Home/Archive/May 8, 2026

NYT Crossword — May 8, 2026

Friday’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

1H

2A

3T

4E

5S

6O

7N

8A

9T

10E

11A

12S

13E

14T

H

E

R

E

N

O

15W

16S

W

A

N

K

Y

17T

A

X

E

X

I

L

E

18S

O

R

T

I

E

19P

S

T

20M

O

O

R

21S

22S

L

I

P

S

23P

A

N

S

E

A

24R

25A

C

S

26A

27W

28M

A

N

29S

O

R

E

30S

P

O

T

31C

H

E

R

U

32B

33N

A

S

T

34M

O

35P

36T

E

D

T

A

L

37K

38N

E

A

39T

E

N

S

40I

N

S

41L

O

O

42P

43T

R

A

D

E

S

44I

C

45E

S

T

O

R

46M

47T

R

Y

S

T

48N

H

L

49S

K

I

A

50R

E

A

51K

R

O

F

52T

53S

E

N

O

R

54K

55P

56H

57Y

O

O

H

O

58O

59S

I

N

K

60H

O

L

E

61I

M

L

A

T

E

62T

O

D

I

E

F

O

R

63V

E

S

T

E

D

64C

A

T

S

I

T

S

Across

34 clues

1Criticizes, in modern lingo

14"Not to worry ..."

17One away from one's duties?

19Hollywood is on it: Abbr.

20Secures, in a way

23Create a crispy crust for, say

25Coolers, for short

31One of two in Raphael's "Sistine Madonna"

33Cartoonist who popularized the Democratic donkey

34"Bad hair day" hair

36Address no longer than 18 minutes

38Prepares for company, maybe

40Networking assets

41Second City district, with "the"

43Plumbing and welding, e.g.

44Really nasty fall?

47Date unlikely to be on a calendar

48Mammoth's home, for short

49Where to go for a run

51Peabody-winning journalist Steve

53Many a Chilango

54Formula 1 fig.

57"I'm this-a way!"

59Great depression?

61"Would you look at the time?!"

62Scrumdiddlyumptious

63Like some interests and stocks

64Feeds the kitty, say

Down

36 clues

1It's usually followed by an "s"

2Indicators of awareness

4Bygone "before"

5Books that go into intimate detail?

6It might bring you to tears

7"Good riddance"

9All slam dunks

10Accessory turned down on a cap

11Humor without a traditional punch line

12Create ripple effects, in a way

13Scallops can have hundreds of tiny blue ones

15"It's a date!"

23Hairstylist's concern

24Go back to the beginning

26Whence the line "Beware the ides of March" in "Julius Caesar"

27Comment from one who's going along

28Where to see fresh coats of white?

32Rorschach patterns

35"I'm this-a way!"

39___ Theatre, Atlanta art house named for a fictional estate

42White-collar figure

45Pointy-topped red-and-green headwear

46Tuber that's the source of tapioca

50___ Rousey, first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo

51National capital that's home to Mykhailivska Square

54___ Annan, former U.N. secretary general

55Something that's hatched

56Half of some matching sets

58Work that traces the evolution of lang. over 1,000 years

60"And ___ long gone when ___ next to me" (Taylor Swift lyric)

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

Stats & info

Friday, May 8, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

31/194

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedMay 8, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorRafael Musa and Geoffrey Schorkopf

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 36 down

Longest entries

5DBooks that go into intimate detail?10 ltrs 11DHumor without a traditional punch line10 ltrs 12DCreate ripple effects, in a way10 ltrs 27DComment from one who's going along10 ltrs 28DWhere to see fresh coats of white?10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 31 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.