Daily Puzzle Solution
NYT Crossword
Thursday, May 21, 2026
The New York Times crossword puzzle for Thursday, May 21, 2026 features 78 clues. Today's puzzle has an average answer length of 4.8 letters. The longest answer is "BACKWARDSCAP".
Total Clues
78
Longest
BACKWARDSCAP
Avg Length
4.8
Shortest
AMT
Featured Clue
"timiL"
12 Letters
BACKWARDSCAP
ALLComplete Solution List
Gossiped-about duo
4ITEM
River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi
4NILE
Animal that expresses anger by spitting
5LLAMA
Curbside call
4TAXI
Egg's outline
4OVAL
Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt"
5AODAI
2000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan"
4STAN
St. Benedict, for one
4MONK
Central meeting points
5NODES
timiL
12BACKWARDSCAP
50¢ or $1: Abbr.
3AMT
Fish more formally known as a batomorph
3RAY
Capital of Portugal, to natives
6LISBOA
Crown of jewels
6DIADEM
Penultimate Greek letter
3PSI
One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man"
3ARM
Goat's cry
3MAA
Golfer's suppor-
9CUTOFFTEE
Move like a fox?
5SKULK
Get a lode of this
3ORE
John from Britain
5ELTON
<sup>Evade</sup>
9MINISKIRT
Bad beginning
3MAL
Like news that everyone already knows
3OLD
Legal boundaries?
3ELS
Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat
6TUXEDO
More melted, as a marshmallow
6GOOIER
Tree alongside a ski run
3FIR
Bro, e.g.
3SIB
P | u | n | c | h | e | s
12STRIPEDSOCKS
Sound of a perfect basketball shot
5SWISH
"Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden
4FURY
Ordered
4BADE
Increase, as interest
5PIQUE
German Ms.
4FRAU
Pupil's surroundings
4IRIS
Environmentalist Adams
5ANSEL
Site for many stars?
4YELP
Sounds of disapproval
4TSKS
Short negative review
6ITSBAD
Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom
6TATAMI
Bingo!
11EXACTAMUNDO
Stole material
4MINK
Southern denial
6NOMAAM
Something tickled on a piano
5IVORY
"Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)
4LAND
Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo
4ELKS
The so-called "Pineapple Isle"
5LANAI
Goes around and around
5LOOPS
Make sense, with "up"
3ADD
"Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles
3MAE
ChatGPT, Claude, etc.
3AIS
Inflicts
6WREAKS
Muse of history
4CLIO
Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically
11BATTLESCARS
Milkshake flavor
4OREO
Gospel shout
4AMEN
"Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945
4DALI
Contented sounds
5PURRS
"Changed my mind," in editing notation
4STET
Curl
4COIL
Hip-knee connectors
6FEMURS
Source of linseed oil
4FLAX
It's all a haze
4SMOG
Drug bust unit
4KILO
Model Miranda
4KERR
Make neat
6TIDYUP
Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name
6DIKDIK
Fixate
6OBSESS
Give out
5ISSUE
Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV
5ETHEL
Far from house-trained
5FERAL
Dodgy
4IFFY
100%
4PURE
End piece?
4OBIT
Belinda's business on "The White Lotus"
3SPA
Prevail
3WIN
Some test figs.
3IQS