Home/Archive/Oct 11, 2026

NYT Crossword — October 11, 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

1T

2A

3P

4I

5N

6S

7M

8A

9R

10T

11L

12S

13A

14T

15P

16A

17D

18S

C

O

N

E

19A

E

G

E

A

20N

21A

T

T

A

22E

L

O

23K

L

I

N

G

24O

N

L

I

N

G

O

25R

A

S

P

26U

T

I

N

27S

U

N

28A

S

S

E

T

29M

30A

I

N

31I

N

P

E

N

32T

33A

T

I

34E

A

35R

36C

A

N

A

L

37A

R

C

A

N

A

38C

39A

L

D

E

R

40A

41A

U

D

I

T

E

D

42O

S

S

43O

V

E

R

D

I

D

44V

45E

R

D

I

46E

M

47I

R

S

48D

E

S

I

49S

I

E

T

E

50C

51A

52L

53I

N

K

P

54A

55D

56E

S

S

A

57Y

58N

E

T

59B

O

60A

R

S

61O

R

O

62T

E

63C

64P

A

65P

66E

67R

C

U

T

A

P

68E

R

C

U

69J

70E

71M

I

S

I

72N

73E

T

E

74E

L

E

C

T

O

R

75E

L

I

C

I

T

F

76E

77L

I

C

I

78T

79Y

80S

C

H

81E

I

D

82T

A

L

L

Y

83E

E

84L

85T

I

86G

87E

88R

89R

E

D

90D

I

T

91F

E

92W

93A

N

T

I

94S

95D

O

R

A

96L

A

S

I

97K

98H

99I

N

D

I

S

H

100I

N

D

I

G

101B

E

Y

102O

U

103S

104T

I

N

G

105P

O

M

A

D

E

S

106L

A

S

T

107I

N

B

L

A

S

T

I

108N

109G

110V

A

S

E

111O

N

E

O

N

112R

O

U

T

113A

R

114E

E

L

115S

116P

117A

118C

H

A

N

C

119E

I

T

120L

121O

122T

S

A

F

L

O

123T

S

A

M

124A

M

T

125A

R

C

H

126E

R

R

A

N

T

127N

I

E

C

E

128L

I

S

129S

A

K

S

130G

I

L

D

S

131E

S

S

E

X

Across

65 clues

11Exam for a future atty.

15Boulderer's safety item

18Muffin alternative

19Sea surrounding Mykonos

21Flour in Indian cooking

22"Mr. Blue Sky" band, in brief

23Some "Star Trek" slang?

25Infamous Russian mystic

28One might be liquid or frozen

29Street that might run all the way through town

31Like most autographs

32French filmmaker Jacques

34Secrets known only to E.N.T.s?

38Depression formed by a volcano's collapse

41Did a taxing job?

42C.I.A. forerunner

43Listened to "Rigoletto" way too many times?

46Mideast leaders

48Member of the South Asian diaspora

49Ocho menos uno

50Berkeley university, familiarly

53Rubber stamp go-with

56Many a David Foster Wallace piece

61"___ y plata" (Montana's motto)

62Sleuth, slangily

64"A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?

69N.K. ___, "Broken Earth" trilogy author

73Summer in France

74Person discussed in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution

80Educational inst.

81"Feast," in Arabic

83Slippery swimmer

85Daniel ___ (children's TV character)

89"The heart of the internet," per its tagline

93Those opposed

95Animated explorer

96Cornea-reshaping surgery

98Diwali or Holi?

101Queen ___ (pop nickname)

105Some hair products

106Like the world's worst demolition company?

111Status after a leadoff walk

113Wibbly-wobbly

115Hot stone massage location

120A whole bunch of ocean detritus?

124Tsp. or tbsp.

125Triumphal monument shape

128Fleur-de-___

129Luxury goods retailer since 1867

130Needlessly adorns, in an idiom

131Massachusetts county in which the term "gerrymandering" was first applied

Down

75 clues

1Disapproving sounds

2"Dissent is patriotic" grp.

4Overnight stop

5Made irrelevant

8Stress-induced discomfort

9Stimpy's TV partner

12Comics legend behind the Fantastic Four

13Calls out on social media, slangily

14Odd-toed ungulate

15Document used for a travel companion who might sit under a seat

16Many characters in Pixar's "Elio"

17"The Bear" matriarch played by Jamie Lee Curtis

24Green Egyptian god

26Get into, as a cab, say

30DiFranco who made her Broadway debut in "Hadestown"

33Northernmost arm of the Mediterranean

35Like a blue moon or blue steak

36Something to chew on

38Work with Python, say

39Park and Fifth, e.g.: Abbr.

40Tennis score following deuce

44Second-in-command

45___ Place, female companion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

47Closely examine

51"Dancing With the Stars" network

52Cardinals legend Brock

54With the bow, in music

60Performed exceptionally, in slang

63Bibliography listing

65Louvre Pyramid architect

66Mail Boxes ___

67Chain that sells climbing gear

68Only egg-laying mammals besides platypuses

70"Night" memoirist Wiesel

71They might be the last to be booked on an airplane

72Grp. for Commanders and Chiefs

76Holiday classic starring Will Ferrell

77Soapmaker's supply

79Cryptid with a Tibetan name

84Speech therapist's target

86Frigg and Freyja, e.g.

87One of the Great Lakes

88Cleaning cloths

90Home of the N.C.A.A.'s Flyers

93Home services website

94Dig up dirt, say

97"Barry Lyndon" director

99QB's worry: Abbr.

100Statement by someone who's out of date?

101Vietnamese sandwich

103Animals known for their slow metabolism

104Capital of ancient Troy?

106Alternative to express

107Ancient Andeans

108Like some allergy sprays

116A runner may need to pick it up

117Charger's option, informally

119Flop ___ (period of failure)

121Part of NGO: Abbr.

122Prefix with cycle

123Christmas carol contraction

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Oct 11, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

74/367

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 11, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeHeart Transplants

ConstructorMichael Lieberman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split65 across · 75 down

Longest entries

34ASecrets known only to E.N.T.s?14 ltrs 64A"A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?14 ltrs 75ASpark joy?14 ltrs 106ALike the world's worst demolition company?14 ltrs 23ASome "Star Trek" slang?12 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 74 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.