NYT Crossword hints and answer for May 31, 2026
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues140
Across71
Down69
TitleTarget Practice
Today’s NYT Crossword clues, hints & answers
Every clue from this puzzle with a hint and the answer behind separate buttons, so you only see what you need. Click a clue for its own page.
Across
1A
Sacsayhuamán fortress builders (5)
Starts with I, ends with SINCAS→
6A
Literary forerunner of Captain Hook (4)
Starts with A, ends with BAHAB→
10A
Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds" (4)
Starts with J, ends with KJOCK→
14A
Help-wanted letters (3)
Starts with S, ends with SSOS→
17A
Fermented vegan protein (6)
Starts with T, ends with HTEMPEH→
19A
Wrestler/actor John (4)
Starts with C, ends with ACENA→
20A
Coin with 12 stars around the border (4)
Starts with E, ends with OEURO→
22A
Home of the legendary folk hero at 116-Across (11)
Starts with S, ends with DSWITZERLAND→
24A
One involved with checks and balances (9)
Starts with T, ends with RTREASURER→
26A
Without (4)
Starts with S, ends with SSANS→
27A
Green spaces (8)
Starts with P, ends with SPASTURES→
29A
Hero of Arabian tales (7)
Starts with A, ends with AALIBABA→
30A
In the past (3)
Starts with A, ends with OAGO→
31A
___ Mahal (3)
Starts with T, ends with JTAJ→
32A
Expertise demonstrated by 116-Across in a fabled feat of precision (12)
Starts with M, ends with PMARKSMANSHIP→
34A
Home Run ___ (annual M.L.B. event) (5)
Starts with D, ends with YDERBY→
36A
D.O.J. agency (3)
Starts with A, ends with FATF→
39A
Fuel-efficient Toyota (5)
Starts with P, ends with SPRIUS→
40A
Main ideas (5)
Starts with G, ends with SGISTS→
41A
Athletic skill mastered by 116-Across (7)
Starts with A, ends with YARCHERY→
44A
W-9 fig. (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSSN→
45A
Banned substance, in sports lingo (3)
Starts with P, ends with DPED→
46A
Diego Rivera project (5)
Starts with M, ends with LMURAL→
48A
Apt name for a lawyer (3)
Starts with S, ends with ESUE→
49A
Laughed loudly (6)
Starts with R, ends with DROARED→
52A
N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse (3)
Starts with U, ends with CUNC→
53A
Like the Statue of Liberty at night (5)
Starts with U, ends with TUPLIT→
55A
Beatle who sang "Yellow Submarine" (5)
Starts with S, ends with RSTARR→
57A
Sailor's septet (4)
Starts with S, ends with SSEAS→
60A
Go-getter's opposite (8)
Starts with D, ends with TDEADBEAT→
62A
Through (3)
Starts with V, ends with AVIA→
63A
"Drat!," in Dortmund (3)
Starts with A, ends with HACH→
65A
"The Situation Room" airer (3)
Starts with C, ends with NCNN→
66A
Chirruping bird (7)
Starts with S, ends with WSPARROW→
67A
Pat down (5)
Starts with F, ends with KFRISK→
69A
71A
Stuff in a puff (3)
Starts with A, ends with RAIR→
72A
She-ep? (3)
Starts with E, ends with EEWE→
73A
Home to the Burj Khalifa, in brief (3)
Starts with U, ends with EUAE→
74A
Appointments that may lead to better contacts (8)
Starts with E, ends with SEYEEXAMS→
76A
Dampens (4)
Starts with W, ends with SWETS→
78A
"Whoa, ___!" (5)
Starts with N, ends with YNELLY→
80A
Bel ___ cheese (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPAESE→
81A
Instinctive (3)
Starts with G, ends with TGUT→
82A
Religious dissent (6)
Starts with H, ends with YHERESY→
84A
$5 bill, slangily (3)
Starts with A, ends with EABE→
85A
Actress Spacek (5)
Starts with S, ends with YSISSY→
87A
Negative logic gate in electrical engineering (3)
Starts with N, ends with RNOR→
88A
Cartesian conclusion (3)
Starts with I, ends with MIAM→
91A
Composer of an overture dedicated to 116-Across (7)
Starts with R, ends with IROSSINI→
93A
Gets lost (5)
Starts with S, ends with SSCATS→
96A
Came to a conclusion (5)
Starts with E, ends with DENDED→
98A
"Doctor ___" (3)
Starts with W, ends with OWHO→
99A
Start of an encrypted URL (5)
Starts with H, ends with SHTTPS→
103A
Streaker in the night sky … or a punny description of 116-Across (12)
Starts with S, ends with RSHOOTINGSTAR→
108A
Unprocessed, as data (3)
Starts with R, ends with WRAW→
109A
Inspiration for many seasonal festivals (7)
Starts with H, ends with THARVEST→
110A
Oscar-winning 2019 film directed by Bong Joon Ho (8)
Starts with P, ends with EPARASITE→
113A
Smoke, perhaps (4)
Starts with C, ends with ECURE→
114A
What may begin at the end (9)
Starts with A, ends with EAFTERLIFE→
116A
Legendary figure who's the subject of this puzzle (11)
Starts with W, ends with LWILLIAMTELL→
118A
Orchard selection (4)
Starts with P, ends with RPEAR→
119A
Lot calculation (4)
Starts with A, ends with AAREA→
120A
"All's well with me" (4)
Starts with I, ends with KIMOK→
122A
Masthead figs. (3)
Starts with E, ends with SEDS→
124A
Quibbles (4)
Starts with N, ends with SNITS→
Down
1D
"What a bummer" (6)
Starts with I, ends with DITSSAD→
2D
À la Enya (6)
Starts with N, ends with ENEWAGE→
3D
Key with three flats (6)
Starts with C, ends with RCMINOR→
4D
Studios and penthouses: Abbr. (4)
Starts with A, ends with SAPTS→
5D
"___ me!" (3)
Starts with S, ends with ZSEZ→
6D
Knee parts, for short (4)
Starts with A, ends with SACLS→
7D
Part of a track meet (4)
Starts with H, ends with THEAT→
8D
Per ___ (accounting term) (5)
Starts with A, ends with MANNUM→
9D
Undeserved condemnation (6)
Starts with B, ends with PBADRAP→
10D
Watercraft that leave "rooster tails" in their wakes (7)
Starts with J, ends with SJETSKIS→
11D
"___ home and native land!" (3)
Starts with O, ends with ROUR→
12D
Absolutely whomps, in sports lingo (6)
Starts with C, ends with SCREAMS→
13D
"Bear" that's not a bear (5)
Starts with K, ends with AKOALA→
14D
Some red wines (6)
Starts with S, ends with SSYRAHS→
15D
Smallest quantity of digital data (6)
Starts with O, ends with TONEBIT→
16D
Abandons, as a project (6)
Starts with S, ends with SSCRAPS→
18D
Purifying filter acronym (4)
Starts with H, ends with AHEPA→
23D
Jasmine's tiger companion in "Aladdin" (5)
Starts with R, ends with HRAJAH→
25D
Big name in sewing machines (6)
Starts with S, ends with RSINGER→
28D
Messes up (4)
Starts with E, ends with SERRS→
31D
TV host Banks (4)
Starts with T, ends with ATYRA→
33D
Longtime jazz bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name (5)
Starts with S, ends with ASUNRA→
35D
Where Cary Grant orders a Gibson in a classic scene from "North by Northwest" (6)
Starts with B, ends with RBARCAR→
37D
Magnetic unit named for an inventor (5)
Starts with T, ends with ATESLA→
38D
Productive … or a punny description of the feat performed by 116-Across? (8)
Starts with F, ends with LFRUITFUL→
42D
Many a liquor license applicant (9)
Starts with C, ends with RCLUBOWNER→
43D
As of now (3)
Starts with Y, ends with TYET→
45D
Board game with ancient origins (9)
Starts with P, ends with IPARCHEESI→
46D
Gooey chocolate dessert (6)
Starts with M, ends with EMUDPIE→
47D
Discover (7)
Starts with U, ends with HUNEARTH→
50D
Holds forth (6)
Starts with O, ends with SORATES→
51D
Tenth, in Latin (7)
Starts with D, ends with SDECIMUS→
54D
Small flycatchers named for their call, not their size (6)
Starts with P, ends with SPEWEES→
55D
Bro kin (3)
Starts with S, ends with SSIS→
56D
What 116-Across did before and after this puzzle's feat? (8)
Starts with T, ends with WTAKEABOW→
58D
Dread-full? (6)
Starts with A, ends with YANGSTY→
59D
Popular beverage brand (7)
Starts with S, ends with ESNAPPLE→
61D
Dr. ___ (3)
Starts with D, ends with EDRE→
62D
Compete (3)
Starts with V, ends with EVIE→
64D
Bad spelling? (3)
Starts with H, ends with XHEX→
66D
Lead-in to bones or bucks (3)
Starts with S, ends with WSAW→
68D
Sunbeam (3)
Starts with R, ends with YRAY→
70D
Abandons a project, slangily (6)
Starts with B, ends with TBAGSIT→
77D
Forwarded (8)
Starts with S, ends with RSENTOVER→
79D
Full of tall tales (5)
Starts with L, ends with GLYING→
80D
It's better than a bogey (3)
Starts with P, ends with RPAR→
83D
Team lineup (6)
Starts with R, ends with RROSTER→
86D
Like most modern TV broadcasts (4)
Starts with I, ends with DINHD→
89D
"Money-back guarantee" and "Limited-time offer" (7)
Starts with A, ends with KADSPEAK→
90D
Self-referential (4)
Starts with M, ends with AMETA→
92D
Conductor Georg (5)
Starts with S, ends with ISOLTI→
93D
Snaky double curve (6)
Starts with S, ends with ESSHAPE→
94D
Really irritated (6)
Starts with C, ends with DCHAFED→
95D
Main lines (6)
Starts with A, ends with SAORTAS→
97D
Australian city named for a scientist (6)
Starts with D, ends with NDARWIN→
100D
Closely following (6)
Starts with T, ends with OTRUETO→
101D
Gambler's combo bet (6)
Starts with P, ends with YPARLAY→
102D
Waves sought by surfers (6)
Starts with S, ends with SSWELLS→
104D
Five Pillars religion (5)
Starts with I, ends with MISLAM→
105D
"Spider-Man" director Sam (5)
Starts with R, ends with IRAIMI→
107D
Stitcher's line (4)
Starts with S, ends with MSEAM→
111D
Tee time or airtime, e.g. (4)
Starts with S, ends with TSLOT→
113D
Corner key (4)
Starts with C, ends with LCTRL→
117D
Bucket list item? (3)
Starts with M, ends with PMOP→
How to solve the NYT Crossword
Fill the grid so that every Across and Down answer matches its clue. Numbered squares mark where answers begin. Theme answers, usually the longest entries, share a twist that the puzzle's title or a revealer clue explains. Thursday puzzles are known for rebus squares and other tricks that bend the normal rules.
Want the full method? Read our NYT Crossword strategy and tips, or check how to play the NYT Crossword on the hub.
NYT Crossword tips for tomorrow
- Start with Monday-level clues. Even on a Saturday, a handful of clues are straightforward. Find them and build outward from the crossings.
- Hunt for the revealer. A clue that references other entries or ends in "?" often explains the theme. Solving it first unlocks the long answers.
- Respect the day of the week. Thursday means tricks like rebus squares; Friday and Saturday mean long, clever fill with misleading clues.
Done for today? Try The Mini, The Midi, LA Times Crossword, all with hints first and answers behind a reveal.
Previous NYT Crossword puzzles
NYT Crossword FAQ
How many clues are in the NYT Crossword for May 31, 2026?+
140 clues: 71 Across and 69 Down. The puzzle was constructed by Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: Sacsayhuamán fortress builders (INCAS); Literary forerunner of Captain Hook (AHAB); Many an Alpha Beta in "Revenge of the Nerds" (JOCK).
What time does the NYT Crossword come out?+
The next day's puzzle is released at 10:00 pm Eastern Time Monday to Friday and at 6:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Where can I find past NYT Crossword answers?+
Every puzzle in our archive has its own page with all Across and Down answers, plus a page for each clue. Click any date above.
