Home/Archive/May 16, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 16, 2026

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 66 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 66 revealed

1U

2R

3L

4S

5S

6C

7R

8I

9M

10W

11R

12E

13N

14C

O

A

T

15P

H

O

N

E

16S

H

O

M

E

17L

U

N

A

18L

I

T

T

L

E

O

L

M

E

19A

N

D

Y

20K

I

M

21W

A

T

T

L

E

D

22D

E

B

A

T

E

23C

O

N

T

E

S

T

S

24M

E

D

A

Y

S

25H

A

G

E

L

26A

M

O

C

O

27D

I

C

E

R

28L

29I

30D

31N

U

U

K

32F

E

A

T

S

33M

A

N

I

34E

P

T

35S

E

E

P

S

36Z

A

R

F

S

37C

O

U

P

E

38V

I

R

G

O

S

39S

40E

41C

O

N

D

S

T

42R

I

N

G

E

R

43T

R

A

V

A

I

L

44E

X

C

I

S

E

45D

46R

I

V

E

R

S

E

47I

N

E

48N

O

V

A

49E

V

E

N

S

T

E

V

E

N

50A

D

E

N

51P

O

D

S

52S

P

E

W

S

53L

A

R

K

Across

33 clues

1Modern "go-to's"

5Curtain for silhouetting on stage

10Bird on the South Carolina state quarter

14Capote or chesterfield

15Emulates E.T., in a way

17Roman goddess who drives a two-horse chariot

18Precious self-reference

19Name shared by the singer of the #1 hit "Rock Me Gently" (1974) and the first Korean American elected to the U.S. Senate (2024)

21Double-___ cassowary (bird of Indonesia and Australia)

22Matches with forensics

24Occasions to relax and recharge

25Obama's third secretary of defense (2013-15)

26Gasoline brand that offered the Torch Club credit card

27Aid in making salsa

28Operculum, e.g.

31Capital of Greenland

32They're hard to pull off

33Spa service, in brief

34Up to snuff, facetiously

37Many a Porsche 911

38Practical types who are often perfectionists, it's said

39Don't start with me!

43Difficult effort

46Setting for Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"

48Cold-smoked lox

497 up, perhaps

50Gulf of ___, waters that abut Djibouti and Somaliland

51Vanilla units

Down

33 clues

1Victor over Washington on 11/12/1955 in "Back to the Future, Pt. II" — and in real life

3Went wide or long, as a tennis ball

8Getting a break on Broadway?

10Marriott property with the slogan "Whatever Whenever"

11Triumphs smoothly

12___ Brickowski ("The Lego Movie" protagonist)

13"What this country ___ …"

16Certain volleyballer

23Once-popular terra-cotta figurine

27State in which Gulliver is discovered by the Lilliputians

28Combo meal upgrade

29Going back ages

32Folks who enjoy a well-aged beef?

35Echolocation systems

36Element between copper and gallium on the periodic table

37Spelling combinations?

38They're concerned with feeding kits

39Pharyngeal woe

40Cynthia ___, Tony winner for "The Color Purple"

42Extend, in a way

45Chilly and damp

47"___ noticed"

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

Stats & info

Saturday, May 16, 2026

15×15

Grid size

66

Total entries

26/199

Black / letter cells

6.0

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 16, 2026

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorByron Walden

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split33 across · 33 down

Longest entries

22AMatches with forensics14 ltrs 39ADon't start with me!14 ltrs 15AEmulates E.T., in a way10 ltrs 18APrecious self-reference10 ltrs 46ASetting for Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"10 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 26 black squares and averages 6.0 letters per entry.