Home/Archive/Oct 2, 2026

NYT Crossword — October 2, 2026

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 70 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 70 revealed

1C

2L

3E

4F

5S

6L

7R

8T

9R

10U

11L

12Y

13R

I

P

E

14S

W

E

E

15T

I

E

P

I

E

16A

M

I

D

17H

O

T

P

I

L

A

T

E

S

18B

E

L

19M

O

R

M

O

N

20D

O

G

E

21C

L

O

22S

E

O

N

E

23N

24O

O

N

E

S

25L

I

G

E

R

26S

27C

I

O

N

28A

G

U

A

29W

30E

A

L

T

H

31M

32G

33S

34W

H

E

N

35C

A

N

Y

O

U

S

36T

A

R

T

37S

T

S

38P

R

I

M

P

S

39I

D

E

A

40C

A

N

D

Y

41S

N

E

E

R

42A

43S

44S

I

S

I

45P

46I

47L

O

T

I

N

G

48M

O

W

N

49N

50O

I

S

E

S

51N

B

A

52I

F

E

E

53L

G

R

E

A

T

54S

U

E

Z

55S

I

A

M

E

S

E

C

A

T

56I

S

L

E

57S

A

T

A

N

58S

E

C

59M

A

T

S

Across

35 clues

1Important figure on staff?

5Photographer's inits.

13Funky-smelling

14Sugar substitute?

17Core-focused workout in a humid room

18Unit of sound intensity

19Like Mitt Romney and Ken Jennings

20Lead-in to "coin" for a major cryptocurrency

23Whose fault your mistake might be

26Member of a noble family

28Request after eating a habanero, perhaps

29What comes from needing little, per Epictetus

31Small dosage amts.

34Question posed at the end of a successful job interview

37Waze ways: Abbr.

38Spends a long time in front of the mirror, maybe

40Word with cane or corn

41Villainous expression

42Home to the Basilica of St. Clare

45Highly controlling?

48Like a golf course, regularly

49Snap, crackle and pop

51___ Cup, tournament established in the 2020s

52"Never been better!"

54Site of a 1956 international conflict

55Animal chased by Toto in "The Wizard of Oz"

56Key in a chain

57Figure with three faces, in Dante

59They're stretched out before some workouts

Down

35 clues

1Hard-shelled delicacies

3Written posts?

5Like some enemies

6"I need to get a word in!"

7Possible result of a default

9Not stop at the end of a chapter, say

10Suffragist Harriet Taylor ___

11One doing the lord's work?

12Words of affirmation

15Condition that can be caused by excess earwax

19Debussy's "La ___"

22Jay ___, singer of the 2009 #1 hit "Down"

24Sounds from fans

27Clip follower

29Some weather service messages

30"Wheat Capital" of Oklahoma

31Label on some domestic products

32Eco-friendly area around a city

33Stares into space

35Ones doing balancing acts?

36Windows feature?

41Message that might be signaled with smoke

43European capital with layers of Thracian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history

44Beads for an athlete

46Director Lee ___ Chung

47Neighbor of an Estonian, historically

50They're sometimes picked for their rarity

53Wiseman who directed "Ballerina" and "Live Free or Die Hard"

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

Stats & info

Friday, Oct 2, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

30/195

Black / letter cells

5.6

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 2, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorJoe Marquez

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 35 down

Longest entries

34AQuestion posed at the end of a successful job interview15 ltrs 6D"I need to get a word in!"15 ltrs 14ASugar substitute?10 ltrs 17ACore-focused workout in a humid room10 ltrs 52A"Never been better!"10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 30 black squares and averages 5.6 letters per entry.