NYT Midi Crossword Answers for Thursday, October 15, 2026: “Fall Colors”

Thursday, October 15, 2026 · Today's NYT Midi Crossword answers

OCT15

NYT Midi Crossword

Thursday, October 15, 2026

9×9“Fall Colors”By Zhou Zhang and Kevin CurryEdited by Ian Livengood

30 clues. Tap Reveal on any clue for just that answer, or open the full solution at the bottom.

This Midi was titled “Fall Colors” — the title hints at the theme. Clues that point at it: 20D.

Across

  1. 1Loops in on an email, for short (3)
    RevealCCS
  2. 4Animal on Wyoming's state flag (5)
    RevealBISON
  3. 9First animal in the Chinese zodiac (3)
    RevealRAT
  4. 10Right when expected (5)
    RevealONCUE
  5. 11"The loneliest number" (3)
    RevealONE
  6. 12"___ up, Doc?" (5)
    RevealWHATS
  7. 13Office space item (7)
    RevealSTAPLER
  8. 15___ Liu, portrayer of one of the Kens in "Barbie" (4)
    RevealSIMU
  9. 16Gather (4)
    RevealREAP
  10. 191938 novel adapted into a 1940 Hitchcock Academy Award winner (7)
    RevealREBECCA
  11. 21Common building material in a 14-Down (5)
    RevealADOBE
  12. 23Floor covering (3)
    RevealRUG
  13. 24Instrument in a string quartet (5)
    RevealVIOLA
  14. 25Mined rock (3)
    RevealORE
  15. 26Jouster's protection (5)
    RevealARMOR
  16. 27Used to be (3)
    RevealWAS

Down

  1. 1Organization with millions of annual blood donors (5)
    RevealCROSS
  2. 2"Pretty, pretty please?" (5)
    RevealCANTI
  3. 3Alternative to a sauna (9)
    RevealSTEAMROOM
  4. 4Annual college football game played in Florida (4)
    RevealBOWL
  5. 5Vague reply to "Where are you?" (6)
    RevealINHERE
  6. 6Figure in a cornfield (9)
    RevealSCARECROW
  7. 7"Are you in or ___?" (3)
    RevealOUT
  8. 8Super Mario Bros. platform, for short (3)
    RevealNES
  9. 14American Southwest community (6)
    RevealPUEBLO
  10. 17Honda's luxury brand (5)
    RevealACURA
  11. 18Paper-turned-digital phone directory (5)
    RevealPAGES
  12. 20Title animal of a 1967 children's book illustrated by Eric Carle (4)
    RevealBEAR
  13. 21Director DuVernay (3)
    RevealAVA
  14. 22North, east, west or south: Abbr. (3)
    RevealDIR
Crossword regulars in this grid (spoilers)

Answers in this NYT Midi Crossword that had shown up before, counted over the 232 puzzles since February 2026:

ONE ×14ORE ×11CCS ×6WAS ×4ARMOR ×3AVA ×3NES ×2OUT ×2

Show all 30 answers and the solved grid

Across: 1A CCS4A BISON9A RAT10A ONCUE11A ONE12A WHATS13A STAPLER15A SIMU16A REAP19A REBECCA21A ADOBE23A RUG24A VIOLA25A ORE26A ARMOR27A WAS

Down: 1D CROSS2D CANTI3D STEAMROOM4D BOWL5D INHERE6D SCARECROW7D OUT8D NES14D PUEBLO17D ACURA18D PAGES20D BEAR21D AVA22D DIR

About This NYT Midi Crossword

The NYT Midi for Thursday, October 15, 2026 was a 9×9 grid by Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry, edited by Ian Livengood, titled “Fall Colors”, with 30 clues; the longest answer ran 7 letters. That is 3 fewer than the average Thursday before it (33.4).

Also on Oct 15: the NYT Mini Crossword and the NYT Crossword.

Earlier October 2026 NYT Midi Crossword Answers

Oct 1Oct 2Oct 3Oct 4Oct 5Oct 6Oct 7Oct 8Oct 9Oct 10Oct 11Oct 12Oct 13Oct 14Oct 15

Every earlier puzzle is in the NYT Midi Crossword archive. For the newest one, see today's NYT Midi 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. Clues are quoted for reference.