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NYT Crossword — October 16, 2025

Thursday’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
2I
3N
4T
5B
6E
7N
8T
9O
10O
11D
12E
13S
14B
O
O
R
15O
S
C
A
R
16F
O
M
O
17S
E
T
I
18N
S
T
O
N
E
19F
A
U
N
20C
R
A
V
E
S
21G
O
22T
H
S
23O
R
B
I
T
24P
25R
Y
26H
O
I
27S
28T
29N
O
L
A
30R
O
E
31P
R
U
D
E
S
32D
R
E
33W
E
N
D
34A
U
R
O
R
A
35R
E
A
D
P
36A
L
M
S
37G
38O
39C
O
L
D
40I
V
E
S
41A
42M
43P
44O
R
A
C
L
E
45L
E
O
46S
P
A
R
47P
A
N
K
O
48S
L
R
49I
T
P
R
O
50A
S
K
51I
N
52D
U
R
E
S
S
53P
54A
S
O
55N
E
56E
57D
E
D
A
N
A
P
58E
T
T
U
59H
E
G
E
L
60I
D
L
E
61N
E
A
T
62D
R
O
L
L
63T
S
A
R

Across

39 clues
1"___ Talkin' ’bout Love" (Van Halen song)
5*Treat with kindness
10Noted works of the Roman poet Horace
14Brute
15Statuette modeled after a knight holding a crusader’s sword
16Feeling associated with skipping a party, perhaps
17Unchangeable
19Horned creature in "Pan's Labyrinth"
20Hungers for
21Early Germanic people
23Move around the world
24*Expensive
26Lift
29Mardi Gras locale, informally
30Ovarian sac contents
31Fuddy-duddies
32"Still ___" (1999 rap hit)
33Meander
34High lights?
35Practice chiromancy
37Disappear, as a trail
40"Central Park in the Dark" composer
41Music box?
44Diviner
45Jerry’s uncle on "Seinfeld"
46Box a bit
47Tonkatsu coating
48*Deli device
49Bug expert, for short
50Invite at the door
52Extreme pressure
53El ___
55Felt tired during the day, say
58Words to a betrayer
59“The Philosophy of Right” author
60Like a computer with a running screensaver
61How whiskey might be served … with a hint to the answers to the seven starred clues
62*Risky endeavor, idiomatically
63Onetime resident of the Winter Palace

Down

39 clues
1Bolt
2Certain Windows hard drive malfunction
3*Conspicuous
4Stupid stuff it's fun to know
5Level-ending foe
6Educated guess: Abbr.
7Sgt., e.g.
8Like lemon curd
9Preceder of "Bites" and "Bars" in commercial names
10*Chance to meet one-on-one with a professor
11"Copy me"
12Runner Down Under
13Certain heir
18Make in the end
22Steady humming sounds
24Locale for catfish or carp
25What allows Neo to disconnect from the Matrix
27Spanish 101 verb
28Whom you might greet with open arms, for short?
30Novelist Charles who wrote "The Cloister and the Hearth"
31Prefix with botanist
33"Sure … if you say so"
35Enjoys oneself uninhibitedly … or a punny title for this puzzle
36Profess
37Something Lincoln once led, for short
38Italian time unit
39Card game with a winning score of 5,000 points
41*Book addenda
42Chicken ___
43Thrive
46Narrow channel
48Derisive look
49OB/GYN offering
51Crisply shown, as on TV
52Wooded valley
53Coop
54Performed amazingly, in slang
56Id's counterpart
57The First State: Abbr.

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025
15×15
Grid size
78
Total entries
36/189
Black / letter cells
4.8
Avg entry length
10 ltrs
Longest entry
Tricky
Thursday difficulty
PuzzleThe Crossword
PublishedOct 16, 2025
DayThursday
ThemeUntitled
ConstructorKareem Ayas
EditorWill Shortz
Clue split39 across · 39 down
Longest entries
17AUnchangeable10 ltrs55AFelt tired during the day, say10 ltrs35APractice chiromancy9 ltrs10D*Chance to meet one-on-one with a professor8 ltrs35DEnjoys oneself uninhibitedly … or a punny title for this puzzle8 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.