NYT Crossword hints and answer for March 2, 2025
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues145
Across83
Down62
TitleRainbow Connection
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
4A
"___ funny …" (the most exciting phrase to hear in science, per Isaac Asimov) (5)
Starts with T, ends with STHATS→
9A
"Don't take offense," nowadays (7)
Starts with N, ends with ENOSHADE→
16A
N.Y.C. neighborhood where the Cronut was invented (3)
Starts with S, ends with OSHO→
19A
Mid-voyage (3)
Starts with A, ends with AASA→
20A
Members of a tough crowd, perhaps (6)
Starts with B, ends with SBOOERS→
21A
Some painkillers (7)
Starts with O, ends with SOPIATES→
22A
Neighbor of Pakistan (3)
Starts with I, ends with NIAN→
23A
Go-ahead responses (3)
Starts with N, ends with SNOS→
24A
The humanities, traditionally (14)
Starts with A, ends with SARTSANDLETTERS→
26A
Move gingerly (3)
Starts with E, ends with EESE→
27A
H.S. exams taken for college credit (3)
Starts with A, ends with SAPS→
28A
Hockey goal scored by deflecting an incoming puck (5)
Starts with T, ends with NTIPIN→
29A
Follower of Robespierre, in 18th-century France (7)
Starts with J, ends with NJACOBIN→
30A
Winged pest (3)
Starts with G, ends with TGAT→
31A
What a daredevil might go without (3)
Starts with N, ends with TNET→
32A
Binary pronoun options (7)
Starts with H, ends with EHEORSHE→
34A
Photographer Goldin (3)
Starts with N, ends with NNAN→
35A
Expecting, informally (5)
Starts with P, ends with OPREGO→
37A
One of two, in this clue (7)
Starts with A, ends with TANAPEST→
39A
Mafiosi (7)
Starts with M, ends with NMADEMEN→
42A
Armada vessel (6)
Starts with G, ends with NGALLON→
43A
Smidgen (3)
Starts with T, ends with DTAD→
44A
One tapped by leadership? (3)
Starts with S, ends with RSIR→
45A
Temper (4)
Starts with M, ends with DMOOD→
46A
Bit of smack talk (3)
Starts with D, ends with SDIS→
47A
Sacred bird of Egyptian mythology (4)
Starts with I, ends with SIBIS→
49A
Go in circles (5)
Starts with G, ends with EGRATE→
51A
Taiwan-based tech giant (4)
Starts with A, ends with SASUS→
52A
Formicary residents (4)
Starts with A, ends with SANTS→
54A
Part of an underground network (4)
Starts with R, ends with TROOT→
55A
Maritime hazard (3)
Starts with R, ends with FREF→
56A
It's simultaneously attractive and repulsive (5)
Starts with M, ends with TMANET→
58A
Malty craft beer (6)
Starts with R, ends with ARYEIPA→
60A
Personal (3)
Starts with O, ends with NOWN→
61A
Mont Blanc, par exemple (3)
Starts with A, ends with EAPE→
62A
Like much limestone (3)
Starts with G, ends with YGAY→
63A
Gender abbr. (3)
Starts with F, ends with MFEM→
64A
Mama's mama (4)
Starts with N, ends with ANANA→
66A
Warning letters before a link (4)
Starts with N, ends with WNSFW→
68A
Narrative arc (3)
Starts with P, ends with TPOT→
69A
Athletic competitions (4)
Starts with M, ends with SMETS→
70A
Band whose name is a rhyme scheme (3)
Starts with A, ends with AABA→
71A
Vaping implement (4)
Starts with E, ends with GECIG→
72A
Oscar-winning Michelle (4)
Starts with Y, ends with HYEOH→
73A
Modest bouquet (3)
Starts with P, ends with YPSY→
74A
On the safe side, nautically (3)
Starts with A, ends with EALE→
75A
Derby entry (3)
Starts with C, ends with TCOT→
76A
Comedian Philips (3)
Starts with E, ends with OEMO→
77A
Pompous "I" (6)
Starts with R, ends with EROYALE→
79A
Makes mincemeat of (5)
Starts with G, ends with SGRIDS→
81A
Verifiable (3)
Starts with T, ends with ETRE→
82A
Actor Sebastian ___ of the "Avengers" movies (4)
Starts with S, ends with NSTAN→
83A
Capital of East Timor (4)
Starts with D, ends with IDILI→
84A
Hurt badly (4)
Starts with M, ends with MMAIM→
85A
Packaging cords (5)
Starts with T, ends with STWINS→
87A
Slippery (4)
Starts with E, ends with YEELY→
88A
Sloth, e.g. (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSIN→
89A
All-encompassing prefix (4)
Starts with O, ends with IOMNI→
90A
Goddess of the dawn (3)
Starts with E, ends with SEOS→
91A
Site-seeing need? (3)
Starts with U, ends with LURL→
92A
___ Rebellion (19th-century Chinese conflict) (6)
Starts with T, ends with GTAPING→
95A
Something to chew on (7)
Starts with T, ends with RTEETHER→
97A
Is too overwhelmed with emotion to speak (7)
Starts with C, ends with NCANTEEN→
102A
Big name in fruit juice, or the first three letters of the fruit in it (3)
Starts with P, ends with MPOM→
103A
What "E" on a gauge means (7)
Starts with A, ends with LADDFUEL→
105A
iPhone speaker? (3)
Starts with S, ends with ISRI→
106A
Spinoff of a popular lecture series (3)
Starts with T, ends with XTEX→
107A
Beers advertised with the slogan "La vida más fina" (7)
Starts with C, ends with SCORONAS→
110A
Prop ___ (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPLANE→
111A
Actress Carrie of HBO's "The Leftovers" (3)
Starts with C, ends with NCON→
112A
Fighting (3)
Starts with A, ends with TATT→
113A
Tidy way to color … and where seven words are hiding in this puzzle? (14)
Starts with I, ends with SINSIDETHELINES→
115A
Word on a shoppe sign (3)
Starts with O, ends with EODE→
116A
Nike's swoosh or McDonald's golden arches (3)
Starts with L, ends with OLOO→
117A
Course with a name derived from the French word for "clear the table" (7)
Starts with D, ends with TDESSERT→
118A
Filmmaker John who directed the "Thriller" music video (6)
Starts with L, ends with SLANDIS→
120A
Not quite yet (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSON→
121A
Big name in Western wear (7)
Starts with S, ends with NSTETSON→
122A
"Good grief!" (5)
Starts with M, ends with DMYGOD→
123A
Some flight tracker data, for short (3)
Starts with E, ends with SEDS→
Down
1D
Word after second or before split (6)
Starts with B, ends with ABANANA→
2D
Hard court tournament (6)
Starts with U, ends with NUSOPEN→
3D
What might fill you up after you fill up (14)
Starts with G, ends with DGASSTATIONFOOD→
4D
Parliamentary conservatives (6)
Starts with T, ends with STORIES→
5D
Cuisine style that's kept simmering at the table (6)
Starts with H, ends with THOTPOT→
6D
Pantheon of Norse gods (5)
Starts with A, ends with RAESIR→
8D
W-9 nine: Abbr. (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSSN→
9D
Shortened name on a Pelicans jersey (4)
Starts with N, ends with ANOLA→
10D
Well-connected grp.? (4)
Starts with O, ends with COPEC→
11D
Take a breather (9)
Starts with S, ends with TSITONEOUT→
12D
Milliners' decorations (8)
Starts with H, ends with SHATBANDS→
13D
Stayed home for dinner (5)
Starts with A, ends with NATEIN→
14D
"Nebraska" actor Bruce (4)
Starts with D, ends with NDERN→
15D
Shape of the border between yin and yang (3)
Starts with E, ends with SESS→
16D
Longtime host Robert of NPR's "All Things Considered" (6)
Starts with S, ends with LSIEGEL→
18D
Approximate weight of a subcompact car or a medium-size giraffe (6)
Starts with O, ends with NONETON→
20D
Came clean? (6)
Starts with B, ends with DBATHED→
25D
Set new records, say, informally (4)
Starts with D, ends with DDJED→
33D
___ pants (loose-fitting garb) (5)
Starts with H, ends with MHAREM→
35D
American patriot Thomas (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPAINE→
36D
Author of the "Goosebumps" series (7)
Starts with R, ends with ERLSTINE→
38D
Gone by (4)
Starts with P, ends with TPAST→
40D
Came (from) (8)
Starts with E, ends with DEMANATED→
41D
Walks leisurely (6)
Starts with M, ends with SMOSEYS→
42D
Sydneysider's salutation (9)
Starts with G, ends with SGDAYMATES→
44D
Two-point play in American football (6)
Starts with S, ends with YSAFETY→
47D
"At a time like this, scorching ___, not convincing argument, is needed": Frederick Douglass (5)
Starts with I, ends with YIRONY→
48D
Super Mario character also known as King Koopa (6)
Starts with B, ends with RBOWSER→
49D
___ hook (device attached to a rope or cable) (9)
Starts with G, ends with GGRAPPLING→
50D
Stillness (6)
Starts with R, ends with EREPOSE→
53D
Star witness? (14)
Starts with S, ends with ESPACETELESCOPE→
57D
16 years, for Little League Baseball (8)
Starts with A, ends with TAGELIMIT→
58D
Risen from the ashes (6)
Starts with R, ends with NREBORN→
59D
Sloth, e.g. (6)
Starts with A, ends with LANIMAL→
63D
Lead-in to a stark reality (6)
Starts with F, ends with SFACTIS→
65D
Extreme pain (5)
Starts with A, ends with YAGONY→
67D
Line of questioning? (7)
Starts with W, ends with TWHYISIT→
69D
Saltwater (6)
Starts with M, ends with EMARINE→
78D
Letter-shaped dress style (5)
Starts with A, ends with EALINE→
79D
Single-player and multiplayer, for two (9)
Starts with G, ends with SGAMEMODES→
80D
Knight's need (5)
Starts with S, ends with DSTEED→
82D
Rockefeller Plaza muralist (4)
Starts with S, ends with TSERT→
84D
Driver (8)
Starts with M, ends with TMOTORIST→
86D
Puns and anagrams, e.g. (8)
Starts with W, ends with YWORDPLAY→
91D
Except if (6)
Starts with U, ends with SUNLESS→
92D
Comes to (6)
Starts with T, ends with STOTALS→
93D
Retort that sounds like a "Star Wars" character (6)
Starts with A, ends with OARETOO→
94D
"Twister" star Bill (6)
Starts with P, ends with NPAXTON→
96D
Encryption code, in computer science lingo (4)
Starts with H, ends with HHASH→
97D
Spanish "when" (6)
Starts with C, ends with OCUANDO→
98D
Virgil epic (6)
Starts with A, ends with DAENEID→
99D
Worn down (6)
Starts with E, ends with DERODED→
100D
Some Bay Area athletes, familiarly (6)
Starts with N, ends with SNINERS→
102D
Following (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPOSSE→
104D
Fun romance (5)
Starts with F, ends with GFLING→
107D
Apt letters missing from "Te_h_ology r_view si_e" (4)
Starts with C, ends with TCNET→
108D
Emperor with a statue outside the Colosseum (4)
Starts with N, ends with ONERO→
109D
Memo header (4)
Starts with A, ends with NATTN→
113D
Points the finger at (3)
Starts with I, ends with SIDS→
114D
Popular wood for American whiskey barrels until a 20th-century blight (3)
Starts with E, ends with MELM→
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 March 2, 2025?+
145 clues: 83 Across and 62 Down. The puzzle was constructed by Adam Wagner and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: Town (BUG); "___ funny …" (the most exciting phrase to hear in science, per Isaac Asimov) (THATS); "Don't take offense," nowadays (NOSHADE).
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.
