Home/Archive/Oct 22, 2026

NYT Crossword — October 22, 2026

Thursday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 74 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 74 revealed

1H

2E

3R

4A

5H

6A

7T

8I

9M

10P

11I

12S

13H

14I

G

A

S

15A

N

A

16N

A

S

S

A

U

17T

O

M

H

18A

N

K

S

19A

X

I

O

M

S

20A

M

S

21C

O

A

S

22T

S

23N

I

T

24W

A

H

25H

I

R

E

R

26F

27A

T

A

L

28A

N

O

29S

E

30A

L

A

31M

O

D

O

M

E

32L

I

R

A

33S

M

O

R

E

34L

A

N

C

35O

36M

37E

38P

O

M

P

39O

40M

41S

42R

A

I

M

43I

44T

R

O

T

45H

46O

47M

E

R

O

O

M

48S

49B

S

I

D

E

50I

P

A

D

S

51J

E

T

52T

A

53G

E

E

54S

I

R

55T

I

A

R

A

S

56I

L

L

57S

A

L

58O

59M

E

60N

O

C

H

61A

N

C

E

62A

T

O

N

A

L

63I

D

O

64S

A

A

R

65T

E

N

E

T

S

66T

E

S

67S

L

R

S

Across

38 clues

1Her breast milk created the Milky Way, in Greek myth

5Something passed at a charity event

14Some supermarkets, in brief

15What makes her hear?

16Island capital that's an anagram for a word meaning "steamy baths"

17*It may precede or follow "a million"

19*Line used in plotting points

21Succeeds without really trying

25ZipRecruiter client

26Like some flaws

28By ___ (barely)

32Pre-euro money

33Confection whose name is a contraction

34*Weapon in "Ivanhoe"

38*Second letter addendum, for short

42"Oz the Great and Powerful" director, 2013

44Display, with "out"

49The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," to "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

50Tablets that can't be swallowed

51Volkswagen compact

54Richard Branson, for one

55Tops of palaces?

57*Inventory clearance option

60"Forget it!" ... or a phonetic hint to aligning seven answers in this puzzle with their starred clues

62Like Alban Berg's opera "Lulu"

63When said five times, an Abba song

64Region that produces Riesling wine

66French possessive

Down

36 clues

1Was unable to go further

2Extreme boastfulness

3Instrument heard at Rosh Hashana services

4Wood used in making guitar bodies

5World capital known as the "City for Peace"

6World capital that's home to the Kocatepe Mosque

7Attachments to mortarboards

8Lead-in to much

9Late psychedelic artist Peter

10Fraternity letter

11Understands, despite efforts at concealment

12Dr. Seuss character in a red hat

18Post-marathon problem

22Disney street-smart mutt

26Bit of red tape

36"O ____ babbino caro" (Puccini aria)

37Thumbs Up or Thinking Face

40Item in a miniature collector's collection

41Team with the most Super Bowl wins in the 1970s

45Alternative to boo

46Analgesic agent

47Brando with two Oscars

48Took big steps

52___ de asador (Mexican meal)

55Some info on bus. cards

58Apt letters missing from j_i_ _d

59Tumbler's surface

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

Stats & info

Thursday, Oct 22, 2026

15×15

Grid size

74

Total entries

35/190

Black / letter cells

5.1

Avg entry length

9 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 22, 2026

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorDavid J. Kahn

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split38 across · 36 down

Longest entries

30A*Trendy9 ltrs 45A*Subs9 ltrs 17A*It may precede or follow "a million"8 ltrs 60A"Forget it!" ... or a phonetic hint to aligning seven answers in this puzzle with their starred clues8 ltrs 1DWas unable to go further8 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 35 black squares and averages 5.1 letters per entry.