Home/Archive/Jul 18, 2026

NYT Crossword — July 18, 2026

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 70 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 70 revealed

1T

2E

3A

4M

5E

6L

7F

8S

9W

10I

11S

12S

13O

X

F

A

14M

15T

E

R

16M

L

I

M

I

T

17S

C

O

R

E

18S

T

U

D

Y

D

A

T

E

19P

U

R

I

S

20T

21S

I

S

22E

G

A

N

23A

S

T

O

24H

25E

F

T

26Q

B

E

R

T

27R

E

I

28S

E

L

L

29H

U

E

30E

M

O

31J

I

K

E

Y

32B

O

A

R

33D

34E

R

O

T

I

C

35L

A

C

T

I

36C

37I

J

U

S

T

38W

O

R

K

H

E

R

39E

40O

P

S

41R

O

D

S

42G

E

M

43G

44R

45U

B

S

46T

I

M

E

47T

O

M

B

48L

O

L

A

49F

I

T

50D

51E

A

L

E

R

52A

U

T

O

53S

A

V

E

54S

55B

L

U

E

Y

56S

T

R

I

K

E

O

U

T

57B

O

N

G

O

58S

E

A

L

Y

59S

P

Y

60N

A

G

S

Across

36 clues

1Unite, with "up"

5Many an extra in the "Lord of the Rings" movies

8Like fondue, traditionally

13Nairobi-based collection of NGOs

15Restriction on how much one can serve

17Conductor's reference

18Opportunity to compare notes, perhaps

19Very traditional sort

21Khloe, Kim or Kourtney, familiarly

22Jennifer who won a Pulitzer for "A Visit From the Goon Squad"

26Orange video game character who appears in "Wreck-It Ralph"

27Retailer with mountains in its logo

28Persuade, as on a course of action

30Smartphone feature that debuted worldwide in 2011

35Kind of acid partly responsible for sourdough's tang

37"Sorry, that's way above my pay grade"

42Brilliant example

43Digs up by the roots

46Cry at the end of a countdown

48Song whose titular subject has a "dark brown voice"

50One side of many a transaction

52Backs up on its own, say

55Titular animated dog of children's TV

56Go down swinging, perhaps

57What might add a bit of flavor to a salsa?

58Company bought by Tempur-Pedic in 2012

59W.W. II-era occupation for baseball's Moe Berg, following his playing career

Down

34 clues

2"Um ... what?!"

3With even stronger reasoning, in law

5Quite a few characters in 2025's "Elio," for short

7Results of one's labors, so to speak

9You might give this to someone you want to avoid

10Outward appearance

11Instrument that's held at about a 45-degree angle from the player's body

14"Bonjour, ___ amis!"

16Figures listed on Zocdoc, for short

20Gustav Klimt masterpiece

28Exercises with a "butterfly" variation, in which the soles of one's feet are pressed together

31Cosmetic additive that comes from the Southwest

32Flowering period

33Actor who plays the title role on TV's "Andor"

36Classic Easter treat

39Items frozen in cryopreservation

43Flute, for one

45Prefix with marathon

46Bygone recorders

49Race of supernatural spirits

53You might look up to this

54Unpleasant digs

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Jul 18, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

35/190

Black / letter cells

5.4

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJul 18, 2026

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRyan Judge

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split36 across · 34 down

Longest entries

30ASmartphone feature that debuted worldwide in 201113 ltrs 37A"Sorry, that's way above my pay grade"13 ltrs 15ARestriction on how much one can serve9 ltrs 18AOpportunity to compare notes, perhaps9 ltrs 52ABacks up on its own, say9 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 35 black squares and averages 5.4 letters per entry.