Home/Archive/Sep 21, 2025

NYT Crossword — September 21, 2025

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

1A

2C

3R

4E

5T

6R

7I

8P

9S

10E

11L

12M

13P

14S

15S

16T

17R

O

O

M

18S

19H

E

N

R

I

20M

E

A

21T

22O

T

T

O

23K

A

B

U

KIT/KAT

24H

E

A

T

E

R

25B

O

N

O

26D

O

O

R

27S

T

O

L

E

I

N

28R

O

S

29I

E

30I

N

31A

C

O

M

A

32S

T

A

R

T

E

33D

U

P

34W

R

35E

C

KIT/KAT

R

A

L

P

H

36T

A

S

T

E

D

37D

I

S

G

U

S

T

S

38A

39G

40L

E

T

41B

E

42G

I

N

43G

R

U

44T

45I

46E

47S

48B

I

O

S

49A

50D

O

R

E

S

51O

N

E

52M

S

N

B

C

53E

G

O

54E

R

A

S

55L

A

56C

R

O

S

57S

E

58F

O

O

59T

I

KIT/KAT

60O

R

C

H

E

61S

62P

O

N

G

63W

E

64C

A

N

T

65M

U

R

A

L

66H

67I

P

P

O

68C

A

R

D

S

69O

70B

E

R

O

N

71T

O

N

E

72T

73E

S

T

KIT/KAT

C

H

74E

75N

76R

O

N

77L

A

78S

E

R

T

A

79G

80D

I

A

S

81I

T

O

82G

H

O

83U

L

84N

A

T

85R

E

86S

I

S

T

87F

O

R

D

88S

O

W

S

89S

E

A

90P

E

R

O

T

91D

I

N

E

S

92A

93T

T

A

C

94H

E

D

95L

E

96C

97T

E

R

98F

99O

100S

T

E

R

KIT/KAT

T

E

N

101G

I

D

D

I

N

E

102S

103S

104E

C

H

O

D

O

T

105A

S

106S

E

S

107C

L

I

P

O

U

108T

109L

E

A

D

110V

A

111S

T

112K

I

T

113K

A

T

M

I

N

I

S

114L

A

R

A

115E

C

C

E

116I

C

E

E

S

117S

T

I

N

K

118A

N

D

Y

119K

I

D

120D

O

N

N

E

121S

A

G

S

Across

69 clues

1Vineyard measure

10Tree with doubly serrated leaves

17Locations in the game Clue

19Grand duke of Luxembourg beginning in 2000

20Heart of the matter

22Palindromic Italian number

23Traditional form of Japanese drama

27Entered on tiptoe

28"Love, ___" (2014 rom-com starring Lily Collins)

30Far from conscious

32Kicked off, as a business

342012 Disney film set inside an arcade

38Lace protector

41"You may ___"

43The "me" of "Despicable Me"

48"About Us" pieces

52Longtime employer of Rachel Maddow

54Phases, to Taylor Swift

55Game with Indigenous origins

58___ Fighters ("Everlong" band)

59Festive outdoor lighting options

62Classic drinking "sport"

63"Sorry, maybe next time"

65"The Last Supper," e.g.

66Third-largest land animal

68Pokémon enthusiast's collection

71Muscle firmness

72Place to perfect a recipe

76Swanson on "Parks and Recreation"

77Game typically played in the dark

81"Was ___ blame?"

85Fight the urge

87It gets bucks from Broncos

88Does a farm job

89___ Island (Georgia resort destination)

90Reform Party founder

92Like emailed files

95"The Silence of the Lambs" villain

98Certain rescue pet

101Gleeful feeling

104Miniaturized Amazon smart speaker

107Remove, as a coupon

109Dangerous additive in old paint

112Bite-size chocolate-covered wafers ... or a hint to what's found in five squares in this puzzle

114Croft of video games

116Some slushies

117Perform horribly

118TV host Cohen

120"No man is an island" writer

Down

71 clues

1Holiest locales in synagogues, traditionally

2Applications of polish

3Tik-Tok in the Oz books, for one

51995 Sandra Bullock cyberthriller

6"V for Vendetta" actor Stephen

7Uninvited guest

8Doings before surgery, informally

10They might be glowing

11Astrological lion

12Filing services?

13Programs hosted by SoundCloud

14Happy hour perch

15Make a big step, perhaps

16Rabbi's reading

18Regular at a park with half-pipes, informally

21Breaded, fried Japanese pork cutlet

24Big successes

31Creative pursuit

33Oscar-winning Ariana of "West Side Story"

35December drink

38Assist illegally

391958 romantic comedy that won Best Picture

40"I made it big time!"

42Many a skin-care product

46Black, in verse

47St. Andrews resident

49Esoteric knowledge

50Roald who wrote "Matilda"

51"… actually, let's go to plan B"

52Members of the mongoose family

54Jazz composer Garner

57Go after, as mosquitoes

60Graham Greene's "___ Man in Havana"

61One way to sell stock

64Public health agcy.

67Bank acct. entry

68Several CBS dramas

69United Way and UNICEF, in brief

70___-chic (dressing style)

71It incited a famous 18th-century "party"

73Cleaned up, in a way

74To be, in Nice

79Neighbor of Lux.

83Gannett-owned newspaper

86"Here's the thing ..."

87Campground gathering spots

89Worked hard (for)

90Farm enclosures

94Intense, as an argument

96Music protector, of a sort

99What the "dalai" of "Dalai Lama" translates to

100Broken piece of pottery

101Insurer with a green mascot

102Justice Sotomayor

103Seeking justice, in a way

106Leave tire marks, say

108Expressions of disapproval

111B.S. part: Abbr.

113Barbie's beau

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Sep 21, 2025

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

72/369

Black / letter cells

5.7

Avg entry length

17 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 21, 2025

DaySunday

ThemeGimme a Break!

ConstructorAdrianne Baik

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split69 across · 71 down

Longest entries

23ATraditional form of Japanese drama17 ltrs 34A2012 Disney film set inside an arcade16 ltrs 98ACertain rescue pet16 ltrs 59AFestive outdoor lighting options15 ltrs 72APlace to perfect a recipe15 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 72 black squares and averages 5.7 letters per entry.