Daily Puzzle Solution
NYT Crossword
Friday, September 25, 2026
The New York Times crossword puzzle for Friday, September 25, 2026 features 70 clues. Today's puzzle has an average answer length of 5.5 letters. The longest answer is "GAMETHESYSTEM".
Total Clues
70
Longest
GAMETHESYSTEM
Avg Length
5.5
Shortest
ENO
Featured Clue
"Exploit a loophole, e.g."
13 Letters
GAMETHESYSTEM
ALLComplete Solution List
Olympic slalom equipment
5CANOE
Spanish sparkling wine
4CAVA
First, second, or third
4GEAR
For real
10IKIDYOUNOT
Fictional company famous for its duds
4ACME
Outcome of a match, maybe
10TINDERDATE
Forum setting
4ROME
U2 producer Brian
3ENO
Stew on it!
5LADLE
Like a whodunit in which the butler did it [duh!]
5BANAL
Device seen on a front desk
4BELL
Ho Chi Minh City's former name
6SAIGON
Exploit a loophole, e.g.
13GAMETHESYSTEM
Disinclined
6AVERSE
Supermodel Alek
3WEK
__ one's time
4BIDE
Procedure after which you might wear flip-flops, informally
4PEDI
__ off
5AMISS
__ Minor
4ASIA
Pen that isn't used for writing, in brief
4ECIG
"Karma is a cat / Purring in my ___ 'cause it loves me" (Taylor Swift lyric)
3LAP
Port on the Loire
6NANTES
Speaking of which ...
13THATREMINDSME
Like an earworm
6CATCHY
Play group?
4ACTS
Not bother
5LETBE
Rapper and actor Smith
5JADEN
Go-to doc
3PCP
Actress Shawkat
4ALIA
Ones providing brief assistance?
10PARALEGALS
Alliance
4BLOC
Invasive plants?
10ENEMYSPIES
One might be meat-only or dairy-only in a kosher household
4SINK
Morsels often found in fried rice
4PEAS
The devil's domain
5TAROT
Give credit to, in a way
4CITE
Analogous
4AKIN
___ Sarratore, "My Brilliant Friend" character
4NINO
___ how!
3ODD
Certain loopholes
7EYELETS
Spoon, e.g.
6CUDDLE
Second Freudian stage
4ANAL
Gives one's approval, in a way
8VOTESYES
Past-tense verb that becomes its present tense when you move its last letter to the front
3ATE
Sources of some rock
11GARAGEBANDS
Some experts of interest?
10ECONOMISTS
World capital once known as Philadelphia
5AMMAN
Instagram : ___ :: YouTube : Short
4REEL
Focus for the foul-mouthed?
10ORALHEALTH
Skosh
3BIT
Hang on a sec!
11BERIGHTBACK
Says "please," say
10ASKSNICELY
Look stunned
4GAPE
"___ plaisir" ("You're welcome," in French)
4AVEC
Breathtaking activity?
10MEDITATION
Take without paying ... or a motion made while paying
5SWIPE
Per
4DIEM
Slip into
4EASE
Ganja
8MARYJANE
Residence that can have thousands of chambers
7ANTNEST
Unreturnable pickleball shot
3ACE
Polite titles
6MADAMS
Instruments in chamber groups
5CELLI
Discovery sites
4LABS
What's distorted in a Mercator projection
4AREA
Part of a full house
4PAIR
Ptolemaic royal, familiarly
4CLEO
Poke alternative
4PSST
Vim
3PEP
Transcript fig.
3GPA