Home/Archive/Mar 16, 2025

NYT Crossword — March 16, 2025

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 140 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 140 revealed

1B

2L

3U

4E

5D

6A

7P

8B

9S

10S

11C

12O

13M

14P

15A

16N

17Y

18R

O

N

D

E

19L

20A

G

E

E

21S

T

U

D

I

O

F

E

E

22A

R

S

E

N

I

23O

H

A

L

L

24F

R

E

E

Z

E

O

U

T

25I

C

E

M

I

L

K

S

26G

E

27N

O

A

28R

E

I

29D

A

T

A

M

30D

A

31N

I

C

A

32P

33H

34A

35N

36G

E

R

S

37T

O

U

T

E

38D

39A

L

I

A

40O

41R

42A

43N

44G

45E

46P

47G

M

S

48E

49L

I

O

T

N

50E

51S

52S

53R

E

T

A

I

L

E

54R

S

55S

N

I

F

F

56D

A

N

E

57G

Y

M

B

O

R

E

E

58P

59L

A

Y

S

A

T

60A

T

O

N

61T

O

L

D

62R

E

F

I

T

63G

L

O

W

S

64B

65E

66A

67U

T

Y

S

68T

E

N

E

T

69F

70C

O

F

F

E

E

71A

M

I

N

O

72B

E

E

T

S

73H

A

L

O

74D

I

S

H

75D

76O

E

S

N

O

T

77A

C

I

D

78T

79A

80B

81S

82A

L

L

A

83U

R

A

L

S

84A

D

E

N

O

I

D

A

L

85T

E

E

N

86D

R

A

M

A

87S

88U

N

89D

T

H

E

D

A

Y

90D

E

A

N

91S

92I

E

N

N

93A

94P

95A

96S

S

I

N

G

97N

98D

E

T

E

C

99T

100C

101A

102M

103P

104F

105A

C

E

106O

107S

A

K

A

108C

A

109L

A

M

A

R

I

110P

E

A

111C

112H

113P

114I

T

S

115S

P

116E

E

D

S

K

A

T

E

R

117A

L

L

B

E

T

T

E

R

118T

E

N

S

119D

E

N

I

S

E

120W

A

S

D

E

A

D

S

121O

D

D

S

122S

A

N

S

S

Across

59 clues

1Jeans material

6Some P.D. alerts

10Leaves a relationship

1814-line poem with only two rhymes across three stanzas

20"The African Queen" scriptwriter

21Per-hour cost to record music, say

22Host of a 1990s late-night talk show that was briefly revived 20 years later

24Completely exclude

25Low-fat dairy desserts

26Columbus's birthplace

28L.L. Bean competitor

29Dug through for digital analysis

30Auto racer ___ Patrick

32Subway commuters, informally

37Promoted boastfully

39Others, to Ovid

40Old-fashioned garnishes

47M.L.B. V.I.P.s

48Al Capone adversary who only ever met him once in person

53Selling points?

56Hamlet or Laertes

57Longtime children's clothing store with a portmanteau name

62Make ready for new use

63Exhibits brilliance

64Something one might need to look good in the morning

68Article of faith

69Not-so-joltin' joe?

71___ group (chemistry classification)

72Source of the "blood" in a meatless burger, maybe

73Good lighting?

74Spill the tea

75Playground retort

77Doses of a certain hallucinogen

83Russian range

84Sounding as if the speaker has some swollen glands

85Much high school gossip

87Metaphor for Juliet, in Romeo's soliloquy

89Got up and at ’em

90Official who reports to a president

91Reddish-brown shade

94Secretly communicating in class

100Settings for telling some ghost stories

105Superb, in slang

106In 2021 she became the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony

108Fried fare often served with marinara

110Discards from fuzzy fruits

115Blade runner?

117Reassurance after bandaging a boo-boo

119Actress Richards of "Starship Troopers"

120Felt absolutely determined about

121Betting site's quote

122Like the typefaces Helvetica and Arial

Down

81 clues

1Cornrow or challah feature

2Playwright Federico García ___

3Like freshly poured concrete

4Medical buildup of fluid

5-

6Verbally reacts to in awe

8Where Waterloo is

10-

11Something you might get a break with?

12Composition of Catullus in ancient Rome

14Creator of the mystery-solving C. Auguste Dupin

15Prior to, old-style

16German soccer legend Manuel who innovated the "sweeper-keeper" role

17"Abominable" ones

21BART stop, for short

23Gave the go-ahead

27Scot's denial

31Eggy holiday drinks

33Port city near Mount Carmel

35A persnickety person might pick it

36Frodo's enchanting friend

38What to do if someone makes a false accusation about you

40Alternative to .net

41King of Castile

42Device whose keypad often has Braille on it

43Catch in the act

44Florentine artist known for frescoes

45"The Jetsons" boy

46-

49It's one thing after another

50Have as food, formally

51Former Maine senator Olympia with an apt name for her state

52Taste or touch

54Light to stop at

55Like the best bonds, perhaps

59Slow, musically

63Brit's jolly cry of approval

64Lacking a knack for

65Zola who wrote "J'Accuse …!"

66Critic's common seating preference

68Some green cars

69-

70Hawkeye's real first name in the "Avengers" movies

75Boxer Roberto who fought Sugar Ray Leonard

76Chimp's cousin

78Attach, with "on"

79Attach, with "on"

87Hopes that one might

88Live, in a way

92Girl who's "sweet as apple cider," per an old song

94Tree with oblong yellow-green fruit

95What's on the fast track?

97-

100Bars of soap

101Appliance brand owned by Whirlpool

102Morning in Monaco

103Word with French or bench

104-

107Latvia, e.g., once: Abbr.

109Drug sold in 77-Across

111Compound found in marijuana, for short

112Start of a bray or conclusion of a giggle

113Sch. calendar abbr.

114"___ be a pleasure"

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Mar 16, 2025

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

80/361

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

11 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMar 16, 2025

DaySunday

ThemeHave It Both Ways

ConstructorPaul Coulter

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split59 across · 81 down

Longest entries

22AHost of a 1990s late-night talk show that was briefly revived 20 years later11 ltrs 115ABlade runner?11 ltrs 21APer-hour cost to record music, say9 ltrs 24ACompletely exclude9 ltrs 48AAl Capone adversary who only ever met him once in person9 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 80 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.