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NYT Crossword — September 3, 2025

Wednesday’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

1S

2C

3A

4R

5F

6A

7G

8A

9R

10N

11A

12S

13H

14A

I

R

E

D

15T

U

N

A

16A

R

L

O

17T

A

M

P

A

18B

E

I

G

E

19S

T

A

R

20S

O

S

O

21L

U

L

L

22D

A

M

N

S

23S

24K

I

P

T

O

25M

Y

L

U

G

E

26T

27A

28P

T

A

P

29E

E

L

S

30I

L

O

S

T

31P

32A

33W

N

34Y

E

35T

36I

37L

O

P

38Z

39H

U

Z

H

U

40P

41U

H

S

42L

O

T

43R

44O

N

T

O

45L

46O

M

A

N

47H

E

48L

L

49G

U

N

S

I

T

50T

51H

E

D

E

A

52D

53S

54I

E

G

E

55H

I

H

A

T

56E

A

R

N

57I

58D

59O

60L

61E

T

O

N

62B

U

C

K

A

63R

O

U

G

E

64M

O

O

T

65A

C

H

E

66A

T

A

R

I

67E

N

D

S

68R

E

A

D

69P

A

L

E

S

Across

37 clues

1Project for a beginning knitter

6Petri dish medium

10Niecy ___ of "Clean House"

14Exposed, as one's dirty laundry

15Protein in a niçoise salad

16Guthrie who sang "Alice's Restaurant"

17Neutral shade in some Florida décor?

19One getting top billing

21Break in the action

23Lighthearted invitation for joining one's sled team?

26[Is this thing on?]

29Fish feared by dragons in "How to Train Your Dragon"

30Cry of defeat

31Chess piece that can be promoted

34Creature of Sherpa folklore

38Fancify … or a phonetic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 62-Across

41Stalling sounds

42Tolkien trilogy, to fans

44Word after latch or glom

45"Death of a Salesman" salesman

47A half-filled auditorium, per Robert Frost

49Puts the pedal to the metal

50Headline during a zombie attack?

55Pair of cymbals with a foot pedal

57World's most-watched television franchise, informally

61School within both Princeton and Carleton?

62Price of makeup at the dollar store, informally?

64No longer applicable

66Console for the game Pitfall!

67Partner of odds

68Rhyming word after speed

Down

41 clues

1Exams that are often optional

2Florence farewell

4Spreads on social media

5Cosmetics-regulating org.

6Couldn't get enough of

7Reason for a tucked tail, perhaps

9Issa of "Insecure"

10How a Dylan impersonator might sing

11Tate Modern and others

12"That slaps," for something good, e.g.

13One might be mounted

18Tiny deviation from a general trend

22Product from Rit

24New York City deli name

25It might be fixed at a chef's table

26Cashier's tray

27___ gobi (potato curry)

28Prepare to do an oil change, say

31"The shoddy sandwich knife couldn't cut the mustard," e.g.

32Early H.I.V. med

35Phuket native

36"___ she lovely?" (Stevie Wonder question)

39Greeting that becomes another greeting if you add an A at the front and reverse it

43Stinging insects

46The least amount a person might give

48Tennis umpire's call

49Rowlands of "A Woman Under the Influence"

51Discover by chance

52Two in a hand

53___ Baron Cohen, "The Trial of the Chicago 7" actor

59Fairy tale baddie

60Some island rings

62Setting for many a joke with a priest, a pastor and a rabbi

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Sep 3, 2025

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 3, 2025

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorMichael B. Berg

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 41 down

Longest entries

23ALighthearted invitation for joining one's sled team?12 ltrs 50AHeadline during a zombie attack?12 ltrs 17ANeutral shade in some Florida décor?10 ltrs 62APrice of makeup at the dollar store, informally?10 ltrs 11DTate Modern and others10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.