Home/Archive/May 17, 2025

NYT Crossword — May 17, 2025

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 72 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 72 revealed

1L

2I

3S

4T

5S

6B

7I

8N

9S

10O

11M

12A

13N

14A

G

A

V

E

15A

N

Y

A

16D

V

I

C

E

17K

I

M

S

C

18O

N

V

E

N

I

E

N

C

E

19E

V

E

20T

R

A

I

T

21A

R

I

22R

E

D

23G

I

A

N

T

24S

L

I

M

25E

26D

27A

R

O

28A

R

29L

O

30T

A

T

E

31F

32L

Y

I

N

33G

S

O

U

T

34H

35R

A

N

36R

I

D

E

S

U

P

37G

H

A

38S

T

L

Y

39O

N

E

G

40M

L

41K

42A

S

H

43G

E

L

44S

P

I

L

45L

T

H

E

46T

47E

48A

49D

I

50N

O

51T

E

E

S

52R

U

G

S

53R

A

V

E

N

54S

55E

A

T

56S

A

L

O

T

57O

N

E

T

O

T

58E

N

59H

O

T

A

I

R

60C

C

R

61M

O

R

E

62A

L

O

N

S

O

63K

E

Y

64A

P

E

X

65T

E

N

E

T

S

Across

36 clues

1Much mail to Santa

6Rubbish destinations

10Sultanate that controls the exclave of Madha

14Mescal source

17Sitcom set in a corner store run by a Korean Canadian family (2016-21)

19Halloween vis-à-vis All Saints' Day

20Hair color, e.g.

22The sun, e.g., in about five billion years

24Humiliated (or honored), as on Nickelodeon

27Like one preferring platonic relationships, informally

28British singer ___ Parks

30Museum with works by Hockney, Turner and Millais

31Going down, in a way

35Threw one's hat in the ring

36Becomes uncomfortable, as underwear

39Type that's compatible with everyone, in brief

40First president of the S.C.L.C.

42Neutral color

43Work well together

44"C'mon, dish it!"

49Chicken nugget shape

51Stands to practice hitting

52Causes of some burns

53N.F.L. team whose name is a literary reference

60"Bad Moon Rising" band, familiarly

62M.L.B. star Pete who holds the single-season record for homers by a rookie (53)

64End of a trail, perhaps

65They're accepted at church

Down

36 clues

1Athlete who shares his home venue with the Sparks

4They're found in dens

5Sports and Arts, e.g.

6Something to take in from a boat

7Outside the typical biological setting

8Dostoyevsky's denial

9Spanish word on a U.S. map

10Having lost interest

11Where you might refuel after refueling

12Miami is in it, for short

13French word that sounds like a vote

18Rita ___, "R.I.P." singer

23Composer Edvard

24"Anyway, gonna move on now"

25Name-dropping abbreviation

31End part of a violin bow

32What might lead to a row at a party?

33Forrest of film

38Chain whose name came from a Boston hotel whose sign was too expensive to remove

41Part of a cold pack?

44Wine valley in the Bay Area

45Green expanse

46It was founded as the Medical College of Louisiana

47One with an "I" problem?

48Team whose logo contains an "H" on top of a star

50It's not gross

56Base of a pump

58"Ended, ___ it begun" (Emily Dickinson poem)

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

Stats & info

Saturday, May 17, 2025

15×15

Grid size

72

Total entries

29/196

Black / letter cells

5.4

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 17, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRyan Judge

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split36 across · 36 down

Longest entries

17ASitcom set in a corner store run by a Korean Canadian family (2016-21)15 ltrs 3DPrime choice15 ltrs 31AGoing down, in a way11 ltrs 44A"C'mon, dish it!"11 ltrs 6DSomething to take in from a boat11 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 29 black squares and averages 5.4 letters per entry.