Home/Archive/Mar 20, 2026

NYT Crossword — March 20, 2026

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 70 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 70 revealed

1A

2S

3A

4P

5H

6A

7S

8A

9N

10S

11H

12O

13D

14G

A

M

E

15R

E

F

U

G

E

16H

O

P

I

17G

L

U

T

E

N

F

R

E

E

18O

M

E

N

19I

T

S

A

S

N

A

P

20D

21I

N

E

R

O

22E

Y

E

23C

A

I

R

24O

25M

E

S

A

S

26B

U

S

R

I

D

27E

S

28A

C

A

29P

30E

L

E

31S

O

W

32A

L

O

U

33J

U

S

T

S

34O

35W

E

R

E

36C

L

E

A

R

37A

B

C

S

38L

A

P

39O

U

S

T

40C

T

O

41S

A

T

A

42N

43I

S

M

44K

R

O

45N

E

46T

R

A

M

P

47M

48O

49O

50P

I

T

I

E

51S

52T

E

L

L

53S

A

L

L

54O

V

E

N

55A

56M

I

N

O

A

C

I

D

S

57T

I

R

E

58G

O

E

A

S

Y

O

N

M

E

59S

A

S

S

60A

S

S

E

T

61T

E

E

N

Across

35 clues

5Political commentator Piker

10Like a workhorse

14Animal sanctuary

16Kachina-carving people

17Going against the grain?

18Sign to be read

19"Easy peasy!"

20Pesos or euros

22Knack for details, say

23World capital split by the world's longest river

25Some scenery in "The Road Runner Show"

26Fare ways to go?

28Law with an "individual mandate" provision, for short

29Athlete nicknamed "O Rei"

33Words before confirming something

39Remove unceremoniously

40Exec who leads software engineers

41Philosophy of a devil's advocate?

47Word repeated in "With a ___ ___ here and a ___ ___ there …"

50Feels sympathy for, in a way

52Publishes an exposé, say

54It'll warm your buns

55Biological building blocks

60Desirable feature

61Gukesh Dommaraju, upon becoming world chess champion in 2024

Down

35 clues

1Texas A&M athlete

2Like foods that increase thirst

4Pro-vegan org.

5Applies a certain hair dye to

7Things that send people into hiding

8Dating app listing

12Dramatic outerwear for the theater

13Very old-fashioned sort

15Some adopted pets

21Pings, for short

26Sandwiches that are neither kosher nor halal

29Drinking game?

30Modern urban transportation options

32Reunion attendee, informally

34Greeting often followed by "Como vai?"

35British engineer James

36Be a hero, say

42Viral 2010s dance that Hillary Clinton performed on TV

43"This makes no sense"

45Poker hand known as a "Wayne Gretzky"

47It has more than 4,000 islands off its coast

48Pre-transformation self

49Actress Elizabeth of "Eternity"

51It's a long story

53Participant in the Jacobite rebellion of the 1740s

56Approaches, in brief

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

Stats & info

Friday, Mar 20, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

30/195

Black / letter cells

5.6

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMar 20, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRafael Musa and Rebecca Goldstein

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 35 down

Longest entries

33AWords before confirming something15 ltrs 7DThings that send people into hiding15 ltrs 14AAnimal sanctuary10 ltrs 17AGoing against the grain?10 ltrs 55ABiological building blocks10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 30 black squares and averages 5.6 letters per entry.