Home/Archive/Oct 20, 2026

NYT Crossword — October 20, 2026

Tuesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1P

2A

3L

4M

5A

6S

7E

8C

9I

10G

11S

12O

13W

14A

T

E

A

S

E

15M

O

T

O

16U

G

H

17W

E

E

N

I

E

18R

O

A

S

T

19S

L

Y

20L

A

M

O

T

T

A

21A

H

E

M

22F

23L

24A

Y

25S

L

E

I

G

26H

R

I

D

E

27L

A

X

28T

B

A

29O

A

T

30O

D

E

31R

A

I

32T

33A

34V

E

35N

36A

37L

38A

L

L

39K

I

D

D

I

N

40G

A

S

I

D

E

41T

E

S

L

A

42S

A

T

A

N

43N

O

D

44E

L

45L

46O

R

A

47J

U

G

48B

49R

50U

I

S

E

51D

52R

I

B

53H

A

T

E

54E

A

R

N

55G

R

A

N

A

56R

Y

57G

I

G

58S

P

A

C

E

N

E

E

59D

60L

61E

62U

S

E

63P

A

C

E

64Z

A

N

I

E

R

65N

E

D

66A

D

O

S

67O

R

A

T

O

R

Across

37 clues

1Las ___, Canary Islands

7Device with an addictive aerosol, for short

11Plant, as seeds

15"Hello ___" (smartphone tagline)

16"That's terrible!"

17Campfire cookout, informally

20Jake ___, 1980 Oscar-winning role for Robert De Niro

21[Hey, I can hear you, you know]

22Criticize very harshly

25Old-time winter excursion

27Loosey-goosey

28Not yet posted, in brief

29Bit in a nutrition bar

30Flattering lines?

31Indian yogurt dish

34Susceptible to bribery

38"Seriously, though ..." or a hint to 17-, 25-, 48- and 58-Across

41Unit of magnetic flux density

42One who says "Hell if I know!"?

43Subtle greeting

44Letter-shaped part of a blueprint

46Part of every day, in Italy

47Improvised instrument in folk music

48Pugilist's pain point, perhaps

53Serious aversion

55Farm storage building

57Short-term job

58Seattle landmark from which Mount Rainier can be seen

63What a dawdler may need to pick up, with "the"

64Further out there

65Flanders of "The Simpsons"

67Loud speaker, maybe

Down

39 clues

1What's shaken in the order to "Shake!"

5It's west of the Bering Strait

6Appears to be going down the drain

8Mammal with a long ringed tail

11Dish with vinegared rice

12Eyed lustfully

13Question exclaimed after misfortune

18One way to spell relief, per ads

21Crafts, in Córdoba

22Part of a homecoming parade

24Leaps for Michelle Kwan

32Madre's hermana

33French author ___ de Saint-Exupéry

35Stealthy spy with a blowgun

36It may follow deuce

39Designer Calvin

45Piece of goalie gear

49Not leave a bet as is

51"Fire-breather" in the night sky

52Relays and rallies

53Shenzi in "The Lion King," e.g.

58Luxury resort amenity

59Relatively short Morse code bit

60Sign of summer

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

Stats & info

Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

5.0

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Easy

Tuesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 20, 2026

DayTuesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorDavid Falkowski

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 39 down

Longest entries

38A"Seriously, though ..." or a hint to 17-, 25-, 48- and 58-Across15 ltrs 17ACampfire cookout, informally11 ltrs 58ASeattle landmark from which Mount Rainier can be seen11 ltrs 25AOld-time winter excursion10 ltrs 48APugilist's pain point, perhaps10 ltrs

Tuesday sits one notch above Monday, usually with a light theme and a few playful clues. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 5.0 letters per entry.