Home/Archive/Sep 17, 2025

NYT Crossword — September 17, 2025

Wednesday’s 16 × 15 puzzle, 83 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 83 revealed

1E

2L

3M

4S

5I

6D

7E

8M

9S

10T

11A

12C

13K

14L

E

O

I

15L

U

B

E

16S

17K

E

R

R

I

18K

N

O

C

19K

K

N

O

C

K

20A

A

R

O

N

21S

A

N

K

A

22N

O

H

I

23T

24B

O

N

K

25R

O

O

26F

27K

A

M

I

28K

A

Z

E

S

29A

30R

O

U

S

A

31L

32A

R

G

33T

A

C

T

34B

I

35O

36T

37A

38O

S

39T

40E

41R

42A

C

K

432

4

K

M

A

G

44I

C

45H

A

H

46D

E

S

47K

S

48E

G

G

E

D

49D

I

R

E

50R

E

51P

52R

I

53H

A

N

N

A

54K

55A

56R

A

T

E

57K

58I

59D

60D

U

S

K

61O

K

O

K

62G

E

N

R

63E

64S

A

T

65A

66T

67O

I

L

E

68R

69K

N

I

C

70K

K

N

A

C

K

71K

R

O

N

A

72E

I

E

I

O

73I

N

T

O

74S

A

S

S

Y

75E

D

G

Y

76S

K

I

S

Across

39 clues

1State trees of North Dakota

5Ditto, in footnotes

14First in a line of 14 popes

15Some garage jobs

17Olympian Strug

18Start of a joke

20Elder brother of Moses

21Brand whose name is derived from the French phrase "sans caféine"

22Perfectly pitched?

24Sound effect in a slapstick routine

25One might hit it or raise it, metaphorically

27Vodka cocktails with orange liqueur and lime juice

32World Cup champs of 1978, 1986 and 2022: Abbr.

33Knowing what not to say, say

34Regional life forms

38Kitchen appliance brand

42Cry of dismay

43Grammy-winning Bruno Mars album of 2016 … or a hint to an unusual feature of this puzzle's answer grid

45"Fat chance!"

46Classroom assignments

48Encouraged, with "on"

49Very pressing

52One-named Barbadian superstar

54Title nickname in a classic 1984 sports film

60Time when streetlights turn on

61"All right already, I'll do it!"

64Joined, as a table

67Edmonton athlete

72Nursery song refrain

73Really loving

74Like a smart aleck

75Pushing against a boundary … like this answer?

76"Shreds," in winter sports lingo

Down

44 clues

2Actress Dunham

3Apollo mission mementos

4Alternative to a strike [cough cough]

6Brooks & ___ (country duo)

7Literary download

8Anime style involving giant robots

9Rocksteady precursor

10Soothing home remedy for puffy eyes

12Sorcerous elder of folklore

13Garden hose problems

16Go over lightly

19Enemy agency in "Get Smart"

23___ Maria (liqueur)

26Beatles sobriquet

35Texter's "!!!"

36Make "it," in a kids' game

37Ripening agent

39Body of policy advisers

41Bird named for a Titan

43Like a 6-3, 6-1 tennis match

44Contrite answer to "Who put the empty ice cream carton back in the freezer?"

47Legendary sea monsters

49Some bottled waters

51String tightener on a guitar

55Director Kurosawa

56Caramel-filled candies

57Actress Palmer of "Nope"

58Outie's counterpart

59Hung on the clothesline

63Vape pen, informally

65When Hamilton arrives in New York City, in "Hamilton"

66Some ring decisions, in brief

68With 28-Down, longtime McDonald's chief

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

16×15

Grid size

83

Total entries

40/200

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 17, 2025

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorJackson Matz

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split39 across · 44 down

Longest entries

18AStart of a joke10 ltrs 69ATrinket10 ltrs 27AVodka cocktails with orange liqueur and lime juice9 ltrs 54ATitle nickname in a classic 1984 sports film9 ltrs 3DApollo mission mementos9 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 40 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.