Home/Archive/Jul 23, 2025

NYT Crossword — July 23, 2025

Wednesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1A

2L

3B

4U

5S

6A

7R

8E

9A

10A

11P

12E

13D

14I

S

U

Z

U

15T

A

X

I

16T

O

R

E

17M

U

S

I

C

18N

O

T

E

S

19A

S

I

A

20S

K

I

M

S

21L

22A

S

T

E

D

23N

24A

25G

26A

L

I

27E

T

T

A

28I

N

E

29P

T

30C

31S

32I

33E

E

L

34S

35E

T

N

A

36A

M

A

N

37D

A

38C

E

39E

40C

H

E

M

41I

C

A

L

S

Y

M

42B

O

L

S

43E

E

R

44N

E

S

S

I

E

45O

D

E

S

46M

A

47K

O

48S

A

D

49H

Y

E

N

A

50T

I

N

51T

52E

53W

E

54S

A

Y

55N

56O

I

D

E

A

57E

J

E

C

58T

59I

M

O

N

60B

61L

O

O

D

T

Y

62P

63E

64S

65L

I

N

E

66L

I

N

K

67I

R

I

S

H

68E

T

S

Y

69E

L

S

E

70C

A

T

C

H

Across

39 clues

1Hogwarts headmaster ___ Dumbledore

10Followed move-for-move

14Japanese automaker named for a river

15Ground transportation option

17A, B and C, but not X, Y and Z

19Where Bengali and Burmese are spoken

20Barely scrapes the surface

23Persistently bother, with "at"

26Actress Wong of the Netflix series "Beef"

27James of jazz

30Onetime CBS forensic drama

33"I don't mind ___ / Except as meals. / And the way they feels": Ogden Nash

35Sicilian landmark

36Seyfried of "Mean Girls"

38Tragic ending?

40He and I, but not she and you

43Suffix with rocket

44Highlands cryptid, affectionately

45Praiseful verses

46Fast-swimming shark

48Disappointing

49Villainous animal in "The Lion King"

52She's a woolly one

54"What ___ you?"

57Toss from the game

59"That's my cue!"

60A+ and B-, but not F

65Forgetful actor's request

66Part of a chain

67___ coffee (whiskey drink)

68Crafty website

69"We will make amends ere long; / ___ the Puck a liar call": Shak.

70Day's harvest, for a fisher

Down

39 clues

2Sch. on the banks of the Mississippi

3Ground transportation option

4Commando weapons

5Perform dreadfully, so to speak

6Figure that roughly equals protons plus neutrons

8PC file extension

9Congressional divide, literally as well as metaphorically

10Just the slightest bit

11MA and MS, but not BA and BS

12Canal with a "low bridge" ("Everybody down!")

22Starting squad

23Many a godchild

24Something to stand for

25X, Y and Z, but not A, B and C

29"The Office" role

32Something only some of us will get

34Pop star Gomez

37Word aptly hidden in "turned yellow"

39Writing assignment

41Hole-___ (singular feat)

47Organ with a distinctive shape

49Overwhelmingly busy

51Postpone for now

53Exchanged rings with

55River through Khartoum

57A seeming eternity

58Banks of "America's Next Top Model"

62Place to retire?

63Corner keyboard key

64"Keep it down!"

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

38/187

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJul 23, 2025

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJoseph Gangi

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split39 across · 39 down

Longest entries

40AHe and I, but not she and you15 ltrs 11DMA and MS, but not BA and BS11 ltrs 25DX, Y and Z, but not A, B and C11 ltrs 17AA, B and C, but not X, Y and Z10 ltrs 60AA+ and B-, but not F10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 38 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.