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NYT Crossword — October 23, 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

1T

2H

3I

4N

5K

6B

7I

8G

9M

10O

11M

12M

13A

14W

H

A

T

A

Y

E

A

R

15A

H

E

A

D

16H

O

R

S

E

R

A

C

E

17N

I

T

R

O

18U

S

T

A

19A

C

C

E

20S

S

O

R

Y

21P

E

E

L

22S

23H

E

N

I

E

24O

J

25S

26L

E

27I

28P

B

S

29S

N

A

P

30F

31L

A

T

M

32A

T

E

33C

L

O

N

E

34C

O

O

L

O

F

F

35A

36S

H

A

M

E

D

37L

O

G

I

N

38T

39A

N

L

I

N

E

S

40A

L

O

E

41M

E

H

42Y

E

T

43D

E

M

44D

A

R

I

45N

46F

R

47O

48G

49S

50D

A

51T

I

N

G

T

I

52P

53H

A

R

E

54B

Y

N

E

S

55L

U

X

U

56R

Y

T

A

X

57B

O

I

N

K

58O

N

E

M

O

M

E

N

T

59Q

U

A

D

S

60W

A

S

P

N

E

S

T

Across

34 clues

1Have serious plans

9One of the fam

14Annual appraisal statement

15Positioned to win

16Track event won by the fastest four legs

17Marvel Comics villain with an explosive superpower

18American court org.

19Ensemble piece

21Some sous-chef scraps

23Three-time Olympic figure skating champion

26Band at a Jimmy Buffett concert?

28"America's Largest Classroom"

30With whom one pools pounds for quarters

34Count to 10, perhaps

35Opposite of proud

37Get past a paywall, say

38Boundaries between areas with different amounts of coverage

40Healing agent

41Hardly worth mentioning

42Counterpoint segue

43One who's left at the polls, informally?

44Bobby ___, first recipient of the Best New Artist Grammy Award (1960)

46Plague that precedes lice in Exodus

50"Let go of unrealistic expectations," e.g.

53Fabled example of poor competition strategy

54Actress Amanda of "Easy A"

55Penalty for exceeding a payroll threshold, in sports lingo

57Cartoonish bouncing sound

58"Hang on a sec"

59They can help one get a leg up, informally

60What all the buzz is about?

Down

36 clues

1___ days (times past)

2Emma ___, protagonist of "A Woman of Substance"

3"Don't believe one word of that!"

4"I'm afraid not, laddie"

5Actress Sedgwick

6Word with comb or towel

7"Your offer is too good to refuse"

8Minestrone morsel

9Dwelling for clergy

10"The most beautiful river on earth," per Thomas Jefferson

11One may sit near a bench marking time

12Strap-and-buckle shoes named for a comic strip character who wore them

14Beat but good

20Daughter of one's 9-Across

22Firmly committed to

25Beat a map app's arrival time estimate, say

27Global fiscal policy org.

29Poetic device with inexact sound-alikes

30"Ha! Betcha didn't see that coming!"

31Abnormal talkativeness

32Lingering aura of success

33Most important

34"Thou art fairer than the evening air ___ in the beauty of a thousand stars": Marlowe

36Said with a wink, say

39Reddish fish sometimes served tartare

44Pieces in the game Othello

47Writer of the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

48Funds for research

49Cellphone hot line?

52Remedy for deflation

54Kind of joint associated with smoking, informally

56Pulitzer-winning biographer Chernow

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

Stats & info

Friday, Oct 23, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

31/194

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 23, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorKatie Hoody

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 36 down

Longest entries

3D"Don't believe one word of that!"10 ltrs 29DPoetic device with inexact sound-alikes10 ltrs 14AAnnual appraisal statement9 ltrs 16ATrack event won by the fastest four legs9 ltrs 19AEnsemble piece9 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 31 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.