OCT3

NYT Crossword

Saturday, October 3, 2026

15×15By Kameron Austin CollinsEdited by Will ShortzHardest (themeless)

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

Reveal the 6 longest answers (usually the theme)

1A CHCHCHCHIA15A YOUAREHERE17A SUBLIMATES53A UPPERVOLTA56A DIANFOSSEY58A STRESSEATS

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 6; here are their numbers and answers.

  1. 28AAcross clue ending in “?” (5)
    RevealMINED
  2. 48AAcross clue ending in “?” (7)
    RevealBALDISH
  3. 52AAcross clue ending in “?” (4)
    RevealIDOS
  4. 58AAcross clue ending in “?” (10)
    RevealSTRESSEATS
  5. 13DDown clue ending in “?” (10)
    RevealESTATESALE
  6. 25DDown clue ending in “?” (10)
    RevealAVIDREADER
Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)

Answers in this NYT Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 324 puzzles since November 2025:

RES ×9OUR ×8PAR ×7CNET ×6HAS ×6RAD ×6YEN ×6ATTN ×5

The full NYT Crossword solution

Show the solved grid
All 34 Across answers

1A CHCHCHCHIA11A CNET15A YOUAREHERE16A ROSE17A SUBLIMATES18A ATTN19A TRACKER20A NOWWHAT22A YEN23A BEPOLITE24A SAVOY27A COP28A MINED29A OVEN30A BATARANGS32A NIL33A BON34A PEN35A BAO37A DVDEXTRAS40A LULU41A CREEL42A HAS43A VOTER44A DETAILED46A BOW47A RAWDEAL48A BALDISH52A IDOS53A UPPERVOLTA55A VERE56A DIANFOSSEY57A ERMA58A STRESSEATS

All 36 Down answers

1D CYST2D HOUR3D CUBA4D HALCYON5D CRIKEY6D HEMEN7D CHAR8D HET9D IRENEPAPAS10D AESOP11D CRAWLIN12D NOTHINGBUT13D ESTATESALE14D TENTED21D WOMAN23D BOT24D SON25D AVIDREADER26D VELVETWORM27D CANTHELPIT30D BOX31D RES33D BELIE36D OUR38D DEADSEA39D RAD40D LOWDOSE41D CDRIVE43D VOLVOS45D LAUDS46D BARFS48D BENE49D ILSA50D STET51D HAYS54D PAR

About This NYT Crossword

The NYT Crossword for Saturday, October 3, 2026 was a 15×15 grid by Kameron Austin Collins, edited by Will Shortz. It had 70 answers and 27 black squares; the longest answer ran 10 letters. That is 2 more than the average Saturday before it (67.6). 6 clues ended in a question mark.

Also on Oct 3: the NYT Mini Crossword and the NYT Midi Crossword.

Earlier October 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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