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NYT Crossword — October 16, 2026

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 68 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 68 revealed
1S
2T
3E
4A
5K
6F
7I
8T
9M
10A
11R
12T
13I
14O
O
P
S
I
15D
I
D
I
16T
A
G
A
I
N
17E
P
I
S
T
O
L
A
R
Y
N
O
V
E
L
18A
C
C
19S
O
T
H
E
R
E
20I
V
E
21S
H
E
22A
23R
H
O
D
A
24H
O
O
T
25Y
E
N
T
26A
27S
A
L
T
S
28F
E
E
L
29G
30O
31O
32D
33M
O
V
I
E
34C
L
O
U
D
N
I
N
E
35T
36A
R
O
T
R
E
A
D
I
N
37G
38S
39K
A
P
O
W
40C
O
L
I
41C
42E
B
O
W
43B
44A
45S
46E
47D
48T
I
D
E
49Y
O
S
50M
O
L
E
R
A
51T
52T
E
L
53P
U
T
54S
O
N
A
P
E
D
E
55S
T
A
L
56A
L
L
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
N
H
E
R
O
57D
I
E
T
S
58M
A
T
59T
E
R
M
S

Across

29 clues
1Word with strip or skirt
6Conniption
9Cuban poet/philosopher José
142000 hit song with the lyric "But to lose all my senses / That is just so typically me"
17Mail-centric fiction?
19"Hah!"
20"___ had it!"
24Riot
25Spiller of tea
27Smelling things?
28Date night viewing, often
34High concept?
35They explain what's in the cards
39Comic strip sound of impact
40Infant discomfort
43Predicated
48It has its highs and lows
49Rocky openings?
53Idolizes
56Indiana Jones or Rocky Balboa, e.g.
57Losing causes?
58Yoga ___
59The 22nd Amendment limits them

Down

39 clues
1"Piece of cake!"
3Not gendered
4Dope
5Some emergency resources
6Serious dirt
8Done to death
9Flow down the neck
10Past word
11Hot pockets?
1220-20, e.g.
13Small sounds
16Supermodel Banks
22Took back one's words
24One struggling to make ends meet
26Grant
27Foe of Dr. Eggman, in video games
29Procured
31Complimentary lines
35Mideast salad, in one spelling
36Simon the Zealot, e.g.
37Sparkly bits in a school art project
38Like some deliveries
39Holder of all the digits, from 1 to 0
41Stage-left orchestra section
43Coccyx or phalange, e.g.
44Unwelcome sound during a dream
45Brown tint
46Construct
50May honorees
51Outdoor item with flaps
54Took a load off

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

Stats & info

Friday, Oct 16, 2026
15×15
Grid size
68
Total entries
32/193
Black / letter cells
5.7
Avg entry length
15 ltrs
Longest entry
Hard
Friday difficulty
PuzzleThe Crossword
PublishedOct 16, 2026
DayFriday
ThemeThemeless
ConstructorAdam Shapiro
EditorWill Shortz
Clue split29 across · 39 down
Longest entries

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 32 black squares and averages 5.7 letters per entry.