Home/Archive/Jan 4, 2025

NYT Crossword — January 4, 2025

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 68 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 68 revealed

1U

2S

3E

4M

5B

6A

7S

8S

9Y

10C

11A

12S

13K

14C

H

L

O

E

Z

H

A

O

15E

D

D

I

E

16L

A

M

B

S

T

E

A

K

17C

R

A

Z

E

18A

G

O

R

A

E

19B

E

20C

H

A

M

E

L

21U

F

C

22R

E

C

S

23A

24N

25N

L

E

E

26S

27H

O

C

K

I

28N

29G

30V

A

P

E

31M

32O

H

A

W

K

33L

E

I

34G

R

R

35U

P

H

O

L

D

S

36V

H

S

37A

C

T

38B

E

H

A

L

F

39B

E

R

T

40S

O

O

41V

E

R

I

T

42U

43T

E

R

U

S

44T

O

R

O

45N

W

A

46T

47H

E

W

O

R

48S

49T

50D

A

R

51N

52I

53T

54R

O

B

I

N

55L

O

56W

I

N

C

O

M

E

57I

N

A

N

E

58O

R

A

N

G

U

T

A

N

59P

E

G

G

60P

I

G

G

Y

B

A

C

K

Across

33 clues

1Home in the country?

10Red container, maybe

14Second woman, after Kathryn Bigelow, to win a best director Oscar (2020)

15___ Huang, whose "Fresh Off the Boat" memoir was turned into an ABC sitcom

16Alternative to a chop or shank

18Shopping meccas of old

19Sauce named after a steward to Louis XIV

21Hit entertainment org. in Vegas?

22Informal suggestions

23Historic founder of the Shakers

26"Totally didn't see that one coming," sarcastically

30Head shop purchase, nowadays

31Language spoken in northern New York

33What goes around in the Pacific?

36Recording inits.

37___ on one's 38-Across

38See 37-Across

39Name combining with El-, Eg- or Engel-

40Just *done* with something

42Development area

44Un animal del zodíaco

45Hip-hop group with the 1990 hit "100 Miles and Runnin'"

50Fudge substitute

54"Holy oleo!" speaker

55Designation for some apartments

58Creature whose name means "forest person"

59Simon of "Shaun of the Dead"

60Get carried along, in a way

Down

35 clues

1Holder of the longest winning streak in N.C.A.A. men's basketball history (88 games)

2High-piled style

3Popular red Halloween costume

4Ochlocracy, by another name

6Ancient figure called the "huey tlatoani" by his subjects

7"___ Came to Me" (2023 rom-com)

8Maker of the 900 in '94 and the 9-3 in '99

9Join the team?

11David Stern's successor as N.B.A. commissioner

12L or M, but not N or O

13Collapse, with "over"

15Things sent from some online accounts

20Kickstarter activity

23Portmanteau term for airplane fuel

24Traffic figure, in brief

25Iconic bit of media merch

27Room for a meal, perhaps

28Writer of 1929's "Letters From a Father to His Daughter" while imprisoned

32Hesitant response to "Is that you?"

35Premium service with discounts on rides

39Babe in the woods?

41Oath activity

43Like some country singers' voices

46Word with round or power

47Perfect over time

48Refuse to eat?

49Spelling seen in credits

52Cook's offering with chips?

53Many a charity run

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Jan 4, 2025

15×15

Grid size

68

Total entries

34/191

Black / letter cells

5.6

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 4, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorSam Ezersky

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split33 across · 35 down

Longest entries

6DAncient figure called the "huey tlatoani" by his subjects12 ltrs 20DKickstarter activity12 ltrs 11DDavid Stern's successor as N.B.A. commissioner10 ltrs 25DIconic bit of media merch10 ltrs 1AHome in the country?9 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 34 black squares and averages 5.6 letters per entry.