Home/Archive/May 12, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 12, 2026

Tuesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1S

2T

3A

4R

5T

6F

7E

8E

9L

10E

11W

12E

13S

14O

I

L

E

R

15O

G

L

E

16V

E

S

T

17F

L

A

V

O

18U

R

O

F

T

19H

E

D

A

Y

20A

L

S

21M

R

S

22E

N

S

U

E

23A

B

D

U

24C

25T

26O

R

S

27C

28O

L

O

U

R

I

N

G

B

O

29O

30K

31S

32J

A

M

I

N

33E

S

T

E

34P

E

A

35O

R

A

T

E

36D

37E

38L

39I

T

E

S

40I

N

N

41E

42R

43S

44T

45O

P

E

N

S

46N

E

I

47G

48H

B

O

U

R

49H

O

O

D

S

50O

U

T

B

R

E

A

K

S

51D

52W

53E

L

L

54M

I

L

55F

56A

57T

58O

H

Y

O

U

59A

60R

61E

B

R

I

62T

I

S

H

63D

E

R

N

64B

I

L

L

65K

A

F

K

A

66O

N

E

G

67C

O

K

E

68E

X

I

S

T

Across

32 clues

1Appropriate answer for 1-Across

6Have the sense of

10Females shepherded by shepherds

14Fuel-bearing ship

16One piece of a three-piece suit

17Listing at an ice cream shop in Ipswich

20Lou Gehrig's disease, in brief

21"___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel song)

22Happen afterward

23Some limb-moving muscles

27Kids' items at a day care in Derby

33Spanish for "this"

35Spoke to a convention, say

37Members of the aristocracy

40Establishment that might offer free breakfast

41Quaint lead-in to while

46Areas on a map of Manchester

50Sudden, widespread appearances of illness

54"Thanks a ___!" (informal appreciation)

55Butcher's discard

58"Hmm, why use the spellings of 17-, 27- and 46-Across?"

63Laura of "Jurassic Park"

64A pelican can hold more water in this than in its belly

65Franz ___, Prague-born writer of dark fiction

66Force holding us onto Earth, informally

67Pepsi alternative

Down

44 clues

2Tens or ones place?

3Lead-in to "poor Yorick!"

4Al Sharpton's title, for short

5Instrument with a Renaissance-era ancestor called a sackbut

8Hermey is one, in TV's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

9Do-over at serving

10"Nevertheless …"

12One son of Isaac and Rebekah

13Bacterial eye malady

18Pakistani language

19Chervil or chive

24Stool pigeons, in police shorthand

25Explosive inits.

26Kind of arch in architecture

28Resident of a Mideast sultanate

29Chose, with "for"

31Give some lip to

36Some are said to be "swimming" in this

39Ways to raise capital, in brief

43Big ___, West Coast tourist destination

44Shake with fear

47Sandlot QB's order to a receiver

48Streaming service owned by Disney

49Cause of a shower drain clog, maybe

52"At what time?"

53Brontë heroine

55Popular female poodle name

57Word after "Copy" or "Fancy"

59Airer of "The View"

60Site of the world's largest Carnival celebration

61Wapiti, by another name

62Put a burden on

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

Stats & info

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

39/186

Black / letter cells

4.9

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Easy

Tuesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 12, 2026

DayTuesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJohn Ruff

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split32 across · 44 down

Longest entries

17AListing at an ice cream shop in Ipswich15 ltrs 58A"Hmm, why use the spellings of 17-, 27- and 46-Across?"15 ltrs 27AKids' items at a day care in Derby14 ltrs 46AAreas on a map of Manchester14 ltrs 23ASome limb-moving muscles9 ltrs

Tuesday sits one notch above Monday, usually with a light theme and a few playful clues. This grid has 39 black squares and averages 4.9 letters per entry.