NYT Crossword Answers for Friday, October 2, 2026

Friday, October 2, 2026 · Today's NYT Crossword answers

OCT2

NYT Crossword

Friday, October 2, 2026

15×15By Joe MarquezEdited by Will ShortzHard (themeless)

Friday puzzle · 70 answers · Hard (themeless). Hints first; every answer is behind a button.

Reveal the 1 longest answers (usually the theme)

34A WHENCANYOUSTART

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 7; here are their numbers and answers.

  1. 1AAcross clue ending in “?” (4)
    RevealCLEF
  2. 14AAcross clue ending in “?” (10)
    RevealSWEETIEPIE
  3. 45AAcross clue ending in “?” (8)
    RevealPILOTING
  4. 3DDown clue ending in “?” (9)
    RevealEPILOGUES
  5. 11DDown clue ending in “?” (5)
    RevealLIEGE
  6. 35DDown clue ending in “?” (4)
    RevealCPAS
  7. 36DDown clue ending in “?” (4)
    RevealTINT
Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)

Answers in this NYT Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 323 puzzles since November 2025:

SOS ×11TIL ×11ORES ×10NBA ×9SLR ×8IDEA ×7SEC ×7AGUA ×5

The full NYT Crossword solution

Show the solved grid
All 35 Across answers

1A CLEF5A SLR8A TRULY13A RIPE14A SWEETIEPIE16A AMID17A HOTPILATES18A BEL19A MORMON20A DOGE21A CLOSEONE23A NOONES25A LIGER26A SCION28A AGUA29A WEALTH31A MGS34A WHENCANYOUSTART37A STS38A PRIMPS39A IDEA40A CANDY41A SNEER42A ASSISI45A PILOTING48A MOWN49A NOISES51A NBA52A IFEELGREAT54A SUEZ55A SIAMESECAT56A ISLE57A SATAN58A SEC59A MATS

All 35 Down answers

1D CRABCLAWS2D LIMELIGHT3D EPILOGUES4D FED5D SWORN6D LETMESAYMYPIECE7D REPO8D TIL9D READON10D UPTON11D LIEGE12D YESES14D SHOO15D TINNITUS19D MER22D SEAN24D OOHS27D CLOP29D WARNINGS30D ENID31D MADEINUSA32D GREENBELT33D STARGAZES35D CPAS36D TINT40D CINEMA41D SOS42D AMISS43D SOFIA44D SWEAT46D ISAAC47D LETT50D ORES53D LEN54D SIM

About This NYT Crossword

The NYT Crossword for Friday, October 2, 2026 was a 15×15 grid by Joe Marquez, edited by Will Shortz. It had 70 answers and 30 black squares; the longest answer ran 15 letters. That is about average for a Friday. 7 clues ended in a question mark.

Also on Oct 2: the NYT Mini Crossword and the NYT Midi Crossword.

Earlier October 2026 NYT Crossword Answers

Oct 1Oct 2

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.

Unofficial fan guide — not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. We publish answers only, not the clue text.