NYT Crossword September 21, 2026 Answers

Across

1A Where Mongolia is 4 5A Scaredy-cat 4 9A Leafs (through) 5 14A Album for which Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize 4 15A Berry at a smoothie shop 4 16A Company behind the game Pong 5 17A Mentally pooped 15 20A 1960s service site, informally 3 21A Common injury site for a basketball player, informally 3 22A Thick, as plant growth 4 23A Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam 14 28A Commercial that may come with a jingle 7 29A Took a chair 3 30A Eager 4 31A Hair parter 4 34A Continue a subscription 5 38A Barely passing grade 3 39A Decade of W.W. II ... or a homophonic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 57-Across 7 41A Around 18, typically, for a high school graduate 3 42A Sometimes-floral organic compound 5 44A Draped Indian garment 4 45A ___-X (computer command to cut text) 4 46A Crosses (out) 3 48A Conjures up, say 7 50A "If I'm being honest ..." 14 54A Cook, in a way, as ahi tuna 4 55A Opposite of 'neath 3 56A Fools' mo. 3 57A "A fight requires more than one person" 15 63A "I'm available to help" 5 64A Modern note-taking aid 4 65A Plant in a marsh 4 66A Spanish babies 5 67A What a paper airplane icon may indicate 4 68A Thing in a grove 4

Down

1D Big letters in home security 3 2D ___ Paulo, Brazil 3 3D Comment that might follow "None for me, thanks" 9 4D Relief for an upset stomach 7 5D Simple two-player card game 3 6D Drink cooler 3 7D Angry with 5 8D Throw from a mound 5 9D Butter square 3 10D Any Olympian 7 11D First name of Julius Caesar 5 12D Artist Max 5 13D Worshiper in a turban 4 18D Texter's qualifier 4 19D Cries in a fútbol stadium 4 23D Barter 5 24D Roof overhangs 5 25D It may have a hard or soft shell 4 26D Things indicated by squiggly lines in cartoons 5 27D Paves the way? 4 32D N.Y.C. subway letters 3 33D Hardwood whose bark is sometimes used as paper 5 35D Leader of an 1831 revolt against slavery 9 36D Spearfishing bird 5 37D People of SW Britain 5 39D Without charge 4 40D The Emerald Isle 4 43D Like skydiving or cliff-diving 7 45D Dashboard or bumper 7 47D Place to put a coin 4 49D Coup d'___ 4 50D Joke with 5 51D Like some wine barrels 5 52D ___ and Clark 5 53D Familiar narrative device 5 54D Leave dumbfounded 4 58D French possessive 3 59D Catch some rays 3 60D Bizarre 3 61D "Golly!" 3 62D Poetic tribute 3