Home/Archive/May 3, 2025

NYT Crossword — May 3, 2025

Saturday’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

1A

2N

3I

4M

5A

6L

7F

8A

9R

10M

11P

12S

13A

14T

15D

O

N

E

T

O

A

T

E

E

16U

H

U

H

17L

E

T

S

F

A

C

E

I

T

18N

A

D

A

19A

L

E

S

20T

A

K

I

21S

K

I

T

22I

S

R

23Z

24O

O

M

I

E

25S

26S

O

S

27B

I

E

R

28R

I

29G

H

T

O

30S

31A

32L

E

P

R

I

33C

34E

35G

L

U

O

N

36P

R

O

A

M

37A

S

L

38H

O

K

U

M

39I

T

S

M

E

40L

I

K

41E

I

C

A

R

E

42T

I

E

S

U

43P

44H

O

N

K

45S

S

R

46P

R

47O

48L

O

N

G

49S

50P

51A

52G

A

P

53S

54E

S

A

U

55S

P

U

D

56A

N

A

L

57H

A

D

N

58O

59C

H

I

L

L

60M

A

Y

O

61A

G

E

D

C

H

E

E

S

E

62E

L

S

E

63B

E

N

S

T

I

L

L

E

R

Across

35 clues

1Source of the line "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend"

11National Merit Scholarship qualifying exam

17"Can we be real for a second?!"

20Spicy alternative to a Frito

22Country that is more than 50% desert: Abbr.

23Frenetic bursts of energy in pets, colloquially

27Löwenbräu product

30Ubiquitous figure during the holiday season

35Subatomic particle that binds quarks together

36Like some tournaments

37Subj. of some interpretive work

39How some people self-identify

42Gets out of the way, as hair

44[Get out of my way!]

45Onetime union member: Abbr.

49Eponymous Belgian tourist spot

54Son of Isaac and Rebekah

56Tending to get fixated, say

57Was way too keyed up, in modern slang

60Remoulade base, informally

61Manchego curado or Asiago d'allevo

62Computer programming keyword

63Director and co-star of 2013's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Down

35 clues

1"___ and Estes — The Bestest" (1956 campaign slogan)

3Prefix with change

4Futz around (with)

5Fed. agency that investigates arson

6Hawaiian for "long"

7!, in mathematics

9Japanese energy-healing technique

11"The lowest form of human behavior," per John Oliver

12North African egg-and-tomato dish

13Museum offering with a headset

14"I'm responsible for what happened"

23Request from someone getting dressed

24Poetic preposition

25Showing exasperation, in a way

30Tries to talk smoothly, in slang

31Made using traditional methods

32Stakes of some bar bets

33Franchise based in Vegas and N.Y., among others

34Norwegian hunting dogs

43Physical therapy before an operation, familiarly

47Tribe in "Killers of the Flower Moon"

49Pitcher's output

51Renata ___, longtime journalist for The New Yorker

53Blackthorn berry

55Poet Silverstein

58Mo. when Supreme Court terms begin

59Home of the White Sox, for short

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

Stats & info

Saturday, May 3, 2025

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

30/195

Black / letter cells

5.6

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 3, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorMichael Lieberman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 35 down

Longest entries

1ASource of the line "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend"10 ltrs 15ANailed10 ltrs 17A"Can we be real for a second?!"10 ltrs 57AWas way too keyed up, in modern slang10 ltrs 61AManchego curado or Asiago d'allevo10 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.