NYT Crossword hints and answer for December 21, 2025
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues143
Across72
Down71
TitlePresent Time
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
Some Arctic transports (9)
Starts with S, ends with SSKIPLANES→
10A
S.E.C. football powerhouse, for short (4)
Starts with B, ends with ABAMA→
14A
1950s hangout with a jukebox (8)
Starts with S, ends with PSODASHOP→
20A
Game piece made of four squares (9)
Starts with T, ends with OTETROMINO→
21A
"The Kite Runner" protagonist (4)
Starts with A, ends with RAMIR→
22A
Skulks (6)
Starts with P, ends with SPROWLS→
23A
Joins gradually (9)
Starts with E, ends with OEASESINTO→
24A
"Doggone it!" (4)
Starts with D, ends with NDARN→
25A
Treatment (6)
Starts with R, ends with YREMEDY→
26A
Blue colorant obtained from the indigo plant (4)
Starts with A, ends with LANIL→
27A
Wrangler alternative (3)
Starts with L, ends with ELEE→
28A
Brightly colored Mediterranean flowers (8)
Starts with S, ends with SSUNROSES→
30A
Rap's Run-___ (3)
Starts with D, ends with CDMC→
31A
Course catalog? (4)
Starts with M, ends with UMENU→
32A
When Aries transitions to Taurus (5)
Starts with A, ends with LAPRIL→
34A
Sweetly, on scores (5)
Starts with D, ends with EDOLCE→
35A
"I'll pass" (3)
Starts with N, ends with HNAH→
36A
Input of certain mining (4)
Starts with D, ends with ADATA→
38A
Montalbán who played Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (7)
Starts with R, ends with ORICARDO→
40A
Timer setting (4)
Starts with O, ends with NOVEN→
42A
Areas of influence (7)
Starts with S, ends with SSPHERES→
45A
Mental health org. (3)
Starts with A, ends with AAPA→
46A
Fraudulently make seem like (9)
Starts with P, ends with SPALMOFFAS→
48A
Covers completely (5)
Starts with C, ends with SCOATS→
49A
Wyoming peak (5)
Starts with T, ends with NTETON→
51A
Like a corporation with a new logo, perhaps (9)
Starts with R, ends with DREBRANDED→
54A
Comment from someone caught in the rain (8)
Starts with I, ends with DIMSOAKED→
56A
Yellow avenue in Monopoly (7)
Starts with V, ends with RVENTNOR→
58A
A bit off, say (6)
Starts with O, ends with EONSALE→
59A
Hyatt alternative (4)
Starts with O, ends with IOMNI→
60A
Hard-boiled genre (4)
Starts with N, ends with RNOIR→
62A
TheForce.net for "Star Wars," for example (7)
Starts with F, ends with EFANSITE→
64A
Dark side (3)
Starts with Y, ends with NYIN→
65A
Former big name in browsers (8)
Starts with N, ends with ENETSCAPE→
67A
U.F.O.-watching org. (4)
Starts with S, ends with ISETI→
68A
By way of, informally (4)
Starts with T, ends with UTHRU→
70A
Kemo ___ (the Lone Ranger) (4)
Starts with S, ends with ESABE→
71A
Sailor's patron (6)
Starts with S, ends with OSTELMO→
72A
Fleetwood Mac hit named for a Celtic goddess (8)
Starts with R, ends with NRHIANNON→
79A
Eponymous British financier James ___ (7)
Starts with B, ends with YBARCLAY→
81A
By saying this you mean well (4)
Starts with B, ends with NBIEN→
82A
Wrap seller (4)
Starts with D, ends with IDELI→
83A
Adopted, as a pet (6)
Starts with T, ends with NTOOKIN→
85A
Wasn't folded in a suitcase, say (7)
Starts with L, ends with TLAYFLAT→
87A
Developed, as baby teeth (6)
Starts with G, ends with NGREWIN→
89A
Sci-fi miniaturizer (9)
Starts with S, ends with YSHRINKRAY→
91A
Emanations (5)
Starts with A, ends with SAURAS→
93A
Boldly face (5)
Starts with B, ends with EBRAVE→
94A
Kind of cipher in which A becomes B, B becomes C, e.g. (6)
Starts with C, ends with RCAESAR→
95A
Guardians, on a scoreboard (3)
Starts with C, ends with ECLE→
96A
Bit of birdspeak (7)
Starts with C, ends with RCHITTER→
98A
Damp, mildewy quality (4)
Starts with M, ends with TMUST→
99A
They hold water (7)
Starts with V, ends with SVESSELS→
102A
Silence (4)
Starts with H, ends with HHUSH→
103A
Lying faceup (6)
Starts with S, ends with ESUPINE→
104A
___ Park, Calif. (5)
Starts with M, ends with OMENLO→
107A
Disney subsidiary (4)
Starts with E, ends with NESPN→
111A
A little help? (3)
Starts with E, ends with FELF→
112A
Evaded, as a sensitive issue (12)
Starts with D, ends with DDANCEDAROUND→
114A
Some pings, in brief (3)
Starts with I, ends with SIMS→
115A
"Fie on ___!" (Shakespearean cry) (4)
Starts with T, ends with ETHEE→
116A
Skips over (6)
Starts with E, ends with SELIDES→
118A
Few and far between (4)
Starts with R, ends with ERARE→
119A
Regulars at parks with ramps, informally (9)
Starts with S, ends with SSKATERATS→
121A
Reply after having one's memory jogged (6)
Starts with Y, ends with SYESYES→
122A
Some time ago (4)
Starts with O, ends with EONCE→
123A
"What's done is done!" (9)
Starts with G, ends with TGETOVERIT→
124A
Stick (to) (6)
Starts with A, ends with EADHERE→
125A
Garden interloper (4)
Starts with W, ends with DWEED→
126A
Church parts crossing naves (9)
Starts with T, ends with STRANSEPTS→
Down
1D
Make furious (5)
Starts with S, ends with MSTEAM→
2D
"The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil ___ (5)
Starts with K, ends with EKEANE→
3D
Tennis line judge's ruling (5)
Starts with I, ends with NITSIN→
4D
Duke Ellington classic with the lyric "That was my heart serenading you" (14)
Starts with P, ends with SPRELUDETOAKISS→
5D
West side of L.A.? (3)
Starts with L, ends with SLOS→
6D
"Is there still time for me to join you?" (7)
Starts with A, ends with EAMILATE→
7D
51 to the hour (8)
Starts with N, ends with TNINEPAST→
8D
Stage direction (5)
Starts with E, ends with RENTER→
9D
Phillipa of Broadway (3)
Starts with S, ends with OSOO→
10D
Grammy winner Erykah (4)
Starts with B, ends with UBADU→
11D
___ Gorman, "The Hill We Climb" poet (6)
Starts with A, ends with AAMANDA→
13D
Iced-tea-and-lemonade refreshments (13)
Starts with A, ends with SARNOLDPALMERS→
14D
Spending romp (5)
Starts with S, ends with ESPREE→
15D
Output of certain mining (4)
Starts with O, ends with SORES→
16D
Counterpart of a sub (3)
Starts with D, ends with MDOM→
17D
Fast start? (12)
Starts with A, ends with YASHWEDNESDAY→
18D
Father, familiarly (6)
Starts with O, ends with NOLDMAN→
19D
Mentally overpower, with "out" (5)
Starts with P, ends with HPSYCH→
28D
Like most moccasins (6)
Starts with S, ends with NSLIPON→
29D
Great Dane of cartoons, informally (5)
Starts with S, ends with BSCOOB→
33D
More livid (6)
Starts with I, ends with RIRATER→
37D
Keister, in Leicester (4)
Starts with A, ends with EARSE→
39D
2015 chart-topping hit for the Weeknd (14)
Starts with C, ends with ECANTFEELMYFACE→
40D
Symbolic for its time (7)
Starts with O, ends with AOFANERA→
41D
Shoe company with an iconic checkerboard design (4)
Starts with V, ends with SVANS→
42D
Descendant (5)
Starts with S, ends with NSCION→
43D
Apple: Fr. (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPOMME→
44D
Is without (5)
Starts with H, ends with THASNT→
47D
Rabid in appearance (8)
Starts with F, ends with GFROTHING→
50D
Woman's nickname that sounds like two letters (4)
Starts with E, ends with EEVIE→
51D
Rice-A-___ (4)
Starts with R, ends with IRONI→
52D
"Borderlands" director ___ Roth (3)
Starts with E, ends with IELI→
53D
Hiding place (3)
Starts with D, ends with NDEN→
55D
Gene pools? (8)
Starts with D, ends with SDNABANKS→
57D
Org. with its own alphabet (4)
Starts with N, ends with ONATO→
61D
Abbr. not found on most smartphones (4)
Starts with O, ends with ROPER→
63D
"Aren't ___ lucky one?!" (4)
Starts with I, ends with EITHE→
66D
It has a lot of secretaries (7)
Starts with C, ends with TCABINET→
67D
Shirt collar stiffener (4)
Starts with S, ends with YSTAY→
69D
Where to find six "presents" in this puzzle? (12)
Starts with U, ends with EUNDERTHETREE→
71D
Knock ’em dead (4)
Starts with S, ends with YSLAY→
72D
Coolidge who sang the theme for "Octopussy" (4)
Starts with R, ends with ARITA→
73D
Just getting started with (5)
Starts with N, ends with TNEWAT→
74D
Green shade (5)
Starts with O, ends with EOLIVE→
75D
What Joe Montana was in the '80s (5)
Starts with N, ends with RNINER→
76D
A TD scores six of these (3)
Starts with P, ends with SPTS→
77D
"Fancy, that!" (3)
Starts with O, ends with HOOH→
78D
Prickly denizen of coral reefs (13)
Starts with P, ends with HPORCUPINEFISH→
80D
Famed lawyer in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial (14)
Starts with C, ends with WCLARENCEDARROW→
81D
Most minimal (6)
Starts with B, ends with TBAREST→
84D
Some Korean exports (4)
Starts with K, ends with SKIAS→
86D
Calmed deceptively (6)
Starts with L, ends with DLULLED→
88D
Baseball slugger's stat (4)
Starts with R, ends with SRBIS→
90D
Bird used to deliver messages on "Game of Thrones" (5)
Starts with R, ends with NRAVEN→
92D
Blueprints (8)
Starts with S, ends with ASCHEMATA→
97D
Author Zora Neale ___ (7)
Starts with H, ends with NHURSTON→
98D
Noodled on, with "over" (6)
Starts with M, ends with DMULLED→
100D
Girlfriend in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (6)
Starts with S, ends with ESLOANE→
101D
Informant (6)
Starts with S, ends with ESOURCE→
103D
"Ta-ta!" (5)
Starts with S, ends with ASEEYA→
104D
Tricky pool shot (5)
Starts with M, ends with EMASSE→
106D
Someone enjoying a walk in the park (5)
Starts with H, ends with RHIKER→
108D
Mentally with it (5)
Starts with S, ends with PSHARP→
109D
___ four (5)
Starts with P, ends with TPETIT→
110D
Fits one inside the other (5)
Starts with N, ends with SNESTS→
112D
Porcine : pigs :: cervine : ___ (4)
Starts with D, ends with RDEER→
113D
Essential (4)
Starts with N, ends with DNEED→
117D
It might be good for a change (3)
Starts with D, ends with EDYE→
119D
One who knows the drill?: Abbr. (3)
Starts with S, ends with TSGT→
120D
Teslas, e.g., for short (3)
Starts with E, ends with SEVS→
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 December 21, 2025?+
143 clues: 72 Across and 71 Down. The puzzle was constructed by David Kwong and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: Some Arctic transports (SKIPLANES); S.E.C. football powerhouse, for short (BAMA); 1950s hangout with a jukebox (SODASHOP).
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.
