NYT Crossword Answers for October 23, 2026

OCT23

NYT Crossword

Friday, October 23, 2026

15×15By Katie HoodyEdited by Will ShortzHard (themeless)

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

Reveal the 6 longest answers (usually the theme)

14A WHATAYEAR16A HORSERACE19A ACCESSORY50A DATINGTIP55A LUXURYTAX58A ONEMOMENT

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 4; here are their numbers and answers.

26AAcross clue ending in “?” (3)
Reveal
LEI
43AAcross clue ending in “?” (3)
Reveal
DEM
60AAcross clue ending in “?” (8)
Reveal
WASPNEST
49DDown clue ending in “?” (4)
Reveal
SEXT

Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)

Answers in this NYT Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 344 puzzles since November 2025:

SIS ×15ALOE ×13SLY ×13ADO ×12YET ×8LEI ×7OHIO ×7TEND ×7

The full NYT Crossword solution

Show the solved grid

1T2H3I4N5K6B7I8G9M10O11M12M13A14WHATAYEAR15AHEAD16HORSERACE17NITRO18USTA19ACCE20SSORY21PEEL22S23HENIE24OJ25S26LE27I28PBS29SNAP30F31LATM32ATE33CLONE34COOLOFF35A36SHAMED37LOGIN38T39ANLINES40ALOE41MEH42YET43DEM44DARI45N46FR47O48G49S50DA51TINGTI52P53HARE54BYNES55LUXU56RYTAX57BOINK58ONEMOMENT59QUADS60WASPNEST

All 34 Across answers

1A THINKBIG9A MOMMA14A WHATAYEAR15A AHEAD16A HORSERACE17A NITRO18A USTA19A ACCESSORY21A PEELS23A HENIE24A OJS26A LEI28A PBS29A SNAP30A FLATMATE33A CLONE34A COOLOFF35A ASHAMED37A LOGIN38A TANLINES40A ALOE41A MEH42A YET43A DEM44A DARIN46A FROGS50A DATINGTIP53A HARE54A BYNES55A LUXURYTAX57A BOINK58A ONEMOMENT59A QUADS60A WASPNEST

All 36 Down answers

1D THOSE2D HARTE3D ITSALLALIE4D NAE5D KYRA6D BEACH7D IACCEPT8D GREENBEAN9D MANSE10D OHIO11D METRONOME12D MARYJANES13D ADO14D WHUP20D SIS22D SETON25D SPED27D IMF29D SLANTRHYME30D FOOLEDYOU31D LOGOMANIA32D AFTERGLOW33D CHIEF34D CLAD36D SLY39D AHITUNA41D MAN44D DISKS45D NIXES47D OATES48D GRANT49D SEXT51D TEND52D PUMP54D BBQ56D RON

About This NYT Crossword

The NYT Crossword for Friday, October 23, 2026 was a 15×15 grid by Katie Hoody, edited by Will Shortz. It had 70 answers and 31 black squares; the longest answer ran 9 letters. That is about average for a Friday. 4 clues ended in a question mark.

Also on Oct 23: 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 20 Oct 21 Oct 22Oct 23

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.