NYT Crossword hints and answer for October 16, 2025
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues78
Across39
Down39
ConstructorKareem Ayas
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
"___ Talkin' ’bout Love" (Van Halen song) (4)
Starts with A, ends with TAINT→
5A
*Treat with kindness (5)
Starts with B, ends with OBENTO→
10A
Noted works of the Roman poet Horace (4)
Starts with O, ends with SODES→
15A
Statuette modeled after a knight holding a crusader’s sword (5)
Starts with O, ends with ROSCAR→
16A
Feeling associated with skipping a party, perhaps (4)
Starts with F, ends with OFOMO→
17A
Unchangeable (10)
Starts with S, ends with ESETINSTONE→
19A
Horned creature in "Pan's Labyrinth" (4)
Starts with F, ends with NFAUN→
20A
Hungers for (6)
Starts with C, ends with SCRAVES→
21A
Early Germanic people (5)
Starts with G, ends with SGOTHS→
23A
Move around the world (5)
Starts with O, ends with TORBIT→
24A
*Expensive (3)
Starts with P, ends with YPRY→
29A
Mardi Gras locale, informally (4)
Starts with N, ends with ANOLA→
30A
Ovarian sac contents (3)
Starts with R, ends with EROE→
31A
Fuddy-duddies (6)
Starts with P, ends with SPRUDES→
32A
"Still ___" (1999 rap hit) (3)
Starts with D, ends with EDRE→
33A
Meander (4)
Starts with W, ends with DWEND→
34A
High lights? (6)
Starts with A, ends with AAURORA→
35A
Practice chiromancy (9)
Starts with R, ends with SREADPALMS→
37A
Disappear, as a trail (6)
Starts with G, ends with DGOCOLD→
40A
"Central Park in the Dark" composer (4)
Starts with I, ends with SIVES→
41A
Music box? (3)
Starts with A, ends with PAMP→
44A
Diviner (6)
Starts with O, ends with EORACLE→
45A
Jerry’s uncle on "Seinfeld" (3)
Starts with L, ends with OLEO→
46A
Box a bit (4)
Starts with S, ends with RSPAR→
47A
Tonkatsu coating (5)
Starts with P, ends with OPANKO→
48A
*Deli device (3)
Starts with S, ends with RSLR→
49A
Bug expert, for short (5)
Starts with I, ends with OITPRO→
50A
Invite at the door (5)
Starts with A, ends with NASKIN→
52A
Extreme pressure (6)
Starts with D, ends with SDURESS→
53A
El ___ (4)
Starts with P, ends with OPASO→
55A
Felt tired during the day, say (10)
Starts with N, ends with PNEEDEDANAP→
58A
Words to a betrayer (4)
Starts with E, ends with UETTU→
59A
“The Philosophy of Right” author (5)
Starts with H, ends with LHEGEL→
60A
Like a computer with a running screensaver (4)
Starts with I, ends with EIDLE→
61A
How whiskey might be served … with a hint to the answers to the seven starred clues (4)
Starts with N, ends with TNEAT→
62A
*Risky endeavor, idiomatically (5)
Starts with D, ends with LDROLL→
63A
Onetime resident of the Winter Palace (4)
Starts with T, ends with RTSAR→
Down
2D
Certain Windows hard drive malfunction (7)
Starts with I, ends with RIOERROR→
3D
*Conspicuous (7)
Starts with N, ends with ENOTABLE→
4D
Stupid stuff it's fun to know (6)
Starts with T, ends with ATRIVIA→
5D
Level-ending foe (4)
Starts with B, ends with SBOSS→
6D
Educated guess: Abbr. (3)
Starts with E, ends with TEST→
7D
Sgt., e.g. (3)
Starts with N, ends with ONCO→
8D
Like lemon curd (5)
Starts with T, ends with YTANGY→
9D
Preceder of "Bites" and "Bars" in commercial names (4)
Starts with O, ends with OOREO→
10D
*Chance to meet one-on-one with a professor (8)
Starts with O, ends with SOFFHOURS→
11D
"Copy me" (7)
Starts with D, ends with ODOASIDO→
12D
Runner Down Under (3)
Starts with E, ends with UEMU→
13D
Certain heir (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSON→
18D
Make in the end (3)
Starts with N, ends with TNET→
22D
Steady humming sounds (6)
Starts with T, ends with STHRUMS→
24D
Locale for catfish or carp (4)
Starts with P, ends with DPOND→
25D
What allows Neo to disconnect from the Matrix (7)
Starts with R, ends with LREDPILL→
27D
Spanish 101 verb (3)
Starts with S, ends with RSER→
28D
Whom you might greet with open arms, for short? (3)
Starts with T, ends with ATSA→
30D
Novelist Charles who wrote "The Cloister and the Hearth" (5)
Starts with R, ends with EREADE→
31D
Prefix with botanist (5)
Starts with P, ends with OPALEO→
33D
"Sure … if you say so" (6)
Starts with W, ends with KWELLOK→
35D
Enjoys oneself uninhibitedly … or a punny title for this puzzle (8)
Starts with R, ends with TROCKSOUT→
36D
Profess (4)
Starts with A, ends with RAVER→
37D
Something Lincoln once led, for short (3)
Starts with G, ends with PGOP→
38D
Italian time unit (3)
Starts with O, ends with AORA→
39D
Card game with a winning score of 5,000 points (7)
Starts with C, ends with ACANASTA→
41D
*Book addenda (7)
Starts with A, ends with SAPPENDS→
42D
Chicken ___ (7)
Starts with M, ends with AMARSALA→
43D
Thrive (7)
Starts with P, ends with RPROSPER→
46D
Narrow channel (6)
Starts with S, ends with TSTRAIT→
48D
Derisive look (5)
Starts with S, ends with RSNEER→
49D
OB/GYN offering (3)
Starts with I, ends with DIUD→
51D
Crisply shown, as on TV (4)
Starts with I, ends with DINHD→
52D
Wooded valley (4)
Starts with D, ends with LDELL→
54D
Performed amazingly, in slang (3)
Starts with A, ends with EATE→
56D
Id's counterpart (3)
Starts with E, ends with OEGO→
57D
The First State: Abbr. (3)
Starts with D, ends with LDEL→
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 16, 2025?+
78 clues: 39 Across and 39 Down. The puzzle was constructed by Kareem Ayas and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: "___ Talkin' ’bout Love" (Van Halen song) (AINT); *Treat with kindness (BENTO); Noted works of the Roman poet Horace (ODES).
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.
