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NYT Crossword — October 12, 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

1A

2L

3S

4O

5S

6A

7R

8A

9A

10C

11T

12I

13N

E

A

R

14T

O

W

E

L

15C

O

R

N

16N

I

S

S

17A

N

L

E

A

F

18E

R

O

S

19S

H

O

R

T

20I

R

21A

22R

T

E

23C

U

I

N

G

24M

25A

R

E

S

26N

E

S

T

27A

R

M

28O

29P

A

L

S

30P

E

C

K

31L

E

I

32A

33L

I

L

34D

E

I

T

Y

35M

36O

O

D

S

37W

I

N

G

38T

39A

B

B

Y

40T

I

N

41H

42A

43R

44M

45E

P

E

E

46M

A

N

E

47S

48M

A

D

49L

A

R

R

Y

50B

I

R

D

51O

52P

E

N

S

53A

R

I

54S

O

N

55I

D

I

N

A

56C

O

C

57A

58O

U

59T

60O

N

A

L

I

M

61B

62E

S

O

S

63S

T

I

C

K

64O

T

O

E

65S

E

T

H

66T

E

E

D

67T

Y

K

E

Across

39 clues

1"Let's not forget ..."

5Singer/actress Bareilles

9First part of a musical

14Post-bath wrap

15Vegetable on a cob

16Electric vehicle from Japan

18God with a bow and arrow

20Investment option for old age, in brief

22Mail carrier's assignment: Abbr.

23Signaling, as a performer

27Contents of a sleeve

28Birthstones for some Libras

31Movie princess with "space buns"

33Rapper ___ Kim

34Mercury, Venus or Mars

35Unpredictable emotional shift

38Striped kitty

40Main element in pewter

41"No ___, no foul"

45Olympic sword with a guarded tip

46Thick heads of hair

49Celtics legend nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick"

51Kicks off, as a concert

53Singer Grande, informally

54Part of the Holy Trinity

55Tony winner Menzel

58Positioned precariously … or where the ends of 16-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across can all be found

62Those, in Spanish

63Lollipop holder

64Great Plains tribe

65"Late Night" host Meyers

66___ off (miffed)

Down

39 clues

1"Tom Lake" novelist Patchett

2It isn't working

3Raw fish dish at a Japanese restaurant

4"Citizen Kane" director Welles

5Sun, in Spanish

6Astounded state

7Shows again, as a broadcast

8"Clemency" actress Woodard

9Card that may be hidden "up one's sleeve"

10"You're right!"

11Russian revolutionary Leon

12City map next to a state map, e.g.

14Explosive block in Minecraft

17Mythical Greek ship

21Tree with "quaking" leaves

23Baseball great Ripken

24___ Marian, Robin Hood's beloved

25Outstanding athlete

26Sound from the horse's mouth

29Cunning tactic

32"Jurassic Park" insect casing

34Eat by candlelight, say

36Follows an order

37Sailboat propeller

38Hybrid flower named after a drink

39Kind of jam in a Sacher torte

42In-room safe or a chocolate on the pillow, say

43Went hog wild

44Some E.R. workers

47Sweet, fizzy drink

49Roller skate strings

50Give a leg up

52Amelia Earhart, for one

55Squid's defensive output

57Residue on a grill

59Reason for overtime

60Anxious condition, in brief

61Hive occupant

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

Stats & info

Monday, Oct 12, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

40/185

Black / letter cells

4.7

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 12, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorZhouqin Burnikel

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split39 across · 39 down

Longest entries

16AElectric vehicle from Japan10 ltrs 58APositioned precariously … or where the ends of 16-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across can all be found10 ltrs 24ATotal mess9 ltrs 35AUnpredictable emotional shift9 ltrs 49ACeltics legend nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick"9 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 40 black squares and averages 4.7 letters per entry.