NYT Crossword Answers for October 21, 2026

OCT21

NYT Crossword

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

15×15By Rebecca GoldsteinEdited by Will ShortzMedium

Wednesday puzzle · 74 answers · Medium. Hints first; every answer is behind a button.

Reveal the 4 longest answers (usually the theme)

17A PARKINGFINE28A MOVINGAVERAGE42A BUILDINGSUPER56A PASTPERFECT

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 2; here are their numbers and answers.

15AAcross clue ending in “?” (4)
Reveal
LANE
19AAcross clue ending in “?” (3)
Reveal
LSD

Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)

Answers in this NYT Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 342 puzzles since November 2025:

ERA ×29REN ×16ETS ×11AFRO ×10AVE ×10LSD ×10ANN ×9ELM ×8

The full NYT Crossword solution

Show the solved grid

1K2I3S4S5U6P7A8L9A10N11F12I13B14ARCANE15LANE16UTA17PARKIN18GFINE19LSD20UTES21GRAD22D23ULLS24TEA25OUI26B27UMKNEE28M29OVIN30GAVERAGE31REN32ERA33AMID34A35T36EIN37WOE38DIETS39LOMO40BAR41SON42BUIL43DING44SUPE45R46AGREEON47ENE48E49L50M51CHASE52A53CED54AVIA55ONT56P57ASTPE58RFECT59RUE60EVER61CARRIE62ETS63REEL64KNOTTY

All 39 Across answers

1A KISSUP7A ALAN11A FIB14A ARCANE15A LANE16A UTA17A PARKINGFINE19A LSD20A UTES21A GRAD22A DULLS24A TEA25A OUI26A BUMKNEE28A MOVINGAVERAGE31A REN32A ERA33A AMID34A ATEIN37A WOE38A DIETS39A LOMO40A BAR41A SON42A BUILDINGSUPER46A AGREEON47A ENE48A ELM51A CHASE52A ACED54A AVIA55A ONT56A PASTPERFECT59A RUE60A EVER61A CARRIE62A ETS63A REEL64A KNOTTY

All 35 Down answers

1D KAPUT2D IRATE3D SCREAM4D SAKS5D UNI6D PENGUIN7D ALFA8D LAIDBARE9D ANN10D NEEDME11D FULLNAME12D ITSLEGIT13D BADSEEDS18D GRIN23D UKRAINE25D OVEN27D UVA29D ORIOLES30D GEORG34D ALBACORE35D TOUGHNUT36D EMIRATES37D WANNASEE38D DOPE40D BIO41D SUNDECK43D DEEPER44D SEEP45D REVERT49D LICIT50D MATEY53D CTRL54D AFRO57D AVE58D RAN

About This NYT Crossword

The NYT Crossword for Wednesday, October 21, 2026 was a 15×15 grid by Rebecca Goldstein, edited by Will Shortz. It had 74 answers and 34 black squares; the longest answer ran 13 letters. That is 3 fewer than the average Wednesday before it (76.6). 2 clues ended in a question mark.

Also on Oct 21: the NYT Mini Crossword and the NYT Midi Crossword.

Earlier October 2026 NYT Crossword Answers

Oct 1 Oct 2 Oct 3 Oct 4 Oct 5 Oct 6 Oct 7 Oct 8 Oct 9 Oct 10 Oct 11 Oct 12 Oct 13 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct 16 Oct 17 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 20Oct 21

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.