Home/Archive/Oct 18, 2025

NYT Crossword — October 18, 2025

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 64 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 64 revealed

1F

2A

3C

4E

5T

6A

7T

8F

9R

10O

11T

12H

13M

A

R

I

N

A

R

A

14I

N

A

W

E

15L

A

T

E

S

T

F

A

D

16R

A

T

E

D

17A

D

H

O

C

18F

L

A

19R

E

20B

A

G

21U

F

O

L

O

22G

Y

23E

B

24R

A

K

E

25R

O

M

A

26O

P

27E

28N

D

O

O

R

S

29A

R

S

30H

A

U

L

E

D

A

S

S

31W

E

L

L

S

O

R

T

A

32H

E

L

P

L

I

N

E

S

33P

34D

35F

36R

A

D

I

O

S

E

T

S

37R

A

U

L

38B

A

S

S

O

S

39E

S

40S

E

N

C

E

41W

I

G

42S

T

43I

44N

T

45M

A

L

T

A

46A

D

A

47P

T

48T

O

R

49N

A

D

O

E

S

50N

E

M

E

A

51S

T

A

Y

S

M

A

D

52A

D

E

P

T

53Y

E

S

C

H

E

F

Across

31 clues

1Measure of rank in Maori culture, informally

13Sauce in Italian-American cuisine

15It's in right now

16Was worthy of

17Having a single purpose

18Light that goes up when things are going down?

23Something pulled in many car chase scenes, for short

25Home to the Arco di Constantino

26Present a chance to get ahead

29Spaniards roll them

30Was really moving, in slang

31"Uh ... I guess"

32Sources of 24/7 support

33Many an attachment

36Ones catching waves

37Longtime name in Cuban politics

38Those playing the king of Egypt in "Aïda"

39Monthly magazine that sponsors a large annual music festival in New Orleans

41Easily removed locks

42Limited assignment

45Smallest member of the eurozone (122 square miles)

46Appropriately change course

48Spirals out of control?

50Panhellenic Games venue

51Can't cool off

53Culinary concurrence

Down

33 clues

2Site of some piercings

3"There's never been a better time" tech sloganeer

4Fangorn resident

5Sweet doings at a county fair

6___ Sea, locale of a 20th-century environmental disaster

7Cry that might be made with a bow

8Responders to cruise ship emergencies

9It works in translation

10Crunchy snacks

12Divider of lots

1521st-century first lady

19Attire for many a flamenco dancer

24Bonheur who painted "Ploughing in the Nivernais"

27Woman's name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet

28Colorful swimmers in the Amazon

30Energy device that reflects sunlight

32Can hold one's own, in modern lingo

33Bread purchase in the U.K.

34Like a building's central air conditioning

36Like drug dens, sometimes

38East African honorific

40Reduce to a pulp

44Pay attention to

49Home to the U.S.'s first pizzeria, according to the Pizza Hall of Fame, for short

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

15×15

Grid size

64

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

5.9

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 18, 2025

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorSamuel Smalley

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split31 across · 33 down

Longest entries

5DSweet doings at a county fair10 ltrs 28DColorful swimmers in the Amazon10 ltrs 15AIt's in right now9 ltrs 26APresent a chance to get ahead9 ltrs 30AWas really moving, in slang9 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 5.9 letters per entry.