Home/Archive/May 23, 2025

NYT Crossword — May 23, 2025

Friday’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

1F

2A

3S

4T

5C

6A

7S

8U

9A

10L

11P

12S

13P

14A

U

D

R

E

L

O

R

D

E

15H

A

H

A

16I

T

S

Y

O

U

R

L

U

C

17K

Y

D

A

Y

18R

O

U

T

19M

E

S

20H

U

D

D

L

E

21H

22I

S

S

23T

E

R

R

I

E

R

24A

25W

26A

I

T

27U

28G

A

29T

A

N

30K

I

S

S

E

31D

B

U

T

32T

33G

34Y

35M

36E

L

K

37M

O

J

I

T

O

38S

39T

O

E

40E

L

F

41T

E

L

L

M

E

42M

O

R

E

43O

44A

45F

46C

E

E

47M

O

N

E

T

48F

49A

R

L

E

50F

T

51T

52W

I

N

53A

C

H

I

E

R

54H

A

R

55T

56O

57I

58L

59C

R

E

A

T

I

60V

E

L

I

61C

E

N

S

E

62E

E

L

S

63S

I

D

E

S

T

R

E

E

T

64T

S

P

65K

E

Y

S

T

R

O

K

E

S

Across

33 clues

1Dining at Chipotle or Panera, e.g.

11Hand-held 2000s Sony console, for short

14"The Black Unicorn" poet, 1978

15"Oh, that's a good one"

16"Actually, I have good news"

19Punt e ___ (vermouth brand)

20Tight formation

21Express disapproval, in a way

23Boston University athlete

27Inst. in Athens

29Color akin to camel

33Class in middle or high school

36Yellowstone traffic stoppers

37Cocktails garnished with mint leaves

39Digitus minimus pedis, for one

40"Every ___ and fairy sprite / Hop as light as bird from brier": Shak.

41"I'm listening ..."

46First in command?

47"The Artist's Garden at Giverny" artist

48Uber-progressives

51Doppelgänger

53Feeling it more

54"Very. Funny."

59Something taken by many artists

62Fish bred by Roman nobles

63What might get you out of a jam?

641/48 cup: Abbr.

65What some loggers log

Down

39 clues

3Calif. school that runs the Mount Laguna Observatory

4"Have a taste"

5Steering committee V.I.P.

6Quinquennial campus visitors, maybe

7It hurts when it comes up

8Digital addresses

9Secondary residence on a property, for short

11Children's character who wears a duffle coat

12Cement ingredient

13One footing the bill

15Monster slain in one of Hercules' 12 labors

17Author Vonnegut

24Fruit that grows on Jamaican beaches

25Determination

26Request a hand

32South Korean golfer Kim

34Days long past

38Place for a cabin

42___ Lamar Hill a.k.a. Lil Nas X

44Fugitive's cover

45Units that might be metrical or imperial

49A lot can be made of these

50Check for pieces, say

52Watch this space!

54Actress/inventor Lamarr, the so-called "mother of Wi-Fi"

56Kid-friendly race length, in brief

60Compete (for)

61Middle: Abbr.

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

Stats & info

Friday, May 23, 2025

15×15

Grid size

72

Total entries

32/193

Black / letter cells

5.4

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 23, 2025

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorKate Hawkins

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split33 across · 39 down

Longest entries

16A"Actually, I have good news"15 ltrs 59ASomething taken by many artists15 ltrs 7DIt hurts when it comes up11 ltrs 23DLittle rats11 ltrs 1ADining at Chipotle or Panera, e.g.10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 32 black squares and averages 5.4 letters per entry.