NYT Crossword December 21 2025 Answers (12/21/25)

We have all of the answers to the NYT Crossword puzzle for December 21 2025 to help you finish it up!

Our NYT Crossword December 21, 2025 answers guide should help you finish today’s crossword if you’ve found yourself stuck on a crossword clue. The NYT Crossword is a daily puzzle that tests solvers’ knowledge and vocabulary. It’s one of the most popular crosswords in the world, known for its challenging clues and clever wordplay. The puzzle is published in the print edition of The New York Times and is also available online.

NYT Crossword December 21, 2025 Answers

If you need help solving the NYT Crossword on 12/21/25, we’ve listed all of the crossword clues below so you can find the answer(s) you need. You can search for the clue and then select the appropriate clue to get the answer. We have done it this way so that if you’re just looking for a handful of clues, you won’t spoil other ones you’re working on!

Looking for answers to another NYT Crossword puzzle? Check out our archive of NYT Crossword Answers.

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# Clue
1A Some Arctic transports
10A S.E.C. football powerhouse, for short
14A 1950s hangout with a jukebox
20A Game piece made of four squares
21A "The Kite Runner" protagonist
22A Skulks
23A Joins gradually
24A "Doggone it!"
25A Treatment
26A Blue colorant obtained from the indigo plant
27A Wrangler alternative
28A Brightly colored Mediterranean flowers
30A Rap's Run-___
31A Course catalog?
32A When Aries transitions to Taurus
34A Sweetly, on scores
35A "I'll pass"
36A Input of certain mining
38A Montalbán who played Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
40A Timer setting
42A Areas of influence
45A Mental health org.
46A Fraudulently make seem like
48A Covers completely
49A Wyoming peak
51A Like a corporation with a new logo, perhaps
54A Comment from someone caught in the rain
56A Yellow avenue in Monopoly
58A A bit off, say
59A Hyatt alternative
60A Hard-boiled genre
62A TheForce.net for "Star Wars," for example
64A Dark side
65A Former big name in browsers
67A U.F.O.-watching org.
68A By way of, informally
70A Kemo ___ (the Lone Ranger)
71A Sailor's patron
72A Fleetwood Mac hit named for a Celtic goddess
76A Daddy
79A Eponymous British financier James ___
81A By saying this you mean well
82A Wrap seller
83A Adopted, as a pet
85A Wasn't folded in a suitcase, say
87A Developed, as baby teeth
89A Sci-fi miniaturizer
91A Emanations
93A Boldly face
94A Kind of cipher in which A becomes B, B becomes C, e.g.
95A Guardians, on a scoreboard
96A Bit of birdspeak
98A Damp, mildewy quality
99A They hold water
102A Silence
103A Lying faceup
104A ___ Park, Calif.
105A Air
107A Disney subsidiary
111A A little help?
112A Evaded, as a sensitive issue
114A Some pings, in brief
115A "Fie on ___!" (Shakespearean cry)
116A Skips over
118A Few and far between
119A Regulars at parks with ramps, informally
121A Reply after having one's memory jogged
122A Some time ago
123A "What's done is done!"
124A Stick (to)
125A Garden interloper
126A Church parts crossing naves
1D Make furious
2D "The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil ___
3D Tennis line judge's ruling
4D Duke Ellington classic with the lyric "That was my heart serenading you"
5D West side of L.A.?
6D "Is there still time for me to join you?"
7D 51 to the hour
8D Stage direction
9D Phillipa of Broadway
10D Grammy winner Erykah
11D ___ Gorman, "The Hill We Climb" poet
12D Copy
13D Iced-tea-and-lemonade refreshments
14D Spending romp
15D Output of certain mining
16D Counterpart of a sub
17D Fast start?
18D Father, familiarly
19D Mentally overpower, with "out"
28D Like most moccasins
29D Great Dane of cartoons, informally
33D More livid
37D Keister, in Leicester
39D 2015 chart-topping hit for the Weeknd
40D Symbolic for its time
41D Shoe company with an iconic checkerboard design
42D Descendant
43D Apple: Fr.
44D Is without
47D Rabid in appearance
50D Woman's nickname that sounds like two letters
51D Rice-A-___
52D "Borderlands" director ___ Roth
53D Hiding place
55D Gene pools?
57D Org. with its own alphabet
61D Abbr. not found on most smartphones
63D "Aren't ___ lucky one?!"
66D It has a lot of secretaries
67D Shirt collar stiffener
69D Where to find six "presents" in this puzzle?
71D Knock ’em dead
72D Coolidge who sang the theme for "Octopussy"
73D Just getting started with
74D Green shade
75D What Joe Montana was in the '80s
76D A TD scores six of these
77D "Fancy, that!"
78D Prickly denizen of coral reefs
80D Famed lawyer in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial
81D Most minimal
84D Some Korean exports
86D Calmed deceptively
88D Baseball slugger's stat
90D Bird used to deliver messages on "Game of Thrones"
92D Blueprints
97D Author Zora Neale ___
98D Noodled on, with "over"
100D Girlfriend in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
101D Informant
103D "Ta-ta!"
104D Tricky pool shot
106D Someone enjoying a walk in the park
108D Mentally with it
109D ___ four
110D Fits one inside the other
112D Porcine : pigs :: cervine : ___
113D Essential
117D It might be good for a change
119D One who knows the drill?: Abbr.
120D Teslas, e.g., for short

We also recommend trying your hand at the NYT Mini Crossword, which is definitely easier (on all days!) as it is a 5×5, compared to the full-sized crossword (which is 15×15, and the Sunday edition is 21×21!). New crosswords are released at 10PM ET on weekdays and 6PM ET on weekends.

The New York Times crossword was first published in The New York Times in 1942 and has been a daily feature ever since. It is known for its high level of difficulty and for its clever, often playful, clues and themes. The puzzles range in size from 15x15 grids on weekdays to larger 21x21 grids on Sundays, with varying levels of difficulty.

Interior Nyt Crossword 002

The New York Times crossword is created by a team of skilled puzzle constructors and editors, who work to ensure that each puzzle is both entertaining and challenging for solvers. The puzzles are often themed, with clues and answers related to a particular subject or concept, and they frequently feature wordplay and puns.

NYT Crossword (Main Grid)
Image via NYT Crossword

Solving the New York Times crossword has become a beloved pastime for many, and there are even competitions and clubs devoted to crossword puzzle solving. The New York Times crossword is available in print in the newspaper and online, and it has a dedicated following of loyal solvers who eagerly await each day's puzzle.

If you’re still struggling to solve your NYT crosswords, consider practicing with the Eugene Sheffer and Thomas Joseph dailies first. If you’re looking for similarly challenging crosswords, we recommend the WSJ Crossword and LA Times Crossword.

Christine Mielke

Christine Mielke

Christine Mielke has been an avid fan of word games and puzzles for over two decades. She loves to unscramble words, challenge herself to crossword puzzles and try out the latest word games. As a published author and database architect, it was natural for her to take her love for all things word games to the next level!

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