Daily Puzzle Solution
NYT Crossword
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
The New York Times crossword puzzle for Wednesday, September 30, 2026 features 72 clues. Today's puzzle has an average answer length of 5.3 letters. The longest answer is "SURPRISEPARTY".
Total Clues
72
Longest
SURPRISEPARTY
Avg Length
5.3
Shortest
SSE
Featured Clue
"<i>Planet!</i>"
13 Letters
SURPRISEPARTY
ALLComplete Solution List
Much-used pencil
4STUB
Composed
4CALM
A bit off
5ASKEW
Isle that's the traditional burial site of Scottish kings
4IONA
Mayberry kid on old TV
4OPIE
Sharp increase
5SPIKE
<i>Market!</i>
9EXAMPAPER
Walked while fraught with worry, say
5PACED
Like a moon that is not full but is more than half visible
7GIBBOUS
Administrative role
5CLERK
Sign up
6ENLIST
<i>Ticket!</i>
8CHECKBOX
Nottingham-to-London dir.
3SSE
It WAS you!
4THOU
Attributed writer of the third Gospel
6STLUKE
Culinary connoisseur
6FOODIE
GPS's guesses
4ETAS
<i>Planet!</i>
13SURPRISEPARTY
Desert landform
4DUNE
San Francisco team, informally
6NINERS
Best and most awesome, in slang
6ILLEST
Times Sq. squad
4NYPD
Humanities degs.
3BAS
<i>Packet!</i>
8SUITCASE
Person's bidding
6BEHEST
Need for a greedy Swede?
5KRONA
Great flair
7PANACHE
Nail a test
5ACEIT
<i>Locket!</i>
9FRONTDOOR
Pie-in-the-face sound
5SPLAT
Sized up
4EYED
Hightailed it
4TORE
How a trickster might behave
5SLYLY
Group in a gym routine
4SETS
Margarine
4OLEO
Drawn-out attacks
6SIEGES
Things to be cleansed from the body
6TOXINS
Powerless
6UNABLE
Movie with the record for the longest time between its release and the release of its sequel (63 years)
5BAMBI
Writing partner
8COAUTHOR
Many tech start-up ideas
4APPS
Trust eroder
3LIE
Some concert gear, informally
5MERCH
Feature?
6ASPECT
They might get lit at a birthday celebration
9SPARKLERS
Be super-successful, in slang
8KICKBUTT
Scrape (by)
3EKE
Give a ring, say
3WED
Surgery recovery period, in brief
6POSTOP
"___ Troyens" (five-hour French opera)
3LES
Collection of dishes
7CUISINE
Up to snuff
4OKAY
Treasure map markings
3XES
God whose name has one "I," fittingly
4ODIN
Offer from many a streaming service
9FREETRIAL
Start of a counting rhyme
4EENY
Star Trek helmsman
4SULU
Doubtful
8UNLIKELY
Musical promoters of school spirit
8PEPBANDS
Impassioned
6ARDENT
Insult
3DIS
Star Trek engineer
6SCOTTY
Trig function that can output every real number
3TAN
"Don't freak out, dude"
6BECOOL
Where landlubbers are at home
6ASHORE
It often features panels with speakers
6STEREO
Targets of some heists
5SAFES
Was out of other options
5HADTO
Word found at the start of "Poe, to name one"
4POET
Burro
3ASS
Rank below Sgt.
3CPL
Bread choice
3RYE