Home/Archive/Sep 20, 2026

NYT Crossword — September 20, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 140 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 140 revealed

1C

2U

3S

4T

5O

6M

7A

8R

9C

10S

11L

12A

13P

14T

15I

16M

17E

18A

N

T

O

N

I

19O

20L

O

O

P

21C

O

L

L

A

T

E

S

22T

A

R

N

I

S

H

23F

O

U

R

24A

S

P

E

R

S

E

S

25S

W

E

E

T

T

W

26O

27S

P

O

28U

T

S

29N

A

F

T

A

30P

E

A

T

31S

O

O

32T

33L

U

G

E

34T

W

O

35A

D

M

A

36N

37W

H

O

38L

E

T

H

R

39E

40E

Y

A

R

41D

42S

43G

O

44D

45S

P

Y

46E

D

A

M

47T

O

O

48H

49O

50T

S

H

O

51T

52F

E

53S

54S

55R

I

C

O

56C

H

E

T

57E

R

A

58O

N

E

59I

L

60P

P

61P

62T

H

R

E

E

63Y

A

K

64W

H

E

N

I

65M

F

O

U

66R

67E

L

B

68A

69L

E

70D

71O

S

A

G

E

72O

T

O

73E

74S

75S

I

X

76B

A

U

77M

78T

H

A

79N

K

S

A

T

E

80N

81R

O

82B

83R

E

A

84L

85M

86T

R

Y

87A

M

A

T

I

88D

N

A

89R

90E

A

L

N

E

A

91T

92A

C

93T

S

94L

A

G

95A

S

S

E

96A

L

I

97Z

E

R

O

98A

I

99R

100T

H

E

101N

I

N

102E

A

R

M

E

103D

104B

105A

N

D

I

106T

107T

R

108A

109D

110E

111C

A

N

112P

E

R

P

113E

P

E

114E

115O

V

E

N

116L

117A

H

T

I

118M

A

L

I

C

119E

120E

X

P

121O

N

E

N

T

122O

V

E

R

L

123O

A

D

124B

A

S

125E

126A

S

S

A

N

T

E

127L

O

C

A

L

A

D

S

128E

L

A

N

129N

O

S

U

G

A

R

130A

W

K

W

A

R

D

131S

C

U

D

132M

O

T

E

L

S

Across

68 clues

1Special-ordered

7Sections of a circle's circumference

11NASCAR stat that varies widely by venue

18Banderas of 2024's "Babygirl"

20Coaster feature, maybe

21Assembles in proper order

22Mar, as a reputation

23See 25-Across

25With 23-Across, March Madness tournament round

29Pact that preceded the U.S.M.C.A.

30Burnable bog stuff

31Burnt chimney stuff

33High-speed Olympic sport

34See 37-Across

35One who might have perfect pitch?

37With 34-Across, full extent of something

45Defensive player who keeps an eye on the QB, in football lingo

46Red-coated cheese

55It's off the wall!

57"Red" or "1989," to Swifties

58Buck ___, first African American coach in Major League Baseball

60Extremely soft, in music: Abbr.

62See 64-Across

64With 62-Across, Beatles classic with the lyric "Will you still need me / Will you still feed me"

67Noted exile isle

69Energy-efficient bulb, for short

71___ orange, tree whose fruit has a brainlike appearance

72Native Nebraskans

75See 78-Across

76Author who purportedly drew inspiration from a filing cabinet labeled "O-Z"

78With 75-Across, "So very appreciated!"

83Narnia or Neverland

86Give it a whirl

87Violinmaker of Cremona

88Letters from your folks?

92Follower of John in the New Testament

94Chef with "New New Orleans"-style cooking

96Greatest guy?

97See 101-Across

100Part of SCOTUS

101With 97-Across, Vegas casino machine

107No-cash deal

112Culprit, in police lingo

113Modern pentathlon equipment

115Metaphor for a too-hot room

116Actress Christine whose last name sounds like a pair of musical notes

120Number written above and to the right of another number … as seen five times in this puzzle?

122Weigh down, and then some

124Number with a 120-Across, mathematically

126Armand of "American Gangster"

127Many mailbox stuffers

129Iced tea request

131Move fast, as a cloud

132Road trip stopovers

Down

72 clues

1Pampering place for a Persian

3Watch via Hulu, say

4Online forum qualifiers such as /j ("joking") or /s ("sarcastic")

5"I'll deal with this right now!"

6Keeps hydrated, as vegetables in the produce aisle

7Sitcom character from Melmac

8Aussie animals

10Alfalfa shoot

11Stockholder's setback

12Weisshorn or Finsteraarhorn

13Not merely enough to go around

14Island containing Kiribati's capital

15"Don't pay any mind to this"

17Feminine pronoun in Florence

19"Would you look at that!"

21Wedding reception hiree

26Partner of aahs

28"So-o-o gross!"

36With nary a chance

38Ingredient in some hair relaxers

39Make a long story short, say

41Female rabbit

44Popular singer of the Hawaiian folk song "Pearly Shells"

49Sonicare competitor

50Reschedule, so to speak

51Things that drivers sometimes leave behind?

53Letters on a lip balm tube

56Some old Disney collectibles

65Stiller's comedic partner

66Incur a cellphone surcharge, perhaps

68Electrical impulse transmitters

73Catchall abbr.

74Priced to be, as bail

77Fortified wine from Spain

79Home of NoHo and SoHo

80"Catch ya in the morn!"

82Main squeeze, in newer slang

84Lascivious look

85Old-timey teacher

89Sped or bled ... or led

90___ Lilly (Mounjaro maker)

91Pointe shoe accessories

93Amy who wrote "Saving Fish From Drowning"

95Balloon pilot, say

99Worth a pick?

102Stick to simple and unprocessed foods, say

103State with only three counties: Abbr.

104Illegal offerings

105High-level H.S. class with derivatives

106Star football player?

108Get even for

109Kind of insurance for bridges

114Surrey's Derby town

116Singer/dancer/actress Falana

117Say for sure

118Org. supporting sobriety checkpoints

119Father of five sons in the Bible

123Adornment on a boathouse wall

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Sep 20, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

77/364

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 20, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeRise to the Power

ConstructorTracy Gray

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split68 across · 72 down

Longest entries

37AWith 34-Across, full extent of something15 ltrs 101AWith 97-Across, Vegas casino machine15 ltrs 15D"Don't pay any mind to this"14 ltrs 50DReschedule, so to speak14 ltrs 64AWith 62-Across, Beatles classic with the lyric "Will you still need me / Will you still feed me"10 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 77 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.