Home/Archive/May 3, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 3, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 138 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 138 revealed

1I

2C

3H

4C

5P

6R

7O

8K

9E

10D

11S

12A

13T

14A

15T

16O

17P

18M

U

D

19H

O

L

E

20P

I

T

A

21T

E

A

C

H

M

E

22A

T

T

U

N

E

D

23P

L

A

S

24T

I

C

S

H

E

E

T

25S

26G

I

V

E

S

A

D

27A

R

N

28H

O

R

29S

T

R

A

T

A

30I

N

S

31I

L

E

32O

S

33E

34A

R

E

S

35N

O

E

36A

37S

38Y

T

A

S

39K

40S

T

I

C

41K

42Y

P

A

D

S

43E

N

T

R

A

P

44S

S

E

45W

I

N

O

N

A

46I

N

R

47E

48E

49R

I

N

50N

O

D

51R

52A

53M

54A

55B

56R

57I

D

G

E

T

58J

59O

N

E

S

60L

O

W

D

I

G

I

T

61E

I

N

62S

N

O

G

63T

H

64R

U

65S

A

F

E

S

T

66L

E

F

67T

68A

W

R

69Y

70Y

O

R

71E

72E

T

T

E

73I

S

A

Y

74S

75O

76L

E

A

77S

78F

I

L

79M

80W

E

S

81K

E

N

K

E

S

82E

Y

83C

H

84I

L

D

S

U

85P

86P

O

R

T

87E

N

T

E

N

T

E

88P

H

Y

S

89E

Z

R

A

90T

E

N

91H

U

T

92A

93C

94C

95A

O

R

96T

97A

98L

99B

100A

101R

102B

A

R

I

A

N

S

103T

H

I

104N

K

P

I

E

C

E

105E

L

I

A

106E

D

T

107O

R

E

108A

C

A

109A

M

O

N

110R

111A

112H

E

113W

114A

C

C

O

115U

116N

117T

R

E

P

118N

O

T

Q

U

I

119T

E

R

I

120G

H

T

121B

R

O

C

O

D

E

122N

E

U

T

R

A

L

123M

A

M

A

124O

B

T

U

S

E

R

125D

R

E

S

S

U

P

126P

H

E

W

127P

S

A

128E

D

S

Across

64 clues

1First person, in Austria

4Pressing activity, for short?

7Cleared to proceed

18Place for pigs to wallow

20Shawarma wrap

21"I'm here to learn"

23Moisture barrier supplies

2623-Across, oddly?

28Vert. counterpart

29Geological layers

30They got the votes

31Saint Barthélemy, par exemple

34Father of Deimos

4035-Across, oddly?

43Catch in a sting

44Cleveland-to-Akron dir.

45Ryder of "Stranger Things"

46Office memo starter

48Leprechaun's land

50Conflict-averse

55Fictional diary writer

6055-Across, oddly?

61A as in Austria

62Lock lips, in London

63Drive-___ menu

65Like the best bets

72Ending with the name Ann or Nan

73"Reason" given in a parental "explanation"

76Spots for grazing

78Pond scum, e.g.

80Craven behind the camera

81"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" author

8381-Across, oddly?

87Political understanding

89Book before Nehemiah

90Boot camp shout

92Stanford and Cal joined it in 2024

95From the heart, in a way

99Conan and others

10399-Across, oddly?

105"Essays of ___" (19th-century collection)

106Summer hours in N.Y.C.

107You smelt it!

108Inits. fittingly filling the blanks of Obam_ _ _re

109Luxor Temple deity

112Take an ax to

114Client's sales agent, in brief

118114-Across, oddly?

121Unspoken set of rules between dudes

122N next to the gearshift

123Ozzy Osbourne's "___, I'm Coming Home"

124More dimwitted

125Make more appealing, as something otherwise plain

126"Glad that's over!"

127Spot for charity, say, in brief

128Newsroom staffers, for short

Down

74 clues

1"Just picture this!"

2Rudely interrupt, as a dance partner

3Man cave fixture

6Website with an alien logo

7Treat badly, in a way

8Potter's furnace

9Uber ride info, informally

10Small amount in the kitchen

11Adds with a spoon, say

12Org. for J. Robert Oppenheimer

13U.S.S.R. news source

14Zwei quadrupled

15What one might take or beat

16World Golf Hall-of-Famer Mark

19Sector of a color wheel

24"Yer darn ___!"

27Cry often accompanied by a sigh

33Cut-rate, in brand names

38Belgian battle site in W.W. I

40Sounding like taffeta, say

41More than suspects

42When tripled, "You get the picture"

47Sicilian spewer

49Part of A.A.R.P.: Abbr.

51Loaded (with)

52When teething might end

53Produce aisle device

56Chewy chocolate candy brand

57One sporting a onesie

58Loose-cheeked, as a mastiff

59Fantastic beast

60Jarringly sensational

67Day care charge

69Blue blood vessels?

71"What ___ can I say?"

74German actress Berger with a career spanning eight decades

75Big name in blenders

77Reluctant to mingle, say

79Classic elevator tunes

82Start of a choosing rhyme

84"The time ___ hand"

86___-mutuel betting

88Kick starter?

91Didn't go it alone, say

93One of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes

94Magazine fig.

96Fragrant garden hybrid

98The lords in "The 12 Days of Christmas," e.g.

100Vegan milk source

101Mob scene extra

102French financial institution

104Jazz subgenre for Wynton Marsalis

110Daily grinds

113Chicken (out)

114"I'm in such a fix"

115Metro regions, informally

117The Horned Frogs of Ft. Worth

120"Why, why, why?!"

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

Stats & info

Sunday, May 3, 2026

21×21

Grid size

138

Total entries

77/364

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 3, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeWhat Are the Odds?

ConstructorMark Diehl

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split64 across · 74 down

Longest entries

23AMoisture barrier supplies13 ltrs 118A114-Across, oddly?13 ltrs 55AFictional diary writer12 ltrs 83A81-Across, oddly?12 ltrs 26A23-Across, oddly?10 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 77 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.