Home/Archive/Jul 22, 2026

NYT Crossword — July 22, 2026

Wednesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1G

2R

3A

4I

5L

6B

7I

8O

9T

10A

11P

12R

13E

14O

O

P

S

Y

15U

S

U

R

P

16L

O

X

17S

T

E

P

R

18I

G

H

T

U

P

19U

P

C

20S

I

R

21E

R

A

22L

E

T

23S

S

E

E

24I

N

O

25N

26A

B

27L

E

28P

H

D

S

29P

I

L

O

30T

31O

A

T

32S

33I

T

I

S

34T

A

35L

O

N

36C

37A

N

O

N

38R

E

X

E

S

39P

A

R

T

Y

40R

I

C

I

N

41S

I

N

G

H

42B

A

N

A

43A

44B

E

T

45H

E

46A

47T

48S

49E

N

G

R

50R

A

S

51P

52BOTTLE

C

A

P

53H

O

T

D

54A

55T

E

56T

I

57A

58C

I

O

59E

V

O

60T

R

Y

61Y

O

U

R

62L

U

C

K

63L

E

S

64T

I

E

U

P

65M

O

S

H

E

66D

R

S

67N

O

R

M

S

68S

T

E

I

N

Across

40 clues

1Object of an extensive search

6Regional life forms

11Lead-in to destination and determination

14Cry after an accident

17With 60-Across, invitation to play 38-Down

19Seller's bottom lines, for short?

21Victorian or Edwardian

22"Hmm, I'm thinking …"

26Qualified, say

28Some STEM degrees

33"You are correct about that"

36It doesn't include the Apocrypha

38Tall-eared cats from Devon or Cornwall

39It's a celebration

40Toxin in castor beans

41Surname that derives from the Sanskrit word for "lion"

42Actor Eric of "Troy"

43Get in bad with?

45Raises the temperature of

49Many a tech alum: Abbr.

50Wood sculptor's tool

53Organic chemistry experiment?

56___ Maria, dark coffee liqueur

58Exec overseeing A.I. integration

59Annual video game competition, for short

60See 17-Across

63"___ Misérables"

65Israeli politician Dayan

66Some people doing residencies: Abbr.

67They're typical

68Handful in a beer garden?

Down

36 clues

2Corkscrew-shaped pasta

3Orange-colored liqueur served in a namesake spritz

4Means of making some connections, for short

5Relative of a harp

7Estimation suffix

9"You are correct about that"

10Calendar notation: Abbr.

11Prize dangling from a 38-Down booth

12Voluntold, say

13More than necessary

18Something you might put stock in, for short

23Risqué game that teenagers might give a whirl?

25Memory jogger

32Digitize, maybe

35Dunham who wrote the memoir "Famesick"

37"I'm so frustrated!"

38Carnival game depicted in this puzzle

39Brief bathroom breaks, slangily

41Habitat with a wet floor

44Ice cream eponym

46Play the blame game with

47Chinese martial art

48Not sung, say

51More, musically

54Abbr. atop a memo

55Charlie's Angels or the Chipmunks

57Body parts linked in a square dance, maybe

62Auction offering

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Jul 22, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

39/186

Black / letter cells

5.0

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJul 22, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorRebecca Goldstein

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split40 across · 36 down

Longest entries

23DRisqué game that teenagers might give a whirl?13 ltrs 17AWith 60-Across, invitation to play 38-Down11 ltrs 60ASee 17-Across11 ltrs 52APop top?9 ltrs 6DPet peeves8 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 39 black squares and averages 5.0 letters per entry.