Home/Archive/Jul 31, 2026

NYT Crossword — July 31, 2026

Friday’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

1T

2A

3X

4F

5A

6D

7M

8I

9M

10E

11K

A

M

A

12S

U

T

R

13A

14I

M

A

X

15S

E

R

E

N

A

S

L

A

M

16D

I

R

T

17P

E

T

N

A

M

E

18G

E

19L

20N

G

O

21O

N

L

S

D

22P

O

N

Y

23T

A

I

L

24R

O

E

25U

26P

27S

A

N

D

D

O

W

N

S

28E

N

T

29S

30A

L

L

S

M

I

L

E

S

31T

32O

R

E

33D

E

A

L

34I

35C

A

N

T

E

36V

E

N

37S

38L

39A

40T

41S

M

A

R

T

Y

P

A

N

T

42S

43O

N

E

44O

P

E

R

A

B

O

X

45P

46Y

O

T

R

47W

E

S

48P

O

V

49S

50N

E

A

K

E

R

51H

A

U

52L

53A

E

54R

I

A

L

Y

O

G

A

55A

C

R

E

56T

R

A

V

E

L

M

U

G

57T

H

A

I

58S

P

A

59S

E

T

Across

34 clues

1Withholding something?

15Tennis feat involving four consecutive major tournament wins in two calendar years

17Honey, for example

18Energy source for distance runners

20World Economic Forum, e.g., for short

22Style secured with a scrunchie

24Tobiko or masago

25Twists of fate, say

28Pharyngitis docs

31Went hell for leather

33Cry when shaking hands

34"This is too much"

37Blind component

43What a closed fist with an extended index finger represents, in A.S.L.

44Where to be above all the drama?

45Pierre : French :: ___ : Russian

47Maryland governor Moore

48Perspective, for short

49Casual Friday option

51Result of a shopping spree

53Highly flexible discipline?

55Brazilian state whose name is a unit of measurement

56Relative of a tumbler

57Cuisine with tom kha kai

58Business with lockers

Down

34 clues

1Palm-sized pastry

2Assenting chorus

5Seat of Fulton County: Abbr.

6British counterpart to "Shark Tank"

7Just OK, in modern lingo

8"Mind. Blown."

9Part of Fermat's copy of "Arithmetica" where he wrote his Last Theorem

12Tech mogul Altman

13Change for a bill

15Reproductive part of a fern

19Youngest Bennet sister in "Pride and Prejudice"

22Patrick, to SpongeBob

26Venue for events that guests are always on board to attend?

27Some all-nighters

29"Yellow Submarine" lead vocalist

34Censure, in a way

35Formal pause in a line of poetry

36Certain shot, colloquially

39Insect product in the salad yum khai mod daeng

40___ incognita

42Brief periods

46Self-congratulation

49Hindu deity depicted with four arms

50Denial in Aberdeen

52Chain that can symbolize friendship

54Genre for Logic

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

Stats & info

Friday, Jul 31, 2026

15×15

Grid size

68

Total entries

37/188

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

11 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJul 31, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRafael Musa

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 34 down

Longest entries

25ATwists of fate, say11 ltrs 41AWiseacre11 ltrs 15ATennis feat involving four consecutive major tournament wins in two calendar years10 ltrs 53AHighly flexible discipline?10 ltrs 6DBritish counterpart to "Shark Tank"10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 37 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.