Home/Archive/Jul 4, 2026

NYT Crossword — July 4, 2026

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

1R

2A

3P

4B

5A

6T

7T

8L

9E

10L

11E

12G

13G

14S

15O

C

E

A

N

A

R

I

A

16A

D

O

R

E

17B

A

C

K

D

R

A

F

T

18T

E

L

E

X

19B

I

K

E

R

A

C

E

20V

E

N

D

E

E

21O

N

T

I

22M

E

23S

E

N

D

24S

25C

26H

27E

M

A

28M

E

N

29N

B

C

30T

H

E

R

E

31I

D

I

32G

33C

E

L

34R

I

L

E

D

35O

T

S

36O

37H

A

R

A

38E

L

I

39A

40L

M

A

41D

O

L

E

S

42S

I

C

43A

N

T

44T

H

E

F

T

S

45S

P

O

46T

47P

I

E

48R

R

E

49T

A

P

I

50R

S

51S

O

U

L

52M

53A

54T

55E

56E

S

T

E

E

57P

A

L

M

P

I

L

O

T

58S

T

E

R

N

59C

R

E

A

M

S

O

D

A

60T

E

R

S

E

61S

T

O

N

E

T

O

O

L

Across

35 clues

10Brand of tights with an apostrophe in its name

15Expansive marine exhibits

171991 blockbuster with the tagline "One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage"

18Fax predecessor

19Grand Tour, e.g.

21Like ideal arrivals

24Conceptual framework

28Follower of X or G

29Peacock's home

30Word that becomes its opposite when its first letter is removed

31"Gotcha," to a beatnik

33Piece of cartoon memorabilia

35Golden goal periods, for short

36"Miracle on 34th Street" actress Maureen

38Certain Ivy Leaguer

39Painter ___ Thomas, first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum

42Bracketed disclaimer

43Lover of sugar

44Results of swiping

45Lend, informally

47Second-smallest U.S. state capital by population (about 14,000 people)

49Animals with prehensile proboscises

56First name in cosmetics

57Pioneering P.D.A.

59Soft drink originally made with egg whites

61Rock instrument?

Down

33 clues

1One of the Starks on "Game of Thrones"

2Berry spelled with a cedilla

4Brown, in a way

5Milky Way's nearest major galaxy

6#MeToo movement activist Burke

8Observation by Oscar Wilde about the relationship between reality and creativity

10Not 21-Across

12False idol in the Old Testament

13Army specialist with a headwear-inspired nickname

14Where students learn about congress

20"___ Sancte Spiritus" (medieval Latin hymn)

22Things often refilled, informally

24Cardiac exam on a treadmill

25Gochujang, e.g.

26Blade runner?

27Before, in olden times

32"Lord, have mercy!"

35One attracted to all gender identities, for short

40The Indianapolis 500 has 200 of them

44President who married one of his kindergarten classmates

46Membership categories

48Loggers' competition

50Former French president ___ Coty

52Weather phenomenon often appearing in the evening

53Dum ___ (potato-based curry dish)

57Some notebooks, in brief

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Jul 4, 2026

15×15

Grid size

68

Total entries

32/193

Black / letter cells

5.7

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJul 4, 2026

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorKareem Ayas

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 33 down

Longest entries

8DObservation by Oscar Wilde about the relationship between reality and creativity15 ltrs 12DFalse idol in the Old Testament10 ltrs 13DArmy specialist with a headwear-inspired nickname10 ltrs 14DWhere students learn about congress10 ltrs 24DCardiac exam on a treadmill10 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 32 black squares and averages 5.7 letters per entry.