NYT CROSSWORD • THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026

NYT Crossword Answers May 21, 2026

Complete answer list for the May 21, 2026 New York Times Crossword. Across and Down, every clue, every answer — plus the full grid below.

By Zhou Zhang and Mallory MontgomeryEdited by Will ShortzGrid 15×1578 clues

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TUEMAY
19
2026
By Brad Wiegmann
WEDMAY
20
2026
By Kathleen Duncan
THUMAY
21
2026
By Zhou Zhang and Mallory Mon…
FRIMAY
22
2026
By Gene Louise De Vera
SATMAY
23
2026
By Kameron Austin Collins

The Grid

1I
2T
3E
4M
5N
6I
7L
8E
9L
10L
11A
12M
13A
14T
A
X
I
15O
V
A
L
16A
O
D
A
I
17S
T
A
N
18M
O
N
K
19N
O
D
E
S
20B
A
C
K
21W
A
R
D
S
22C
A
P
23A
M
T
24R
A
Y
25L
I
S
26B
27O
28A
29D
I
A
30D
E
M
31P
32S
I
33A
R
M
34M
A
A
35C
U
T
O
36F
37F
T
E
E
38S
39K
U
L
K
40O
R
E
41E
L
T
O
N
42M
I
N
I
S
43K
I
R
T
44M
A
L
45O
L
D
46E
L
S
47T
U
X
E
48D
49O
50G
O
O
51I
52E
R
53F
I
R
54S
I
B
55S
T
R
56I
57P
E
D
S
58O
C
K
S
59S
60W
61I
S
H
62F
U
R
Y
63B
A
D
E
64P
I
Q
U
E
65F
R
A
U
66I
R
I
S
67A
N
S
E
L
68Y
E
L
P
69T
S
K
S

Click a clue to reveal it in the grid.

Across 39

  1. 1Gossiped-about duo ↗ITEM
  2. 5River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi ↗NILE
  3. 9Animal that expresses anger by spitting ↗LLAMA
  4. 14Curbside call ↗TAXI
  5. 15Egg's outline ↗OVAL
  6. 16Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt" ↗AODAI
  7. 172000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan" ↗STAN
  8. 18St. Benedict, for one ↗MONK
  9. 19Central meeting points ↗NODES
  10. 20timiL ↗BACKWARDSCAP
  11. 2350¢ or $1: Abbr. ↗AMT
  12. 24Fish more formally known as a batomorph ↗RAY
  13. 25Capital of Portugal, to natives ↗LISBOA
  14. 29Crown of jewels ↗DIADEM
  15. 31Penultimate Greek letter ↗PSI
  16. 33One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" ↗ARM
  17. 34Goat's cry ↗MAA
  18. 35Golfer's suppor- ↗CUTOFFTEE
  19. 38Move like a fox ↗SKULK
  20. 40Get a lode of this! ↗ORE
  21. 41John from Britain ↗ELTON
  22. 42Evade ↗MINISKIRT
  23. 44"Bad" beginning ↗MAL
  24. 45Like news that everyone already knows ↗OLD
  25. 46Legal boundaries? ↗ELS
  26. 47Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat ↗TUXEDO
  27. 50More melted, as a marshmallow ↗GOOIER
  28. 53Tree alongside a ski run ↗FIR
  29. 54Bro, e.g. ↗SIB
  30. 55P | u | n | c | h | e | s ↗STRIPEDSOCKS
  31. 59Sound of a perfect basketball shot ↗SWISH
  32. 62"Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden ↗FURY
  33. 63Ordered ↗BADE
  34. 64Increase, as interest ↗PIQUE
  35. 65German Ms. ↗FRAU
  36. 66Pupil's surroundings ↗IRIS
  37. 67Environmentalist Adams ↗ANSEL
  38. 68Site for many stars? ↗YELP
  39. 69Sounds of disapproval ↗TSKS

Down 39

  1. 1Short negative review ↗ITSBAD
  2. 2Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom ↗TATAMI
  3. 3"Bingo!" ↗EXACTAMUNDO
  4. 4Stole material ↗MINK
  5. 5Southern denial ↗NOMAAM
  6. 6Something tickled on a piano ↗IVORY
  7. 7"Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying) ↗LAND
  8. 8Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo ↗ELKS
  9. 9The so-called "Pineapple Isle" ↗LANAI
  10. 10Goes around and around ↗LOOPS
  11. 11Make sense, with "up" ↗ADD
  12. 12"Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles ↗MAE
  13. 13ChatGPT, Claude, etc. ↗AIS
  14. 21Inflicts ↗WREAKS
  15. 22Muse of history ↗CLIO
  16. 26Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically ↗BATTLESCARS
  17. 27Milkshake flavor ↗OREO
  18. 28Gospel shout ↗AMEN
  19. 30"Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945 ↗DALI
  20. 31Contented sounds ↗PURRS
  21. 32"Changed my mind," in editing notation ↗STET
  22. 35Curl ↗COIL
  23. 36Hip-knee connectors ↗FEMURS
  24. 37Source of linseed oil ↗FLAX
  25. 38It's all a haze ↗SMOG
  26. 39Drug bust unit ↗KILO
  27. 43Model Miranda ↗KERR
  28. 47Make neat ↗TIDYUP
  29. 48Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name ↗DIKDIK
  30. 49Fixate ↗OBSESS
  31. 51Give out ↗ISSUE
  32. 52Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV ↗ETHEL
  33. 53Far from house-trained ↗FERAL
  34. 56Dodgy ↗IFFY
  35. 57100% ↗PURE
  36. 58End piece? ↗OBIT
  37. 59Belinda's business on "The White Lotus" ↗SPA
  38. 60Prevail ↗WIN
  39. 61Some test figs. ↗IQS