Home/Archive/May 24, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 24, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 140 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 140 revealed

1R

2E

3D

4O

5S

6L

7A

8B

9A

10D

11E

12P

13T

14W

15I

16L

17T

18I

R

A

N

19H

O

U

R

20C

U

R

I

O

21P

A

T

I

O

22C

O

N

T

23R

O

L

L

E

24D

C

H

A

P

S

25I

N

S

P

O

26E

S

C

H

E

W

27D

A

R

E

28S

29A

N

D

A

R

T

30E

E

L

S

31T

E

N

32T

33G

I

G

A

34L

E

S

35A

36R

R

A

Y

37T

H

A

T

S

38S

O

N

O

T

39O

L

A

Y

40D

E

P

P

41M

42I

R

E

D

43A

P

T

44A

R

O

D

45A

T

O

P

46C

H

I

47G

R

O

D

48Y

49E

V

E

50N

51M

I

S

S

52E

D

A

B

53E

54A

U

55T

O

O

56L

57G

E

R

E

58S

E

E

59L

A

T

60W

H

A

61M

62N

G

O

63O

R

S

O

64G

I

V

E

65M

E

O

N

E

66S

E

A

S

67O

N

68D

69E

70C

O

71I

D

O

72Y

A

M

S

73B

T

U

74R

75N

76A

77O

M

A

N

78D

I

L

79L

80C

O

N

81T

A

C

T

82L

E

O

S

83C

O

M

E

84T

E

A

85M

O

86A

L

A

87I

S

I

S

88J

E

R

89I

90M

O

I

91S

92P

I

L

T

93F

O

R

E

94F

I

R

S

T

95C

96L

A

S

S

97N

A

I

L

98B

E

R

E

T

99S

P

A

100R

A

I

N

101T

O

R

N

102C

A

S

T

103H

E

R

104O

I

N

E

105M

A

P

106S

107O

T

T

A

108W

109A

110A

D

O

R

E

111D

112I

113S

114S

O

N

A

N

115T

C

H

O

R

E

S

116R

I

L

E

D

117T

A

K

E

R

118D

I

S

K

119R

E

E

K

120P

A

L

S

121O

N

I

C

E

122S

P

A

Y

123Y

A

K

S

Across

71 clues

1Second attempt

5Hunk of marble, e.g.

9Very proficient

14What many plants do in the heat

18Neighbor of Turkmenistan

19Word with happy or half

20Unusual trinket

21___ furniture

22Stoical British guys?

25Creative spark, in slang

27Sleepover challenge

28It's made with grains

30They twist beneath the surface

31Poles support this

33Prefix with watt

37"The skin cream you're using must be Neutrogena or CeraVe!"?

40Hollywood's Johnny

41Stuck in the mud

44Baseball legend who dated J.Lo

47Filthy, in slang

49Like 2026, but not 2025

51Pined for an ex-boyfriend?

57Richard of "Pretty Woman"

59Muscle below a delt

62Save the Children, e.g., in brief

64Exasperated television producer's plea?

68’20s architecture style

72They can be candied

74Molecule with the nucleotides G, U, A and C

77The Arabian Sea's Gulf of ___

80Reach out to people born between July 23 and August 22?

83When repeated, "Oh, please"

84Phrase on a Spanish candy heart

87Sister of Osiris

88Actress Ryan of the "Star Trek" franchise

91Like milk that isn't worth crying over

93Warning after a slice

94Good name for a salon specializing in mani-pedis?

99Aromatherapist's workplace

100Common forecast in Portland

101Struggling to decide

102Musical group?

103Princess Leia or Hester Prynne

105Visitor center handouts

107City west of Montreal

111Loading the dishes and unloading the dishes, e.g.?

117Selfish person

118Coin, commonly

120Pen ___ (corresponding pair)

121Like the strawberry champagne in Bruno Mars's "That's What I Like"

122Neuter's partner

123Tibetan oxen

Down

69 clues

1White bed, perhaps

3Stance that resembles a ballerina on one leg

4Using Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc.

5"The Conners" and "The Jeffersons"

6Common palindromic text

7"___ Lang Syne"

8"Relax. Calm yourself"

9One of two found on résumés?

11Distinct period

13Add at no extra cost

14Sorcerer's stick

15"We're toast!"

16Experts in body language?

17Foot, cutesily

21Something a child takes a swing at

24Really not look forward to

32Ruler in Russian history

35President in 1800

37Windy City paper, with "the"

39Only U.S. state whose flag features a different design on each side (the back is a beaver!)

41N.H.L. star Connor ___

42"Awful! Awful! Awful!"

47Relative of an alpaca

48Accessory used in some stretches

50Paleo- : old :: ___ : new

52Pharmacist Lilly

53She may have a little lamb

54Sailor's opener

56Feline that a neighbor may find

61Note to staff

64They're toast

65Supervillain in "Fantastic Four" comics

66XXX-XX-XXXX ID

67Away from the office

69Online reference with many faces

70Miniature photo gallery

74Touristy destination

76Insider, in spy lingo

79So-called "Land of a Million Elephants"

81Follow closely

82Individual account?

85Spray, in a way

89"It was my best effort"

92Parts of card-swiping machines

94G flat's equivalent

96Misinformed, say

98Place for miniature boats

104Sources of lead or gold

108Half of a fortnight

112"Mean Girls" character Janis ___

115It may request that you remove your coat, in brief

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

Stats & info

Sunday, May 24, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

78/363

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 24, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeNext, Please!

ConstructorDavid Steinberg

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split71 across · 69 down

Longest entries

22AStoical British guys?15 ltrs 64AExasperated television producer's plea?15 ltrs 111ALoading the dishes and unloading the dishes, e.g.?15 ltrs 37A"The skin cream you're using must be Neutrogena or CeraVe!"?14 ltrs 94AGood name for a salon specializing in mani-pedis?14 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 78 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.