Home/Archive/Mar 19, 2026

NYT Crossword — March 19, 2026

Thursday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 74 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 74 revealed

1T

2A

3X

4D

5O

6D

7G

8E

9D

10N

11A

12L

13A

14B

15A

L

B

A

N

I

A

N

16E

U

R

O

P

A

17F

O

O

D

L

E

S

S

18I

N

S

O

N

G

19T

E

X

A

S

20H

U

21G

S

22E

K

E

S

23I

D

24S

25R

O

M

26A

N

I

A

27R

28A

29G

S

30A

31P

E

D

32L

A

G

33I

F

A

T

34A

L

L

35T

36A

I

L

E

37N

38D

39N

A

Y

40N

E

E

41I

R

K

42T

E

D

43G

R

A

44N

D

M

A

45E

M

E

46R

I

T

A

47N

E

O

48S

49I

R

I

50E

T

S

Y

51S

T

O

R

52M

E

D

53E

54T

A

55B

A

H

N

56A

S

I

57A

58E

L

59I

60T

61E

62O

M

E

G

63A

S

64O

F

65F

S

I

D

E

S

66W

O

M

A

C

K

67C

R

O

S

S

E

S

T

68L

A

S

S

E

S

69Y

O

G

A

M

A

T

S

Across

36 clues

1Exploiting an I.R.S. loophole, e.g.

9Forensic analyst's workspace

15Like the national dish tavë kosi (baked lamb with yogurt sauce)

16Moon that's a neighbor of Ganymede and Io

18How Jean Valjean repeatedly breaks out in "Les Misérables"

19Where to find the towns Bigfoot and Tarzan

20The o's in xoxo, symbolically

22Scratches (out)

23Cards in a wallet or purse, informally

25Resident of Muscat

27Clothes that are ready to be thrown away

32Online gamer's bane

33Like some flaws

39"Decidedly not"

40Homophone of 39-Across

42___ Lasso, fictional A.F.C. Richmond coach

43Big Bad Wolf's disguise

47Opposite of paleo-

48Voice of the modern age

50Site for indie designers

53Beginning of the spelling of "Hera"

55U-___ (German subway)

56It has Earth's highest and lowest points

58N.C.A.A.'s ___ Eight

62Certain fatty acids, informally

64Certain hockey and soccer infractions … or a hint to this puzzle's circled and shaded squares

66Country singer Lee Ann

67At peak pique

69Locations for some posers

Down

38 clues

1First president to sit in the Oval Office

2It's vera soothing!

4Jean Arp, e.g.

5Tripping, in a way

8Lock in, so to speak

9Thomas Jefferson's belief

10Part of an order

11Ordnance depot

12"Hey, no argument here"

13Nighttime woe

21Master class?

24Setting for Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"

27Word with napkin or nose

29Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out," to name two

37Lepidopterists' needs

38Operation Neptune, familiarly

44Electric sign filler

46Showing things as they are

49Utter foolishness

51Nation whose name sounds like a plea for seconds

52Catchers' wear

54___ Virtue, three-time gold medalist ice dancer

55Word after finger or poke

57Do for Jimi Hendrix

59"Here's an ___ …"

61Contractors' figs.

63Of first rank

65Noted San Francisco weather phenomenon

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Mar 19, 2026

15×15

Grid size

74

Total entries

33/192

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMar 19, 2026

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJohn Kugelman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split36 across · 38 down

Longest entries

12D"Hey, no argument here"10 ltrs 29DLady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out," to name two10 ltrs 1AExploiting an I.R.S. loophole, e.g.8 ltrs 15ALike the national dish tavë kosi (baked lamb with yogurt sauce)8 ltrs 17AA boatload8 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 33 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.