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NYT Crossword — March 12, 2026

Thursday’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

2R

3C

4A

5D

6E

7E

8R

9S

10S

11U

12E

13Z

14M

A

H

L

E

R

15C

O

T

16A

F

R

O

17B

R

A

I

N

A

18H

A

R

19D

C

O

R

E

20L

E

N

T

O

21L

O

S

A

E

S

22E

R

G

23T

24A

O

25T

N

T

26F

27U

28R

29E

30V

E

N

T

31S

32G

O

33T

A

N

A

34P

35E

L

E

36G

T

O

37E

X

U

L

T

S

38O

M

A

N

39E

A

S

40E

L

41C

L

I

P

42S

A

N

D

43A

L

44A

D

O

45C

E

L

S

46S

I

E

S

T

A

47D

I

V

48E

I

N

49E

L

S

50O

D

51D

52T

E

N

53A

54C

55T

56S

N

A

R

57E

S

58C

59A

N

O

E

60P

61U

62R

E

E

V

I

L

63M

O

R

G

U

E

64U

N

I

X

65I

N

S

66O

R

I

E

N

T

67B

O

D

Y

68S

K

A

69W

E

A

L

T

H

Across

41 clues

7Settings for "Nurse Jackie" and "The Pitt," in brief

10Mideast's Gulf of ___

14"Das Lied von der Erde" composer

15Camper's foldout

16Natural hairstyle

17Celebrity supercouple of the 2000s

18Incredibly committed

20Slowly, in scores

21Second-most-populous city in the U.S.

22100 nanojoules

23Citrus portmanteau

25Sticks around for a demo?

26Doraphobe's fear

29Bookings for a D.J.

32Did very well on the final, say

34Star of a three-time World Cup champion team

36Classic ’60s muscle car

38Sultanate that once controlled Zanzibar

39Stand for a portrait

42Slip-on or slide

45Collectible frames

47Get right down to business

49Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"

53Work on a picture, perhaps

56Some double-headed drums

58Camper's craft

63Setting for "Quincy, M.E.," on 1970s-’80s TV

64Operating system developed at Bell Labs

66Get positioned

67Lush hair's quality

68Caribbean music genre

Down

37 clues

2Like black opals vis-à-vis diamonds

3Move to pass, perhaps

6"Folklore" or "Evermore," for Taylor Swift

7Guitar pedal effect

8Comedic takedown

9Mad scientist in a 1964 Kubrick title

10Natural fluid containers

11What a drone might be mistaken for

12Carry the ball in volleyball, e.g.

13Actress Kravitz

19Step in rehab

21"Whole ___ Red" (2020 Playboi Carti album)

24Activist/scholar known for her work in the prison abolition movement

26Heavenly outcast … or a hint to something found three times in this puzzle

28Barely speaks

31"Such a shame"

33Stanley of "Conclave"

34Group surrounding a star

35Item in a drafts folder

51Hurricane or mudslide

55Things to bare

57Disney heroine who builds her own palace

59Tchaikovsky's "Letter Scene," e.g.

60Trivia night locale

61Shout in a card game

63Do some lawn work

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Mar 12, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

11 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMar 12, 2026

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJoe Marquez

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split41 across · 37 down

Longest entries

3DMove to pass, perhaps11 ltrs 9DMad scientist in a 1964 Kubrick title11 ltrs 24DActivist/scholar known for her work in the prison abolition movement11 ltrs 26DHeavenly outcast … or a hint to something found three times in this puzzle11 ltrs 18AIncredibly committed8 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.