Home/Archive/Sep 4, 2026

NYT Crossword — September 4, 2026

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 66 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 66 revealed

1J

2E

3N

4G

5A

6T

7O

8W

9E

10R

11A

12C

13E

14D

15I

N

A

U

G

U

R

A

T

E

16M

O

V

E

17N

A

T

I

O

N

A

L

T

V

18I

R

I

S

19G

M

A

N

20E

L

L

A

21S

W

O

L

E

22L

O

S

E

23S

24S

O

J

25O

U

R

N

E

R

26E

R

H

A

R

27D

28P

A

N

R

O

A

S

T

29S

S

A

30I

R

31S

32M

A

G

N

E

T

S

33S

L

A

P

34E

C

I

G

35P

36O

37T

T

A

G

E

38S

I

C

39V

40E

41G

42U

N

H

I

N

G

E

43S

44D

A

45T

I

V

E

46S

L

I

N

K

Y

D

O

47G

48L

A

T

I

N

49H

E

C

K

A

50S

L

U

51R

52M

A

D

E

53T

A

K

E

54A

T

A

R

I

55G

A

M

E

S

56O

V

E

R

57S

E

C

U

R

E

L

I

N

E

58Y

E

N

S

59P

R

E

S

I

D

E

N

T

S

Across

34 clues

1Result of a tense build-up?

11Hit a point of no return?

16“Outta my way!”

18Body part affected by heterochromia

20___ Mai, Grammy-winning R&B singer

24Mars rover named in honor of a 19th-century activist

26Ludwig ___, post-W.W. II leader who led West Germany's economic recovery

28Cooking term whose name is composed of two synonyms for "criticize"

29Agcy. tracking popular baby names

30Agcy. concerned with declarations

32Parts of some high-speed rail systems

33Be exceptionally good, in modern slang

34Vaper's purchase

35What Esau got in exchange for selling his birthright to Jacob

38Disclaimer in a quote

42Detaches from the frame, perhaps

44Grammatical case in 48-Across

46Longtime Pixar character who saiys "I might be old, but I still got a spring in my step!"

48See 44-Across

49Super, slangily

50Curve on a score

52Follower of hand or home

53Bit of filming

54Asteroids and Space Invaders

57System by which all speech is protected?

Down

32 clues

3Actress Lyonne

4Neighbor of Sierra Leone

6Use a fork for, in a way

7Some thesis defenses

9Singer dubbed the "Matriarch of the Blues"

10Gun before the green, say

12Stellar visual effects

13Adjective that becomes its own synonym after its first letter is dropped

21Precise and calculated

23First country to elect a female prime minister (1960)

31One putting the pedal to the metal

35Toddler's walking aid

36Like someone using autoreply, perhaps

37Start to congeal

39Part of some gummies

45Mesoamerican staple with a "hot" variety

51"Rude Boy" singer, to fans

54Ancient symbol of royalty

55Test not offered in high school, for short

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

Stats & info

Friday, Sep 4, 2026

15×15

Grid size

66

Total entries

25/200

Black / letter cells

6.1

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedSep 4, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorJulian Xiao

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 32 down

Longest entries

1AResult of a tense build-up?10 ltrs 15AKick off10 ltrs 17AABC's realm10 ltrs 54AAsteroids and Space Invaders10 ltrs 57ASystem by which all speech is protected?10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 25 black squares and averages 6.1 letters per entry.