Home/Archive/May 20, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 20, 2026

Wednesday’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

1T

2I

3K

4I

5B

6A

7R

8E

9M

10B

11O

12S

13S

14H

A

T

E

R

A

D

E

15V

I

E

N

N

A

16O

F

F

Y

E

A

R

E

17L

E

C

T

I

O

N

18O

T

I

S

19O

D

I

N

20R

O

O

D

21G

U

22C

23C

I

24R

E

25C

A

N

T

S

26S

27O

U

P

O

F

T

28H

E

D

A

Y

29E

R

R

30N

O

L

O

31T

A

32T

33E

34R

35A

C

E

36R

B

37Y

O

38M

39C

L

A

R

A

40L

A

S

E

R

41H

O

42D

A

43K

I

N

44V

I

45S

46U

A

L

E

F

47F

E

C

T

48S

49A

50G

E

O

I

L

51A

L

E

A

P

52P

I

E

R

53G

T

54O

S

55L

O

56B

57S

58I

S

N

T

59T

H

A

T

S

60P

61E

C

I

A

L

62C

L

E

E

S

E

63R

E

C

K

O

N

S

O

64Y

E

S

D

A

D

65A

S

S

E

N

T

S

Across

31 clues

1Establishment that serves zombies, perhaps

8Adorn with raised lettering

14"Drink" for vocal critics

15European city that "waits for you," in a Billy Joel tune

16Nontraditional time for voting someone into office

18Redding who sang "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay"

19God played by Anthony Hopkins in Marvel movies

21Florence-based fashion house

24Takes back a public statement

26What a waiter might offer to start you off

29Make a boo-boo

30___ contendere (court plea)

39Actress Bow of the silent film era

40Light show tool

41TV personality Kotb

44Bit of movie magic

48"Essential" product used as an anti-acne treatment

51Take ___ of faith

52Place for a seafood dinner

53Classic Pontiacs

55Arcing tennis shots

58Condescending rhetorical question … or what you might say about 16-, 26- and 44-Across?

62John in the sketch "The Fish-Slapping Dance"

63"Seems right," folksily

64Words a teenager might say with an eye roll

Down

39 clues

1Mustachioed president who succeeded another mustachioed president in 1909

2"Don't know why I thought any different!"

5Farmyard bleat

7Clarinet, for one

9Careful, this might be hot!

11Word with ring or roll

12Hoity-toity one

13Smooths, in a way

17Old Italian money

22Musical notation that means "with vigor"

23Boardroom bigwig, in brief

25Spot to drink a matcha with a Manx

26Ocean prey for a 27-Down

27Ocean predator of a 26-Down

32Be in charge, informally

33Protagonist of "That ’70s Show"

34Speech full of invective

36Went back (to), as a prior state

38Epitome of slowness

42Director Guillermo ___ Toro

45Expressed frustration, maybe

46Beauty company whose Nasdaq ticker symbol is its name

47Atlanta athlete

49Walkway for newlyweds

50They're part of what makes you you

54"___ Noche en Miami" (Bad Bunny song)

59Org. whose staffers wear royal blue uniforms

60Lenovo products, informally

61Just get (by)

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

32/193

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 20, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorKathleen Duncan

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split31 across · 39 down

Longest entries

16ANontraditional time for voting someone into office15 ltrs 58ACondescending rhetorical question … or what you might say about 16-, 26- and 44-Across?15 ltrs 26AWhat a waiter might offer to start you off12 ltrs 44ABit of movie magic12 ltrs 2D"Don't know why I thought any different!"9 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 32 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.