Home/Archive/Mar 22, 2026

NYT Crossword — March 22, 2026

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

1D

2A

3R

4E

5A

6M

7P

8L

9E

10T

11O

12M

13B

14S

15S

16A

17P

18A

P

E

X

19B

E

R

E

T

20U

B

E

R

X

21D

O

D

O

22I

N

S

T

23R

U

M

E

N

T

24B

E

T

A

S

25E

T

A

L

26S

E

T

R

A

T

E

S

27A

28R

E

Y

O

U

W

29I

T

H

M

E

30Y

A

R

E

N

31S

S

32N

33E

P

S

O

N

34L

E

I

S

35A

M

I

36D

37K

O

38A

L

A

39M

I

S

S

A

40L

41Q

42U

I

E

T

Q

43U

I

T

T

I

N

44G

45C

U

E

T

I

P

S

46U

R

N

S

47E

S

T

A

T

E

48E

49N

D

E

D

50S

P

A

51A

D

E

52E

D

U

53A

F

54F

A

I

R

S

55S

I

L

T

56D

U

D

57E

D

58R

59A

60D

61S

O

R

T

62L

63O

T

T

E

64B

A

65B

Y

B

I

66B

67B

E

E

68L

I

N

E

69S

70H

A

M

E

71L

O

E

72B

73D

R

Y

74I

M

75S

76E

77T

78S

T

U

N

79S

80E

E

D

L

E

81T

82I

83T

T

84O

A

R

85A

R

M

86T

E

R

R

E

87S

E

88M

89A

N

A

90F

U

S

E

91T

E

A

92S

E

T

S

93S

94I

T

T

I

N

G

P

95R

E

T

T

Y

96S

A

N

T

A

S

97Q

B

E

R

T

98S

E

T

H

99M

B

A

S

100L

101O

102T

T

O

103A

I

104D

105L

L

A

106M

107A

108S

E

E

S

E

109Y

E

T

O

E

Y

110E

111M

A

112F

I

O

S

O

S

113I

D

I

E

114A

V

O

W

S

115A

116T

O

M

I

C

C

I

T

Y

117Z

I

N

S

118R

E

M

I

T

119S

I

N

U

S

120K

A

T

E

121E

N

G

122N

E

I

N

S

123E

G

Y

P

T

124S

N

O

T

Across

70 clues

1Catalyst for reckless behavior

5More than enough

10Resting places

20Basic tier on a popular ridesharing app

22Triangle, for one

24Prerelease prototypes

25List-shortening abbreviation

27The circles in 22-Across?

30Nauru's capital

33Canon competitor

34Island chains

37Eucalyptus eater

39Liturgical book

41Modern trend of employees doing the bare minimum

45The circles in 41-Across?

46Coffee holders

48Came to a conclusion

50Enterprise that might offer disposable slippers

51Power suffix?

52Harvard extension

58"Totally tubular!"

62Tony winner ___ Lenya

64Highchair wear

67The circles in 64-Across?

69"___ on you!"

71Lisa with the 1994 #1 hit "Stay (I Missed You)"

74"No help needed here!"

78Leave speechless

79Each of the tiny tufts of a dandelion has one

82Addams Family member

84Rowboat blade

85One of a pair of lines drawn in hangman

86___ Haute, Ind.

87Seven days in San Juan

90Firework part

91The circles in 93-Across?

93On easy street

96"Secret" holiday figures

971980s video game character who hops between cubes

98MacFarlane who voiced Ted in "Ted"

99Degrees for C.F.O.s

100Numbers game

105Altiplano animal

108The circles in 115-Across?

111Family members

113Romeo's last words

114States for the record

115Nickname of Oak Ridge, Tenn., built in 1942 for the Manhattan Project

117Some reds, for short

118Send payment

119Nasal cavity

120Winslet with five Golden Globes

121Part of E.S.L.: Abbr.

122Dresden denials

123Where the Rosetta Stone was discovered

124Little twerp

Down

70 clues

1Jay Gatsby's obsession in "The Great Gatsby"

2Breathing issue

6Oft-reposted internet content

7Publicist's handout

8Duo with the 1999 hit "Steal My Sunshine"

9James in the Blues Hall of Fame

10Cooking vessel used in making angel food cake

11Excels at Simon Says, say

12Hashtag that trended in 2017

13Indiana governor Mike

14Austin music-and-media festival, familiarly

15"I guess the time has come"

16Bulge in some throats

21Find abhorrent

23Rehearsed the whole show, in theater lingo

28Raised designs

29Admission of duplicity

36Eliminated for not following the rules, informally

38Start of an encouragement

40Hurdle for an aspiring atty.

41Difficult ice skating maneuver, in brief

42Language of Pakistan's national anthem

43Illegal activity generating considerable interest?

44Ready to go, with "up"

45Captain's subordinate: Abbr.

49Component of fertilizer and gunpowder

57Israel's first U.N. ambassador

59Less incompetent

60Some radio tubes

65Attacks from all sides

66"The Fresh Prince of ___-Air"

69Arrived en masse

70You or me, say

72Film crew assistant

75From Bhutan or Bangladesh

76The right direction?

77"South Park" co-creator Parker

78Exams for srs.

80Settings for some TV dramas, in brief

81Chapeau perch

88Actress Sorvino

89Sb, on the periodic table

90Tufted parts of horses' legs

94Batteries for brains?

95Archaeologist's find

100Surge protector?

101People of the Mexican altiplano

102Bring to a garage for repairs

104Block, beaver-style

106Memorable saying

109It may be hard to believe

110Freedom from fretting

116Comedian Notaro

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Mar 22, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

71/370

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMar 22, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeSound It Out

ConstructorAlex Eaton-Salners

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split70 across · 70 down

Longest entries

41AModern trend of employees doing the bare minimum13 ltrs 93AOn easy street13 ltrs 27AThe circles in 22-Across?12 ltrs 108AThe circles in 115-Across?12 ltrs 22ATriangle, for one10 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 71 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.