NYT Crossword Answers Today, November 9, 2026

The New York Times (NYT) Crossword for Monday, Nov. 9, 2026 by Leslie Benson: a hint for all 78 clues, how the 13-letter entry works, then the answers.

By Fresh Calendars News Desk, Editorial team, daily puzzles

Published November 8, 2026, 10:35 p.m. ET 12 min read

A 15 by 15 Monday crossword grid for Nov. 9, 2026 with one long row of squares across the middle highlighted — The New York Times Monday Crossword for Nov. 9, 2026; a hint for each of the 78 clues sits above the answer list. Illustration: Fresh Calendars

In this article

How the shaded-letters clue at 35-Across works
Two clues that play tricks
How Monday’s grid is built
Hints for every clue
Today’s NYT Crossword answers (spoilers)

The New York Times (NYT) Crossword for Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, was constructed by Leslie Benson and edited by Will Shortz: a 15-by-15 grid with 78 clues. One long entry runs across the middle of the grid and carries a clue about shaded letters; this page explains how that clue works by clue number, without a single answer. Each clue gets a hint that opens on a tap, and the answers wait at the bottom.

How the shaded-letters clue at 35-Across works

The one clue in the data that points at the grid itself is 35-Across, Honestly … or a description of the shaded letters?. It has 13 squares, in row 8 from column 2 to column 14, and it is the only entry longer than eight letters. The first half of the clue is a plain definition of an everyday phrase. The part after “or” turns the phrase into a second reading: the same words are meant to describe how the shaded squares sit in the board.

The saved puzzle data holds letters and clue numbers but no shading, so we cannot list the shaded squares, and no hint here claims to. What the data does show is that the long entry is fully checked: 13 Down entries cross it, one at each letter, 33-Down to 38-Down among them, plus 6-Down, 11-Down, 21-Down, 25-Down, 27-Down, 31-Down and 32-Down. Solve the Down entries first and the middle row fills itself in.

No other clue refers to the grid, so the rest of the puzzle is solved clue by clue.

Two clues that play tricks

Only two clues end in a question mark. Neither explanation names an answer.

13-Down, “What might make molehills out of a mountain?” The clue reverses the saying about blowing small things out of proportion. Here a mountain is reduced to small mounds by force. The answer is three letters, the initials of a blasting agent.
35-Across, “Honestly … or a description of the shaded letters?” The question mark covers the second half only
the first half is an ordinary definition, and the second half hands the clue its pun. See the section above.
Show the answer
Fairandsquare

How Monday’s grid is built

The grid is 15 by 15, which is 225 squares: 38 are black and 187 hold a letter. The black squares are rotationally symmetric, so turning the grid upside down gives the same pattern. There are 78 entries, 39 Across and 39 Down.

By length, 22 entries have 3 letters (10 Across, 12 Down), 16 have 4 (8 and 8), 14 have 5 (10 and 4), 18 have 6 (8 and 10), three have 7, four have 8 and one has 13. The three seven-letter entries are 20-Across, 53-Across and 25-Down. The four eight-letter entries are all Down: 6-Down, 11-Down, 36-Down and 37-Down. The only 13-letter entry is 35-Across, and nothing has 9 to 12 letters.

The clue types are easy to count from the list. Eight clues are fill-in-the-blank lines with a blank: 22-Across, 44-Across, 48-Across, 51-Across, 4-Down, 10-Down, 43-Down and 55-Down. Eight open with a quotation mark: 14-Across, 22-Across, 33-Across, 44-Across, 48-Across, 58-Across, 32-Down and 43-Down. Three ask for an opposite: 20-Across, 39-Down and 60-Across, whose compass point is west-southwest (WSW). Two flag an abbreviated answer with “corp.” or “U.F.O.”: 38-Down and 28-Down.

With one clue about shaded letters to decode, the daily rules are on our NYT Crossword page.

Hints for every clue

Across

1-Across (4 letters), Back talk
impudent replies from someone who answers a parent too boldly; rhymes with “mass”.
Show the answer
Sass
5-Across (3 letters), Lair
a wild animal’s lair, or the cozy room where a family watches television.
Show the answer
Den
8-Across (6 letters), When the western sky turns lavender or pink
the time of evening when the sun drops below the horizon; two short words run together, a star and a verb.
Show the answer
Sunset
14-Across (4 letters), “Guilty” or “not guilty”
what a defendant enters in court before a trial; it ends with the first letter of the alphabet.
Show the answer
Plea
15-Across (3 letters), Big bird Down Under
a tall flightless bird native to Australia; the first and last letters are vowels.
Show the answer
Emu
16-Across (6 letters), Kind of band
describes a band played by a single performer with several instruments; a numeral and a male noun, run together.
Show the answer
Oneman
17-Across (4 letters), Onetime “Jeopardy!” host Trebek
the first name of the longtime host of the quiz show “Jeopardy!”; it ends in X.
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Alex
18-Across (3 letters), Area for autos
a place to park a car; also a person’s fate, or a whole bunch.
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Lot
19-Across (6 letters), Categorize
to arrange things into groups by kind; the noun form is a mixed selection, as in a box of chocolates.
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Assort
20-Across (7 letters), Withdrawal’s opposite
what you make at a bank when you put money in; the clue asks for the reverse of taking it out.
Show the answer
Deposit
22-Across (5 letters), “You ___ Beautiful” (1970s hit)
the words that follow “You” in the song title: a form of “to be” and an intensifier, run together.
Show the answer
Areso
23-Across (5 letters), Dress cut
a skirt or dress that flares from the waist like a capital letter; the letter and a word for a row, run together.
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Aline
24-Across (5 letters), Tiny part of an archipelago
a very small island, one of many in a group of islands.
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Islet
26-Across (3 letters), Word that makes up roughly 6%-7% of written English
the most common word in written English; the definite article.
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The
29-Across (3 letters), Craving
a strong desire; also the money of Japan.
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Yen
30-Across (6 letters), Sent to the canvas
knocked down by a punch; also what you do to the halls at Christmas.
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Decked
32-Across (4 letters), Make small talk
to talk about nothing in particular; it begins with “ch”.
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Chat
33-Across (5 letters), “Bad, Bad” Brown of song
a male first name from the French for “the king”; the song’s title character.
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Leroy
34-Across (5 letters), Funeral stands
the stands that carry a coffin; plural.
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Biers
35-Across (13 letters), Honestly … or a description of the shaded letters?
a three-word phrase for honestly, with “and” in the middle; the last word is also a four-sided shape, which is the joke about the shaded letters.
Show the answer
Fairandsquare
39-Across (5 letters), Sticks out a sulky lower lip, say
pushes out the lower lip when upset; a verb in the third person.
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Pouts
40-Across (5 letters), Beginning notes to a song
the opening bars before the singing begins; short for introduction.
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Intro
41-Across (4 letters), A mile a minute, e.g.
speed, or a price per hour; the clue’s example is a speed.
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Rate
42-Across (6 letters), Prance about
to leap and frolic about; it starts like the word for a hollow in a hillside.
Show the answer
Cavort
44-Across (3 letters), “You ain’t seen nothin’ ___”
the word that ends the boast, “You ain’t seen nothin’”; it also means “so far”.
Show the answer
Yet
47-Across (3 letters), Genre associated with black nail polish and facial piercings
a music genre; short for “emotional”.
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Emo
48-Across (5 letters), “The Taming of the ___”
the title character of a Shakespeare comedy; also a tiny mammal that eats insects.
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Shrew
49-Across (5 letters), Scents
smells, in the plural.
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Odors
51-Across (5 letters), The Mamas & the ___
the plural of a word for fathers; the band’s name pairs it with “Mamas”.
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Papas
53-Across (7 letters), Make appear as if by magic
what a magician does to bring a rabbit out of a hat; also to call up a spirit.
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Conjure
55-Across (6 letters), Brawls
chaotic fights; a plural from French.
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Melees
57-Across (3 letters), Champagne cork sound
the sound a cork makes; also soda in some places.
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Pop
58-Across (4 letters), “Now!”
immediately, as a doctor says in an emergency; short for a Latin word.
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Stat
59-Across (6 letters), Noah’s Ark landing site
the peak in eastern Turkey where the Bible says an ark came to rest; it begins with A and ends with T.
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Ararat
60-Across (3 letters), Opposite of WSW
the compass point opposite west-southwest; two of its three letters are vowels.
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Ene
61-Across (4 letters), Ages and ages and ages
very long periods of time; plural.
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Eons
62-Across (6 letters), Pooh’s friend who tends to lose his tail
the gloomy donkey from the Hundred Acre Wood; it begins with two E’s.
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Eeyore
63-Across (3 letters), October, numerically
the number that matches the month of October.
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Ten
64-Across (4 letters), Reusable bag
a carryall bag; also a verb meaning to lug.
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Tote

Down

1-Down (6 letters), Outing involving a facial and a massage, perhaps
an outing to a place that offers pampering; a word for a mineral bath resort plus a 24-hour period, run together.
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Spaday
2-Down (6 letters), Genetic variant
the genetics term for one version of a gene; three L’s, two E’s.
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Allele
3-Down (6 letters), Ooze through
a verb and a preposition run together: what a slow leak does as it enters.
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Seepin
4-Down (5 letters), Anglo-___
the Germanic people that settled in Britain alongside the Angles.
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Saxon
5-Down (4 letters), Locale for cold cuts or hot pastrami
a shop that sells sliced meats and sandwiches.
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Deli
6-Down (8 letters), :) or :/
keyboard faces built from punctuation marks; it begins with E and ends with N.
Show the answer
Emoticon
7-Down (3 letters), Pecan or pistachio
a hard-shelled kernel; also the piece you screw onto a bolt.
Show the answer
Nut
8-Down (6 letters), Rose quickly, as prices
climbed quickly and high, as prices do; past tense of a verb for flying upward.
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Soared
9-Down (5 letters), Like loose gemstones
describes a gem not yet mounted in a ring; a prefix meaning “not” plus a verb for fixing in place.
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Unset
10-Down (4 letters), Loch ___
the second word of the name of a Scottish lake that legend gives a monster.
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Ness
11-Down (8 letters), Like creamy vis-à-vis crunchy peanut butter
a comparative adjective for peanut butter without lumps.
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Smoother
12-Down (3 letters), Something that “perks up” when you’re attentive
a body part that stands up on a dog when it listens; also a head of corn.
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Ear
13-Down (3 letters), What might make molehills out of a mountain?
the question mark flips a saying about exaggeration: here the mountain gets blown into small piles. Three letters, the initials of an explosive.
Show the answer
Tnt
21-Down (6 letters), Passover meals
the spring holiday dinners of the Jewish faith; plural.
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Seders
22-Down (3 letters), Guinness or Bass product
a beer brewed with malt; Guinness and Bass both make one.
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Ale
25-Down (7 letters), Jump from a plane
to leap from an aircraft with a parachute; two words run together.
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Skydive
27-Down (4 letters), Tortoise racer
the fast animal that lost the fable; it sounds like “hair”.
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Hare
28-Down (3 letters), U.F.O. occupants
visitors from space in movies; short for “extraterrestrials”.
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Ets
31-Down (3 letters), Roaring Twenties or Swinging Sixties
a stretch of history, such as a decade named by the clue.
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Era
32-Down (4 letters), “Bye!”
an Italian greeting that also means goodbye.
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Ciao
33-Down (4 letters), Low-cal
the way a beer label respells “light”.
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Lite
34-Down (6 letters), Tim who directed “Beetlejuice” and “Edward Scissorhands”
the surname of the director behind “Beetlejuice”.
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Burton
35-Down (4 letters), Top of a freshly served latte
the frothy layer on a coffee drink; also what crests on a wave.
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Foam
36-Down (8 letters), Netflix feature that encourages binge-watching
a streaming setting that starts the next episode without a tap; a prefix meaning “self” and a verb for what actors and children do.
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Autoplay
37-Down (8 letters), Colorful carnival treat
a shaved-ice treat with flavored syrup; frozen precipitation and a shape, run together.
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Snowcone
38-Down (3 letters), Period for a corp. earnings report
three consonants for a three-month period in a business year.
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Qtr
39-Down (3 letters), Opposite of post-
the prefix that means “before”.
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Pre
42-Down (6 letters), Pure as the driven snow
virtuous and clean; the clue gives a snowy simile.
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Chaste
43-Down (3 letters), ”___ Poetica” (work of Horace)
the Latin word for “art”, first in a title by Horace.
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Ars
44-Down (6 letters), Phrase requiting good wishes
a polite answer to “Have a great day!”; two words run together.
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Youtoo
45-Down (6 letters), Off-course
wandering off the path, like a stray pass or a knight in a story.
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Errant
46-Down (6 letters), Feared African fly
the fly that spreads sleeping sickness; the letters T, S and E each appear twice.
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Tsetse
48-Down (5 letters), Asparagus unit
a single stalk of green vegetable; also a pointed weapon.
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Spear
50-Down (5 letters), Performance with turntables at a nightclub, say
a set played by a club performer with records; two initials and a word for a group of items.
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Djset
52-Down (4 letters), Prefix with -nautics
the prefix that means “air”, before “nautics”; three of its four letters are vowels.
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Aero
54-Down (4 letters), Ready for business
the word on a shop door when customers may come in; also a golf championship.
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Open
55-Down (3 letters), Fannie ___
the second word of the name of a mortgage company.
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Mae
56-Down (3 letters), Bygone “before”
an old word for “before” that begins and ends with the same letter.
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Ere
57-Down (3 letters), Kibble nibbler
a dog or a cat at home; also a verb for stroking one.
Show the answer
Pet

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

Monday’s other puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints, Strands hints, Spelling Bee hints, Pips hints, Letter Boxed hints and Contexto hints. The smaller grids for the same date are our Mini answers for Nov. 9 and Midi answers for Nov. 9. Sunday’s 21-by-21 grid is in our Crossword answers for Nov. 8.

Today’s NYT Crossword answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

Clue	Answer
1-Across	Sass
5-Across	Den
8-Across	Sunset
14-Across	Plea
15-Across	Emu
16-Across	Oneman
17-Across	Alex
18-Across	Lot
19-Across	Assort
20-Across	Deposit
22-Across	Areso
23-Across	Aline
24-Across	Islet
26-Across	The
29-Across	Yen
30-Across	Decked
32-Across	Chat
33-Across	Leroy
34-Across	Biers
35-Across	Fairandsquare
39-Across	Pouts
40-Across	Intro
41-Across	Rate
42-Across	Cavort
44-Across	Yet
47-Across	Emo
48-Across	Shrew
49-Across	Odors
51-Across	Papas
53-Across	Conjure
55-Across	Melees
57-Across	Pop
58-Across	Stat
59-Across	Ararat
60-Across	Ene
61-Across	Eons
62-Across	Eeyore
63-Across	Ten
64-Across	Tote
1-Down	Spaday
2-Down	Allele
3-Down	Seepin
4-Down	Saxon
5-Down	Deli
6-Down	Emoticon
7-Down	Nut
8-Down	Soared
9-Down	Unset
10-Down	Ness
11-Down	Smoother
12-Down	Ear
13-Down	Tnt
21-Down	Seders
22-Down	Ale
25-Down	Skydive
27-Down	Hare
28-Down	Ets
31-Down	Era
32-Down	Ciao
33-Down	Lite
34-Down	Burton
35-Down	Foam
36-Down	Autoplay
37-Down	Snowcone
38-Down	Qtr
39-Down	Pre
42-Down	Chaste
43-Down	Ars
44-Down	Youtoo
45-Down	Errant
46-Down	Tsetse
48-Down	Spear
50-Down	Djset
52-Down	Aero
54-Down	Open
55-Down	Mae
56-Down	Ere
57-Down	Pet

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 Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026: Across 1 Agra, 5 Ware, 9 Atta, 13 Assam, 18 Zoom, 19 Laram, 20 Fwiw, 21 Alive, 22 Insidedope, 24 Colorcoded, 26 Zealots, 27 Truebelievers, 29 Ragout, 31 Isaid, 32 Vlad, 33 Quitinprotest, 36 Walkout, 39 Emeet, 40 Alist, 41 Lols, 42 Oak, 43 Das, 44 Roid, 46 Mow, 47 Oreo, 48 Shall, 50 Miser, 53 Sot, 55 Suckups, 58 Complimenters, 63 Unhinge, 64 Achoo, 65 Asiamap, 66 Soundoneshorn, 68 Showoff, 69 Nod, 70 State, 71 Geena, 72 City, 75 Ape, 76 Bars, 77 Joe, 80 Ace, 81 Puny, 83 Vital, 86 Spawn, 88 Bulging, 90 Barrelbellied, 93 Lees, 94 Sepoy, 95 Serial, 96 Spatreatments, 100 Facials, 103 Palacecoup, 104 Hesatenbut, 106 Aline, 107 Hose, 108 Italo, 109 Elba, 110 Reefs, 111 Eden, 112 Sill, 113 Seer; Down 1 Aziz, 2 Gone, 3 Rosaries, 4 Amilate, 5 Wadsup, 6 Aro, 7 Rapt, 8 Emeriti, 9 Afceast, 10 Twobit, 11 Tiled, 12 Awol, 13 Aacells, 14 Slovak, 15 Sidedoor, 16 Aver, 17 Meds, 19 Leton, 23 Dogit, 25 Rival, 28 Uses, 30 Trail, 33 Qed, 34 Uma, 35 Old, 36 Wow, 37 Uae, 38 Tko, 41 Lori, 44 Rapgod, 45 Olsen, 46 Melon, 47 Ottawa, 48 Skinny, 49 Hundo, 50 Mocha, 51 Imhot, 52 Spore, 53 Seshes, 54 Onion, 55 Sus, 56 Uno, 57 Chu, 58 Caste, 59 Maser, 60 Emo, 61 Raf, 62 Spf, 67 Espy, 71 Galls, 72 Cab, 73 Icu, 74 Tellalie, 75 Ang, 76 Bae, 77 Jailable, 78 Owe, 79 End, 81 Pierces, 82 Unsee, 83 Vapepen, 84 Iron, 85 Trythis, 86 Slice, 87 Plaines, 89 Getanf, 90 Bemuse, 91 Befall, 92 Erato, 94 Stood, 96 Spar, 97 Pale, 98 Ache, 99 Seti, 101 Lube, 102 Star, 105 Sal. Yesterday's hints and full solution.

Frequently asked questions

Who made today's NYT Crossword?

Leslie Benson constructed the Nov. 9, 2026 grid and Will Shortz edited it, according to the puzzle data.

What does the clue about shaded letters at 35-Across mean?

The first half of the clue is an everyday phrase for honestly. The second half asks whether the same phrase also describes the shaded squares in the grid. The saved data lists no shading, so we cannot say which squares are shaded; the entry is 13 letters long.

Why do only two clues carry a question mark today?

A question mark flags a clue that should not be read literally. In this grid just 35-Across and 13-Down have one, so the other 76 clues are direct definitions, fill-in-the-blank lines or phrases to complete.

What are the NYT Crossword answers for Nov. 9, 2026?

Spoilers: Across, Sass, Den, Sunset, Plea, Emu, Oneman, Alex, Lot, Assort, Deposit, Areso, Aline, Islet, The, Yen, Decked, Chat, Leroy, Biers, Fairandsquare, Pouts, Intro, Rate, Cavort, Yet, Emo, Shrew, Odors, Papas, Conjure, Melees, Pop, Stat, Ararat, Ene, Eons, Eeyore, Ten, Tote, Down, Spaday, Allele, Seepin, Saxon, Deli, Emoticon, Nut, Soared, Unset, Ness, Smoother, Ear, Tnt, Seders, Ale, Skydive, Hare, Ets, Era, Ciao, Lite, Burton, Foam, Autoplay, Snowcone, Qtr, Pre, Chaste, Ars, Youtoo, Errant, Tsetse, Spear, Djset, Aero, Open, Mae, Ere, Pet.

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.