Home/Archive/May 24, 2025

NYT Crossword — May 24, 2025

Saturday’s 16 × 15 puzzle, 75 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 75 revealed

1P

2S

3Y

4C

5H

6R

7I

8G

9A

10M

11A

12R

13O

14L

15E

16E

P

O

D

E

17E

N

T

R

Y

L

E

V

E

L

18C

A

U

T

I

19O

U

S

O

P

T

I

M

I

S

M

20O

W

W

21R

U

S

T

S

22R

E

E

D

S

23S

N

O

24G

25T

E

A

26W

E

N

T

27P

U

R

28S

E

S

29S

H

A

Q

30S

31I

32M

33C

O

L

E

A

D

34S

E

A

T

U

35R

T

L

E

36H

I

D

E

F

37S

T

A

T

38E

V

I

L

S

39I

N

N

K

E

40E

P

E

R

41F

E

L

L

A

S

42A

T

T

43H

A

I

M

44A

R

N

O

L

D

45S

O

R

T

46A

N

Y

47T

I

V

48O

49U

50H

H

U

H

51S

I

N

E

52S

53R

I

P

54P

L

E

A

S

A

55N

T

S

U

R

P

56R

I

S

E

57I

N

E

V

E

R

W

I

L

L

58E

A

S

E

D

59S

A

L

E

S

T

A

X

E

S

60W

E

E

D

S

Across

35 clues

1Course on behavior, for short

6Song and dance

16Lyrical piece

17Like many jobs for recent grads

18Feeling described as "hoping for the best, but fearing the worst"

20"That stings!"

21Becomes inoperable, in a way

22Sources of wind sounds

23Neck, in Newcastle

25Scuttlebutt, these days

26Said, informally

27Places for change

29Magic center, familiarly

30Certain digital denizen

33Share the spotlight

34Creature that returns to the beach where it was born for laying eggs

36Pixel-dense, for short

38Lousy pair to choose from

39Infamous denier of Mary and Joseph

43Rock band founded by three sisters

44"Hey ___!" (Nickelodeon cartoon of 1996-2004)

47Digital recording pioneer

51Producers of some waves

53Letters for the dearly departed

54Positive result of having 18-Across, perhaps

57"Don't expect that from me"

59Charges that vary between states

60Culls, with "out"

Down

40 clues

1River that once marked the boundary of the Wild West

2Location where a video game character starts (or restarts) a level

3Incredulous reply to a daring scheme

4Summer hrs. in Iowa

5Mary I, to Henry VIII

6Finds another purpose for

8Old muscle cars

9"Human Concretion" sculptor

10Nice thing to hear from one's dining partner

11Xenomorph who can produce humanoid offspring

12Held another session

13Younger contemporary of Virgil

15Water-resistant wood

24Xi's language

26"You did ___?!"

28Shelters from the heat?

30Classic poem with the lines "Leaving behind nights of terror and fear ... Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear"

31Not recommended

32Eton ___ (traditional English dessert)

33Smoothie seed

34A flute might have a short one

35Place for a camper

37Implement at a roast

40Aviation legend

41Word with air or deep

44Undoes, in court

45Manscape, perhaps

46Proverbial thing to cross, in politics

48One-sided columns

49Radius neighbor

50Direction for a dog

51Thin rods, in some product names

54Magnum and Spade, for short

55Music group co-founded by Dr. Dre

56Social media star Addison ___

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

Stats & info

Saturday, May 24, 2025

16×15

Grid size

75

Total entries

30/210

Black / letter cells

5.6

Avg entry length

16 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 24, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorGene Louise De Vera

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 40 down

Longest entries

18AFeeling described as "hoping for the best, but fearing the worst"16 ltrs 54APositive result of having 18-Across, perhaps16 ltrs 6ASong and dance10 ltrs 17ALike many jobs for recent grads10 ltrs 57A"Don't expect that from me"10 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 30 black squares and averages 5.6 letters per entry.