NYT Crossword Answers and Hints for Friday, Nov. 6, 2026: Seven Question-Mark Clues, 70 in All

The New York Times (NYT) Crossword for Friday, Nov. 6, 2026: a hint for all 70 of Aidan Deshong's clues, seven question-mark tricks explained, then answers.

By Fresh Calendars News Desk

Published November 6, 2026, 12:50 p.m. ET 11 min read

NYT Crossword answers for Nov. 6, 2026: a blank 15 by 15 crossword grid with one row highlighted — The New York Times Crossword for Friday, Nov. 6, 2026; hints come first, the full list of answers at the end. Illustration: Fresh Calendars

In this article

The seven question-mark clues in Friday’s grid
Hints for every clue
How Friday’s grid is built
Today’s NYT Crossword answers (spoilers)

The New York Times (NYT) Crossword for Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, was constructed by Aidan Deshong and edited by Will Shortz: a 15-by-15 grid with 70 clues. Seven of them carry a question mark, which usually signals a pun or a shifted meaning, so this page spends a section on how each one works. Each clue below has a hint that stays shut until you tap it, and the answers wait at the end.

The seven question-mark clues in Friday’s grid

Seven clues in the data end in a question mark. None of the explanations below names an answer.

1-Across, “Dating around?” Think of “dating” as fixing a year to an old object, and read “around” as “approximately.” The answer is a Latin word used before a year.
16-Across, “Stock exchange?” “Stock” here is not a share of a company. It is what a farmer keeps in a field, and the “exchange” is the noise it makes. Four letters.
25-Across, “Theater directors?” Nobody here calls “action.” The directors point audience members along an aisle, and the answer is a plural job title.
53-Across, “Well-funded group?” Treat “well” as a hole in the ground rather than a way of being healthy. The group is a bloc of countries, and the answer is a four-letter acronym.
11-Down, “Help line?” The line is a sentence you say aloud, not a phone number. It is how someone asks for a favor, and the answer runs four words together to fill 10 squares.
30-Down, “Greenish black rock?” Each adjective carries a double meaning: the first is about the environment, the second about a mineral that burns. The answer is two words run together.
47-Down, “Speak to a higher-up?” The boss in question is not at the office. Ask yourself whom people address in a quiet moment, and the answer is a four-letter verb.

Hints for every clue

One note before you start: the clue for 5-Down quotes the code of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and the hint for it builds on that.

Across

1-Across (5 letters), Dating around?
approximately, in Latin; the clue plays on dating an object to a year; it starts with C and ends with A.
Show the answer
Circa
6-Across (4 letters), Noodles often served with tsuyu sauce
thin Japanese buckwheat noodles; it starts with S and ends with A.
Show the answer
Soba
10-Across (4 letters), ___ Spalding, 1984 Oscar-winning role for Sally Field
a woman’s first name, the film role named in the clue; it starts with E and ends with A.
Show the answer
Edna
14-Across (10 letters), “Pay up!”
a saying that a wager must be honored, four short words run together; it starts with A and ends with T.
Show the answer
Abetisabet
16-Across (4 letters), Stock exchange?
the sound livestock make; see the wordplay section; it starts with M and ends with S.
Show the answer
Moos
17-Across (10 letters), Soda once advertised as “Shockingly refreshing”
a soda brand, two words run together, the first a rugged mountain range; it starts with S and ends with T.
Show the answer
Sierramist
18-Across (4 letters), City west of Cedar Rapids
an Iowa city, home to a state university; it starts with A and ends with S.
Show the answer
Ames
19-Across (3 letters), “Should’ve known better!”
a disapproving sound with no vowel in it; it starts with T and ends with K.
Show the answer
Tsk
20-Across (5 letters), Blue Ribbon brewer
the surname on a beer label with a blue ribbon; it starts with P and ends with T.
Show the answer
Pabst
21-Across (5 letters), Italian city that lent its name to a color
a Tuscan city whose name also labels an earthy paint shade; it starts with S and ends with A.
Show the answer
Siena
22-Across (4 letters), Drink served with an extra-wide straw
the chewy tapioca pearls in a milk tea; it starts with B and ends with A.
Show the answer
Boba
23-Across (7 letters), Woman who prefers tabbies over terriers
a stereotype of an animal lover, two words run together, the first a feline; it starts with C and ends with Y.
Show the answer
Catlady
25-Across (6 letters), Theater directors?
staff who lead you to your row; see the wordplay section; it starts with U and ends with S.
Show the answer
Ushers
28-Across (6 letters), Scrolls that may be read from a bimah
the plural of a sacred Jewish scroll; it starts with T and ends with S.
Show the answer
Torahs
29-Across (5 letters), Billboard list
a weekly ranking of hit songs; it starts with C and ends with T.
Show the answer
Chart
30-Across (9 letters), Popular hangout spots of the 1990s
online spots for live typed conversation, two words run together, plural; it starts with C and ends with S.
Show the answer
Chatrooms
33-Across (5 letters), Video game character with a spiky head
a fast blue hedgehog from video games; it starts with S and ends with C.
Show the answer
Sonic
34-Across (3 letters), Article in a French newspaper
the plural French word for “the”; it starts with L and ends with S.
Show the answer
Les
35-Across (5 letters), Hollywood’s Shire or Balsam
a first name shared by two actors named in the clue; it starts with T and ends with A.
Show the answer
Talia
36-Across (9 letters), “Good grief!”
a folksy mild oath whose first three letters spell a pet; it starts with D and ends with T.
Show the answer
Doggoneit
38-Across (5 letters), Are
a verb meaning to be real; it starts with E and ends with T.
Show the answer
Exist
39-Across (6 letters), “Good grief!”
a two-word exclamation of mild dismay, run together; it starts with O and ends with R.
Show the answer
Ohdear
40-Across (6 letters), People believe in them
plural of a Latin word for a statement of belief; it starts with C and ends with S.
Show the answer
Credos
41-Across (7 letters), Item for a desert hike
a water container carried on a trail; it starts with C and ends with N.
Show the answer
Canteen
43-Across (4 letters), Group in blue
slang for police officers, whose uniform is the blue in the clue; it starts with C and ends with S.
Show the answer
Cops
44-Across (5 letters), Ones shopping at a souk, say
a plural word for people of a region where souks are common; it starts with A and ends with S.
Show the answer
Arabs
45-Across (5 letters), Main role in “The Nutcracker”
the girl’s first name in a holiday ballet; it starts with C and ends with A.
Show the answer
Clara
47-Across (3 letters), Lead-in to face or fix
a prefix meaning before; it starts with P and ends with E.
Show the answer
Pre
50-Across (4 letters), City north of Chandler
an Arizona city; its name is also a flat-topped landform; it starts with M and ends with A.
Show the answer
Mesa
51-Across (10 letters), “You should keep that story to yourself”
a blunt dismissal, three words run together, the first a number; it starts with N and ends with S.
Show the answer
Noonecares
53-Across (4 letters), Well-funded group?
an oil-producing nations’ group, known by its acronym; see the wordplay section; it starts with O and ends with C.
Show the answer
Opec
54-Across (10 letters), Reuben sandwich topping
fermented cabbage with a German name; it starts with S and ends with T.
Show the answer
Sauerkraut
55-Across (4 letters), Fire
to dismiss from a job; it starts with S and ends with K.
Show the answer
Sack
56-Across (4 letters), Secondary accounts in online gaming
short for alternate profiles; it starts with A and ends with S.
Show the answer
Alts
57-Across (5 letters), Service replaced by Teams
a video-calling service; it starts with S and ends with E.
Show the answer
Skype

Down

1-Down (4 letters), Something often signed by friends
plaster on a broken limb, signed by friends; it starts with C and ends with T.
Show the answer
Cast
2-Down (4 letters), Sacred bird of ancient Egypt
a long-billed wading bird; it starts with I and ends with S.
Show the answer
Ibis
3-Down (4 letters), Offend the nostrils
to smell strongly and badly; it starts with R and ends with K.
Show the answer
Reek
4-Down (3 letters), Football snapper: Abbr.
the abbreviated name of the position that snaps the ball; it starts with C and ends with R.
Show the answer
Ctr
5-Down (12 letters), JFK and others
the three-letter tags on luggage labels, two words run together; it starts with A and ends with S.
Show the answer
Airportcodes
6-Down (5 letters), Carnival dance
a Brazilian dance; it starts with S and ends with A.
Show the answer
Samba
7-Down (4 letters), Kimono closers
wide sashes tied around a kimono; it starts with O and ends with S.
Show the answer
Obis
8-Down (9 letters), California’s locale, according to natives’ lingo
a slang nickname for the Pacific side of America, two words run together; it starts with B and ends with T.
Show the answer
Bestcoast
9-Down (3 letters), Court figure: Abbr.
short for the lawyer in a courtroom; it starts with A and ends with T.
Show the answer
Att
10-Down (11 letters), Messages sent from @nicrosoft.com addresses, perhaps
fake messages that imitate a famous software company’s address, two words run together; it starts with E and ends with S.
Show the answer
Emailhoaxes
11-Down (10 letters), Help line?
a casual way to ask for a favor, four words run together; see the wordplay section; it starts with D and ends with D.
Show the answer
Domeasolid
12-Down (5 letters), Without limit
two words run together, a phrase meaning without limit; it starts with N and ends with D.
Show the answer
Noend
13-Down (5 letters), Certain chemistry test
a lab test of a metal’s purity; it starts with A and ends with Y.
Show the answer
Assay
15-Down (5 letters), Onetime major Scandinavian exports
plural of a Swedish car brand; it starts with S and ends with S.
Show the answer
Saabs
21-Down (12 letters), Some collections of essentials
bundles of basics for a newcomer, two words run together; it starts with S and ends with S.
Show the answer
Starterpacks
22-Down (11 letters), “Give me one moment …”
a promise to return shortly, three words run together; it starts with B and ends with K.
Show the answer
Berightback
24-Down (3 letters), It’s “what you make others see,” per Degas
creative works in a gallery; it starts with A and ends with T.
Show the answer
Art
25-Down (4 letters), Scripps Institution of Oceanography sch.
four initials of the school the clue’s institute belongs to; it starts with U and ends with D.
Show the answer
Ucsd
26-Down (4 letters), Cry to a fly
a word to scare off a pest; it starts with S and ends with O.
Show the answer
Shoo
27-Down (10 letters), “Give me one moment …”
a request to wait, four words run together; it starts with H and ends with C.
Show the answer
Hangonasec
28-Down (5 letters), Not our
a plural possessive pronoun; it starts with T and ends with R.
Show the answer
Their
30-Down (9 letters), Greenish black rock?
two words run together; see the wordplay section; it starts with C and ends with L.
Show the answer
Cleancoal
31-Down (4 letters), Soup often drunk directly from the bowl
a fermented soybean paste in a Japanese soup; it starts with M and ends with O.
Show the answer
Miso
32-Down (4 letters), Exams with a median score of about 1030
standardized college entrance tests, plural; it starts with S and ends with S.
Show the answer
Sats
37-Down (3 letters), French word in a wedding announcement
French for born, used before a maiden name; it starts with N and ends with E.
Show the answer
Nee
40-Down (5 letters), Apple device
a tool that removes an apple’s center; it starts with C and ends with R.
Show the answer
Corer
41-Down (5 letters), Paintball outfits, informally
short for camouflage outfits; it starts with C and ends with S.
Show the answer
Camos
42-Down (5 letters), Flatbread that might be served with cuajada
a griddled corn cake from Latin America; it starts with A and ends with A.
Show the answer
Arepa
43-Down (5 letters), University of Miami athletes, informally
nickname for a Florida university’s teams; it starts with C and ends with S.
Show the answer
Canes
46-Down (4 letters), Uncouth sort
a boorish person; it starts with L and ends with T.
Show the answer
Lout
47-Down (4 letters), Speak to a higher-up?
a verb for speaking to a deity; see the wordplay section; it starts with P and ends with Y.
Show the answer
Pray
48-Down (4 letters), Volunteer for more
to sign on again for another term; it starts with R and ends with P.
Show the answer
Reup
49-Down (4 letters), Ciudad del ___, Paraguay’s second-largest city
the Spanish word for east; it starts with E and ends with E.
Show the answer
Este
51-Down (3 letters), Largest employer of mathematicians in the U.S., for short
a U.S. intelligence agency known by three initials; it starts with N and ends with A.
Show the answer
Nsa
52-Down (3 letters), Noted animal shelter
Noah’s boat; it starts with A and ends with K.
Show the answer
Ark

How Friday’s grid is built

The grid has 195 letters and 30 black squares. Thursday’s, by David P. Williams, had 78 clues and 36 black squares, so today’s has eight fewer clues and six fewer black squares.

By length, the 70 entries break down this way: nine of 3 letters, 22 of 4, 19 of 5, four of 6, two of 7, four of 9, six of 10, two of 11 and two of 12. Both 12-letter entries run Down, 5-Down from the top row and 21-Down from the fourth row. The 10-letter entries are 14-Across, 17-Across, 51-Across, 54-Across, 11-Down and 27-Down.

The rules for the daily grid are collected on our NYT Crossword page, and with 70 clues today, the hints above are the quick way back in after a stall.

Mark the solving days on our printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More of Friday’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints, Strands hints, Spelling Bee hints and Pips hints. The smaller siblings for the same date are our Mini answers for Nov. 6 and our Midi answers for Nov. 6.

Today’s NYT Crossword answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

Clue	Answer
1-Across	Circa
6-Across	Soba
10-Across	Edna
14-Across	Abetisabet
16-Across	Moos
17-Across	Sierramist
18-Across	Ames
19-Across	Tsk
20-Across	Pabst
21-Across	Siena
22-Across	Boba
23-Across	Catlady
25-Across	Ushers
28-Across	Torahs
29-Across	Chart
30-Across	Chatrooms
33-Across	Sonic
34-Across	Les
35-Across	Talia
36-Across	Doggoneit
38-Across	Exist
39-Across	Ohdear
40-Across	Credos
41-Across	Canteen
43-Across	Cops
44-Across	Arabs
45-Across	Clara
47-Across	Pre
50-Across	Mesa
51-Across	Noonecares
53-Across	Opec
54-Across	Sauerkraut
55-Across	Sack
56-Across	Alts
57-Across	Skype
1-Down	Cast
2-Down	Ibis
3-Down	Reek
4-Down	Ctr
5-Down	Airportcodes
6-Down	Samba
7-Down	Obis
8-Down	Bestcoast
9-Down	Att
10-Down	Emailhoaxes
11-Down	Domeasolid
12-Down	Noend
13-Down	Assay
15-Down	Saabs
21-Down	Starterpacks
22-Down	Berightback
24-Down	Art
25-Down	Ucsd
26-Down	Shoo
27-Down	Hangonasec
28-Down	Their
30-Down	Cleancoal
31-Down	Miso
32-Down	Sats
37-Down	Nee
40-Down	Corer
41-Down	Camos
42-Down	Arepa
43-Down	Canes
46-Down	Lout
47-Down	Pray
48-Down	Reup
49-Down	Este
51-Down	Nsa
52-Down	Ark

The filled grid, with each clue number in its first square. Drawn from the official puzzle data published by The New York Times.

The answers come from the puzzle’s official data.

Yesterday's Crossword answer

The Crossword on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: Across 1 Casa, 5 Asiago, 11 Bag, 14 Over, 15 Cornea, 16 Rna, 17 Walki[Eta]lkies, 19 Ogs, 20 Atf, 21 Cya, 22 Kilns, 24 Raise, 26 Classi[Chi]ts, 30 Dream, 31 Ear, 32 Ezra, 33 Ref, 35 Tsks, 38 Oof, 39 Itsallgreektome, 44 Hot, 45 Toni, 46 Geo, 47 Odes, 49 Uni, 51 Pumps, 55 Powe[Rho]uses, 58 Treat, 59 Latin, 60 Iii, 62 Rte, 63 Air, 64 Silen[Tau]ction, 68 Lsd, 69 Ataste, 70 Unit, 71 Ats, 72 Newsom, 73 Boss; Down 1 Coward, 2 Avatar, 3 Selfie, 4 Ark, 5 Ac[Eta]y, 6 Solace, 7 Irk, 8 Ani, 9 Geeks, 10 Oasis, 11 Bron[Chi]zoo, 12 Angstrom, 13 Gas, 18 Icemelt, 23 Lie, 25 Sara, 27 Latrine, 28 Arse, 29 Safe, 34 Flo, 36 Keg, 37 Skeptic, 39 Ihop, 40 Todolist, 41 Stewards, 42 Gnus, 43 Tour, 48 Set, 50 Isinto, 52 Merino, 53 Patois, 54 Stents, 56 [Rho]isan, 57 Unite, 61 I[Tau]em, 63 Ala, 65 Law, 66 Ess, 67 Tub. Yesterday's hints and full solution.

Frequently asked questions

Who made today's NYT Crossword?

Aidan Deshong constructed the Nov. 6, 2026 grid and Will Shortz edited it, according to the puzzle data. Thursday's grid, for Nov. 5, was by David P. Williams.

How many entries in the Nov. 6 grid have 12 letters?

Two, and both run Down: 5-Down and 21-Down. The grid has no Across entry longer than 10 letters, and six entries have 10 letters, four Across and two Down.

What are the NYT Crossword answers for Nov. 6, 2026?

Spoilers: Across, Circa, Soba, Edna, Abetisabet, Moos, Sierramist, Ames, Tsk, Pabst, Siena, Boba, Catlady, Ushers, Torahs, Chart, Chatrooms, Sonic, Les, Talia, Doggoneit, Exist, Ohdear, Credos, Canteen, Cops, Arabs, Clara, Pre, Mesa, Noonecares, Opec, Sauerkraut, Sack, Alts, Skype; Down, Cast, Ibis, Reek, Ctr, Airportcodes, Samba, Obis, Bestcoast, Att, Emailhoaxes, Domeasolid, Noend, Assay, Saabs, Starterpacks, Berightback, Art, Ucsd, Shoo, Hangonasec, Their, Cleancoal, Miso, Sats, Nee, Corer, Camos, Arepa, Canes, Lout, Pray, Reup, Este, Nsa, Ark.

Sources

The Crossword (The New York Times)

Fresh Calendars News Desk

Editorial team, daily puzzles

The Fresh Calendars News Desk is the editorial team behind Fresh Calendars News. It publishes the daily puzzle pages for games such as Wordle, NYT Connections, Strands, Pips, Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword and Contexto, each with graded hints first and a clearly marked answer section after them. Answers come from the publisher's own game data where it exists and are checked against that saved data before a page goes live; for games without official data, a page waits until two independent published solutions agree. The desk also handles reader tips and correction reports for the whole site, works with the editors who cover holidays, school calendars, money, time changes and seasonal events, and notes each correction at the end of the article with the date it was made.