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NYT Crossword — September 28, 2026

Monday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1H

2A

3V

4O

5C

6S

7C

8A

9L

10Y

11O

12W

13E

14A

R

E

N

A

15O

L

D

I

E

16P

I

E

17L

I

N

E

R

18B

O

M

B

S

19H

E

L

L

20T

A

N

D

E

21M

22S

I

R

23O

N

L

Y

24G

E

O

25E

N

A

26C

T

27T

28A

29T

E

R

T

30O

T

S

31L

O

32G

33I

34C

35U

R

E

36I

O

S

37B

A

N

A

N

A

38L

E

A

39D

40O

F

F

41H

O

M

E

R

U

N

42S

A

M

O

A

S

43A

U

X

44B

R

O

45A

S

S

E

T

46B

L

A

S

47T

48Z

O

N

E

49S

H

50A

L

L

51E

R

E

52A

53L

54S

O

55R

O

T

56T

A

N

57G

58O

59S

60J

A

C

K

61F

R

U

I

62T

63G

I

A

N

T

64A

N

A

65G

O

S

E

E

66I

T

G

U

Y

67R

E

N

68S

W

E

D

E

69C

H

A

S

E

Across

38 clues

1Widespread disorder

6Like the exteriors of armadillos

11Fall behind in payments

14Boxing locale

15Classic radio song

16Dessert with a crust

17Solid baseball hit

18Complete shocker

20Bicycle built for two

22Round Table title

23"___ time will tell"

24Prefix with physics or thermal

25Make into law

27Alternative to French fries

31Skill needed to solve sudoku

35Suffix with fail or forfeit

36Apple platform

37"Time flies like an [50-Down]; fruit flies like a ___"

38With 41-Across, ball hit out of the park by the very first batter for either side … or a hint to the starts of 18-, 27-, 46- and 60-Across

41See 38-Across

42Coconut Girl Scout cookies

43"La Cage ___ Folles"

45Liability's opposite

46Detonation region

49"___ I compare thee to a summer's day?": Shak.

51Before, poetically

56Performs a stylish ballroom dance

60Tropical tree whose product is sometimes used as a meat substitute

63San Francisco ballplayer

64Actress de Armas

65"Take a look!"

66Helper for computer problems, informally

67Kylo ___ of "Star Wars"

68Stockholm native

Down

40 clues

2Puccini's "O mio babbino caro," e.g.

3Kind of diagram with overlapping circles

5One's employment pursuit

7Places to hang clothes

8Forum overseers

9The Scales, zodiacally

10"Definitely!"

11Certain golf or tennis tournament

12Funny Ferrell or Rogers

21Recurring thematic elements

26Happy as a ___

27City NE of Oklahoma City

29The N.H.L. has 32

30Cartoon brawl sound effect

32Actress Greta of "Queen Christina"

33Store, as ashes

37Complete series, maybe

41___ Guofeng, successor of Mao Zedong

43Like the score going into extra innings

46Top to accompany a skirt

47Like the fate of Ophelia

50See 37-Across

52Cracked slightly, as a door

53Word following bike or memory

54Look at carefully

57"Shallow" singer Lady ___

59Ailment that aptly rhymes with "eye"

61N.F.L. three-pointers: Abbr.

62Top to accompany shorts

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

Stats & info

Monday, Sep 28, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

37/188

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

9 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 28, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorHelen Chen

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split38 across · 40 down

Longest entries

18AComplete shocker9 ltrs 27AAlternative to French fries9 ltrs 46ADetonation region9 ltrs 60ATropical tree whose product is sometimes used as a meat substitute9 ltrs 38AWith 41-Across, ball hit out of the park by the very first batter for either side … or a hint to the starts of 18-, 27-, 46- and 60-Across7 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 37 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.