NYT Crossword Answers for Monday, August 31, 2026
NYT Crossword
Monday, August 31, 2026
Monday puzzle · 78 answers · Easiest of the week. Hints first; every answer is behind a button.
Reveal the 4 longest answers (usually the theme)
20A BUTTERFINGERS31A JELLYFISH44A HONEYMOON51A SPREADTHEWORD
The question-mark clues
A “?” at the end of an NYT clue means wordplay: a pun, a double meaning or a trick. This grid had 1; here are their numbers and answers.
- 51AAcross clue ending in “?” (13)
Reveal
SPREADTHEWORD
Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)
Answers in this NYT Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 291 puzzles since November 2025:
SET ×21ALE ×18YES ×13ANA ×11EEL ×11TRI ×11ESSO ×10IRA ×10
The full NYT Crossword solution
Show the solved grid
All 38 Across answers
1A STEP5A UCLA9A TIPSY14A LUXE15A BAIT16A AGREE17A OTIS18A ELMO19A LOOTS20A BUTTERFINGERS23A LES24A TAU25A CAT28A MABEL31A JELLYFISH34A AVA35A SAD36A PERUSE37A RANATAB40A PETITES41A SLALOM42A RAD43A TRI44A HONEYMOON46A HOOTS48A ANA49A IRA50A PUN51A SPREADTHEWORD58A IGLOO60A CIAO61A ALIA62A COURT63A LENT64A RACY65A EDGES66A ESSO67A DYES
All 40 Down answers
1D SLOB2D TUTU3D EXIT4D PESTLE5D UBERS6D CALF7D LIMITED8D ATONAL9D TALE10D IGOR11D PROSCIUTTO12D SET13D YES21D EEL22D GULPED26D ASSERT27D THESIS28D MARSHA29D AVALON30D BANANASLUG31D JAB32D YET33D FRI35D SAMMIE38D ALE39D TOY40D PAN42D ROADIES45D ORACLE46D HUE47D ONWARD50D PHOTO52D PORE53D ROTS54D TANS55D OLAY56D RICE57D DAYS58D ICE59D GOD
About This NYT Crossword
The NYT Crossword for Monday, August 31, 2026 was a 15×15 grid by Christopher Youngs, edited by Will Shortz. It had 78 answers and 37 black squares; the longest answer ran 13 letters. That is 1 more than the average Monday before it (76.9). 1 clue ended in a question mark.
Also on Aug 31: the NYT Mini Crossword and the NYT Midi Crossword.
Earlier August 2026 NYT Crossword Answers
Every earlier puzzle is in the NYT Crossword archive. For the newest one, see today's NYT Crossword answers, which switch to the next puzzle as soon as it's released.
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