Home/Archive/May 25, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 25, 2026

Monday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1K

2I

3D

4S

5M

6I

7L

8D

9M

10O

11T

12E

13L

14E

D

I

T

15A

C

E

R

16I

M

A

G

E

17L

O

V

E

18S

C

E

N

E

19L

E

M

O

N

20P

L

E

A

T

21D

A

22R

K

N

E

S

S

23L

A

24W

25N

26M

A

T

27S

28P

29A

30G

H

O

31S

T

P

E

32P

33P

34E

35R

36A

L

P

37S

38A

S

H

39S

A

L

I

V

A

40L

A

N

E

41T

E

A

42C

H

43O

P

E

N

44A

T

E

A

45S

E

46W

O

E

47T

E

N

D

48D

E

A

T

H

V

49A

L

L

E

50Y

51S

T

Y

52T

E

N

53A

T

O

54P

55B

56E

57S

58M

I

R

C

59H

60Y

A

61W

62N

63S

64A

Z

T

E

C

65H

O

66T

67H

O

T

H

O

T

68T

R

U

N

K

69O

B

O

E

70H

I

V

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71H

A

N

D

S

72S

O

N

Y

73S

P

A

M

Across

37 clues

1Jokes (around)

5Not very spicy

9Super 8 or Red Roof Inn

15Big name in laptops

16Public relations concern

17Steamy segment in a movie

19Fruit that makes your lips pucker

20Tennis skirt feature

21Lack of light

23Locale for a plastic flamingo

26Yoga studio essential

27De-tension center?

30Variety of chili that can reach a Scoville score of 1+ million

36European ski destination

38Volcanic spew

39Sample collected by Ancestry.com

40Daily Planet reporter Lois

41Show the ropes

43"___ sesame!"

47Manage, as a bar

48California national park known for its dryness

52Number starting a countdown

55Bring dishonor upon

60"I'm sleepy" signals

64Ancient Mexican empire

651980s hit with the lyric "Me mind on fire, me soul on fire" ... or how one might describe 17-, 30- and 48-Across?

68Back of a car or front of an elephant

69Orchestral woodwind

70Place of buzziness?

71Most watches have three of these

72Japanese electronics giant

73An estimated 25% of modern phone calls

Down

41 clues

1Seaweed in an underwater forest

2Revered figure

3Go off the deep end?

4Incredible bargain

5Kraft ___ & Cheese

6Lead-in to maker or breaker

7Give, but expect back

8Experienced during sleep

9Frothy drink often served with boba

10A ladybug landing on you is considered a good one

11Opposite of wild

12Alter ___ (other selves)

13Camera shop purchase

18Adult male deer

22A hardened criminal might have a long one

25Missing part of the Great Sphinx of Giza

27Leafy lunch order

28Piece of armadillo armor

29Common sleep disorder

31Item worn over the shoulders

32"The ___ thickens ..."

33Vocal cords, informally

35Singer Newman with the hit "You've Got a Friend in Me"

42Coke or Pepsi

45Gimmicky routines

49Dried poblanos used in mole sauce

50Toy on a string

55Relaxing soak

56Book just after Ezekiel, alphabetically

59Drifter in search of work

61What to do with egg whites when making meringue

62Luminous stellar explosion

63Women in ___ (educational advocacy group)

66Colossal quantity

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

Stats & info

Monday, May 25, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

38/187

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

11 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 25, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorAnthony Grubb

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 41 down

Longest entries

30AVariety of chili that can reach a Scoville score of 1+ million11 ltrs 48ACalifornia national park known for its dryness11 ltrs 17ASteamy segment in a movie9 ltrs 65A1980s hit with the lyric "Me mind on fire, me soul on fire" ... or how one might describe 17-, 30- and 48-Across?9 ltrs 21ALack of light8 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 38 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.