NYT Crossword hints and answer for October 21, 2025
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues72
Across35
Down37
ConstructorSpencer Leach
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
A right one is 90° (5)
Starts with A, ends with EANGLE→
6A
Hairstyle for Questlove (4)
Starts with A, ends with OAFRO→
10A
___ de plume (3)
Starts with N, ends with MNOM→
13A
Luxury watch brand (5)
Starts with R, ends with XROLEX→
14A
Half of a classic lunch special (4)
Starts with S, ends with PSOUP→
15A
Donate (4)
Starts with G, ends with EGIVE→
16A
Reward for rolling over, perhaps (5)
Starts with T, ends with TTREAT→
17A
Redwood or cottonwood (4)
Starts with T, ends with ETREE→
18A
Best starting hand in Texas hold ’em (4)
Starts with A, ends with SACES→
19A
Device for capturing thermal images (14)
Starts with I, ends with AINFRAREDCAMERA→
22A
Little locking brick (4)
Starts with L, ends with OLEGO→
23A
Radical religious groups (5)
Starts with C, ends with SCULTS→
24A
Where you might dance to some underground music? (13)
Starts with B, ends with YBASEMENTPARTY→
30A
Specialty coffee order (5)
Starts with L, ends with ELATTE→
31A
Make a speech (5)
Starts with O, ends with EORATE→
32A
Buck's mate (3)
Starts with D, ends with EDOE→
35A
Valuable Minecraft blocks (4)
Starts with O, ends with SORES→
36A
Entertain (5)
Starts with A, ends with EAMUSE→
37A
Postseason college football game (4)
Starts with B, ends with LBOWL→
38A
Fig. on a college transcript (3)
Starts with G, ends with AGPA→
39A
Latin phrase that's often abbreviated (5)
Starts with I, ends with TIDEST→
40A
Big name in briefs (5)
Starts with H, ends with SHANES→
41A
Venue for combatants wearing vests with sensors (13)
Starts with L, ends with ALASERTAGARENA→
44A
Maki or temaki (5)
Starts with S, ends with ISUSHI→
46A
Belgrade resident (4)
Starts with S, ends with BSERB→
47A
Wild guess … or what 19-, 24- and 41-Across let you take? (14)
Starts with A, ends with KASHOTINTHEDARK→
53A
Bobber in a lake (4)
Starts with B, ends with YBUOY→
54A
Peeved (4)
Starts with S, ends with ESORE→
55A
Nut-brown hue (5)
Starts with A, ends with NACORN→
57A
Head-butts (4)
Starts with R, ends with SRAMS→
58A
"Summer of ___," Questlove documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (4)
Starts with S, ends with LSOUL→
59A
Cone or sphere (5)
Starts with S, ends with DSOLID→
60A
Pub order (3)
Starts with A, ends with EALE→
61A
The brother in "Am I my brother's keeper?" (4)
Starts with A, ends with LABEL→
62A
It might be picante (5)
Starts with S, ends with ASALSA→
Down
1D
The "A" of MoMA (3)
Starts with A, ends with TART→
2D
Seaweed wrap for maki (4)
Starts with N, ends with INORI→
3D
Secluded valley (4)
Starts with G, ends with NGLEN→
4D
Some info sheets (8)
Starts with L, ends with SLEAFLETS→
5D
Radical (7)
Starts with E, ends with EEXTREME→
6D
One doing stellar work? (10)
Starts with A, ends with RASTRONOMER→
7D
Golfer's warning (4)
Starts with F, ends with EFORE→
8D
Regretted (4)
Starts with R, ends with DRUED→
9D
Major oil cartel, in brief (4)
Starts with O, ends with COPEC→
10D
"Bravo!" (10)
Starts with N, ends with ENICELYDONE→
11D
Blatant (5)
Starts with O, ends with TOVERT→
12D
Flat-topped landforms (5)
Starts with M, ends with SMESAS→
15D
Full range (5)
Starts with G, ends with TGAMUT→
20D
Tinder account datum that can't be edited (3)
Starts with A, ends with EAGE→
21D
The Hundred ___ Wood (storybook setting) (4)
Starts with A, ends with EACRE→
24D
Post to an online journal (4)
Starts with B, ends with GBLOG→
25D
Org. for seniors (4)
Starts with A, ends with PAARP→
26D
Advances from third while the pitcher is distracted, say (10)
Starts with S, ends with ESTEALSHOME→
27D
What team-building activities are designed to build (5)
Starts with T, ends with TTRUST→
28D
Noodle that might be stuffed (10)
Starts with P, ends with LPASTASHELL→
33D
Actor Wilson (4)
Starts with O, ends with NOWEN→
34D
"Frozen" queen (4)
Starts with E, ends with AELSA→
36D
Suffix with lemon or stock (3)
Starts with A, ends with EADE→
37D
Slow-cooked taco filling (8)
Starts with B, ends with ABARBACOA→
39D
"___ just me, or …?" (4)
Starts with I, ends with TISIT→
40D
Rigorously demanding sort (7)
Starts with H, ends with SHARDASS→
42D
Nautical greetings (5)
Starts with A, ends with SAHOYS→
43D
"Gosh!" (3)
Starts with G, ends with EGEE→
44D
Popular hummus brand (5)
Starts with S, ends with ASABRA→
45D
Run-of-the-mill (5)
Starts with U, ends with LUSUAL→
48D
Rae of "Barbie" (4)
Starts with I, ends with AISSA→
49D
Inexperienced gamer, informally (4)
Starts with N, ends with BNOOB→
50D
Factual (4)
Starts with T, ends with ETRUE→
51D
What "maki" means in Japanese (4)
Starts with R, ends with LROLL→
52D
Kardashian matriarch (4)
Starts with K, ends with SKRIS→
56D
Contract enforcing secrecy, for short (3)
Starts with N, ends with ANDA→
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 October 21, 2025?+
72 clues: 35 Across and 37 Down. The puzzle was constructed by Spencer Leach and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: A right one is 90° (ANGLE); Hairstyle for Questlove (AFRO); ___ de plume (NOM).
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.
