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NYT Crossword — October 28, 2026

Wednesday’s 16 × 16 puzzle, 86 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 86 revealed

1B

2E

3N

4D

5E

6R

7O

8L

9E

10S

11O

12R

13A

14L

15A

R

E

O

L

A

16C

A

R

P

17R

U

B

E

18H

E

R

E

S

J

19O

H

N

N

Y

20I

N

C

A

21A

C

T

22B

R

A

S

23W

O

N

T

S

24I

T

S

25A

26L

27I

V

E

I

T

28S

A

L

I

V

E

29L

E

O

I

30O

X

E

N

31A

32F

33L

O

A

T

34E

35A

36R

L

Y

37G

38O

39B

40B

E

A

F

R

A

41I

D

B

E

42O

M

N

I

43B

U

N

T

44V

E

R

Y

45A

46F

R

A

I

D

47A

D

D

48A

49R

E

N

A

50S

L

A

N

T

S

51S

52I

L

O

53W

H

E

N

54I

55W

A

N

T

T

56O

57P

58L

A

Y

A

G

59A

60M

61E

62N

O

D

T

O

63S

L

U

G

64T

E

A

65T

W

E

E

66S

C

A

R

E

67Q

68U

69O

T

E

S

70O

M

A

N

71H

A

Z

E

72B

R

U

I

S

E

73W

E

L

D

74E

R

A

S

75S

L

I

C

E

D

Across

38 clues

1"Futurama" robot

7Stadium shouts

11Like some vaccines

15Colored part of an eye

16Fish whose name is a synonym for "complain"

17Gullible sort

18Jack Torrance, in "The Shining"

20Machu Picchu constructor

21Not remain silent, maybe

23Customary behaviors

24Dr. Frankenstein, in 1931's "Frankenstein"

29First in a line of 14 popes

31Not in financial trouble

40With 44-Across, Veronica Quaife, in "The Fly"

42Prefix with presence or science

43Light hit at the plate

44See 40-Across

48Megastar's venue

50Slopes to the side

51Isolate, in corporate-speak

53"Stop," as said to someone filling a cup

54Jigsaw, in "Saw"

62Silently acknowledge

64Matcha or Darjeeling

65Affectedly cute

66Indicators of irony … or a way to describe the answers to 18-, 24-, 40-/44- and 54-Across?

70United Arab Emirates neighbor

71Visibility impediment

72Boxing match result, maybe

73Join securely

74Historian's segments

Down

48 clues

1Religion with the key text Kitáb-i-Aqdas

2Build, as a building

3Old-timey "Darn!"

4One chasing the big bucks?

5Aboveground transports

6Colonial rule in India

7Brownish-yellow shade

8Hawaii's sixth-largest island

9German artist Max

10Profession in many Hitchcock films

11M.L.B. player whose cap has an orange visor

12Shuffling dance move popular in the 1990s

13"Abbott Elementary" airer

14One might be month-to-month

19"It's so clear," in slang

23Like some seals

26King who disowns Cordelia

28San José sun

31Popular band that had a 40-year gap (1981-2021) between its last two studio albums

32Fight à la the Capulets and Montagues

33Finalizes the business agreement, say

34Site of a tempting offer

35Pokémon critter with a yellow snout and short, pointed ears

36Jedi of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

38"Consider this taken care of"

39Actions at auctions

41"___ got bad news"

42Member of the genus Pongo, informally

45Like a used grill

48Etta James, vocally

49Cause a stink?

53Word with freeze or hike

54Being dragged along

55"Knock my socks off!"

56___ Isaac, Dr. Frankenstein portrayer in Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein"

58They might be shaped like minnows or flies

59Top-level storage space

60Group of antlered deer, humorously

61Made less severe

66The Beatles' "___ Came in Through the Bathroom Window"

67Jalen Hurts and Joe Montana, for two, informally

68Something to click

69Sí, across the Pyrenees

Click a clue for its own page with the answer and a short explanation.

Stats & info

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026

16×16

Grid size

86

Total entries

42/214

Black / letter cells

5.0

Avg entry length

16 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedOct 28, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorDaniel Grinberg

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split38 across · 48 down

Longest entries

24ADr. Frankenstein, in 1931's "Frankenstein"16 ltrs 54AJigsaw, in "Saw"16 ltrs 18AJack Torrance, in "The Shining"11 ltrs 66AIndicators of irony … or a way to describe the answers to 18-, 24-, 40-/44- and 54-Across?11 ltrs 40AWith 44-Across, Veronica Quaife, in "The Fly"10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 42 black squares and averages 5.0 letters per entry.