ("Star Wars" title)

29Pay attention to

30Stack of Monopoly bills

31Scapola o femore

32Go a couple of rounds

33___ Tiernan, author of the "Immortal Beloved" trilogy

34Largest tributary of the Mississippi

36Novelist Gerritsen

42Showed respect or submission, in a way

43Arabic for "prayer"

44Netflix category

46Pipe material

47Jimmy Carter was the first president regularly seen in these

48Slightest amount

50Some travelers' concerns, in brief

52Person partial to humour?

54Golfer's concern

57___ pro nobis

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Jan 18, 2025

15×15

Grid size

72

Total entries

30/195

Black / letter cells

5.4

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 18, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorScott McMahon

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split27 across · 45 down

Longest entries

1AFamous palindrome starter15 ltrs 16A"Is there more?"15 ltrs 17AIt can be infectious after Thanksgiving15 ltrs 31AOne of 12 for Katharine Hepburn15 ltrs 37ADish that's different from its cousins by the inclusion of potatoes15 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 30 black squares and averages 5.4 letters per entry.