NYT Midi Crossword Answers and Hints for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026: Leave Me Out of It, 29 Clues

The New York Times (NYT) Midi Crossword for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026: a hint for each of John Kugelman's 29 clues, how Leave Me Out of It works, then answers.

By Fresh Calendars News Desk

Published November 6, 2026, 10:30 p.m. ET 6 min read

NYT Midi Crossword answers for Nov. 7, 2026: a blank crossword grid with a few rows and columns highlighted — The New York Times Midi Crossword for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026; hints come first, the full list of answers at the end. Illustration: Fresh Calendars

In this article

How “Leave Me Out of It” works in this Midi
Hints for every clue
How today’s grid is shaped
Today’s NYT Midi answers (spoilers)

The New York Times (NYT) Midi Crossword for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, is a nine-by-nine grid by John Kugelman with 29 clues, and five of them are two clues in one. The title is “Leave Me Out of It.” Each clue below has a hint that stays shut until you open it, and the answers wait in a marked spoiler section at the end.

How “Leave Me Out of It” works in this Midi

The puzzle data titles the grid “Leave Me Out of It,” and the title is an instruction. Five clues show two definitions joined by a slash. The first definition fits the entry that goes in the grid. The second fits the same entry once the letters M and E, the two letters of “me,” have been removed. Four of the entries lose a single letter, either an M or an E. One loses both letters twice over, which cuts it by four.

That gives you a way to check a doubtful guess: take out the letters and see whether the shorter word fits the second clue. If it does, the long one belongs in the grid.

Themed entry	Starts at	Length in grid	Length after the letters go
Clue 5-Down	row 1, column 7	9	8
Clue 9-Down	row 2, column 4	8	7
Clue 14-Across	row 5, column 1	9	5
Clue 16-Down	row 5, column 3	5	4
Clue 17-Down	row 5, column 8	5	4

Notice the layout: 14-Across, 16-Down and 17-Down all begin on row 5, the middle row of the grid, so that one row seeds three of the five themed entries. The two nine-letter Down and Across entries, 5-Down and 14-Across, are the longest in the theme.

The least literal clue in the grid is 11-Across, “Fights to beat the rap, in brief?” Here “rap” is the music genre and not a criminal charge, and “beat” means to win a contest. The question mark and “in brief” warn that the answer starts with a shortened two-letter title for someone holding a microphone. What follows is a plural verb. The answer has nine letters and spans the whole third row from edge to edge.

Hints for every clue

Across

1-Across (3 letters), Light run
an easy exercise pace, slower than a sprint; it starts with J.
Show the answer
Jog
4-Across (4 letters), Landmass that includes Laos
the continent that also holds Japan and India; it starts with A.
Show the answer
Asia
8-Across (4 letters), Like the vast majority of Bedouins
an adjective for people of the region where the Bedouin live; it starts with A and ends with B.
Show the answer
Arab
10-Across (4 letters), Low-___ diet
a short form of a nutrient found in bread and pasta; it starts with C.
Show the answer
Carb
11-Across (9 letters), Fights to beat the rap, in brief?
see the wordplay note above; the third letter is the first of a word for competitive clashes.
Show the answer
Mcbattles
13-Across (4 letters), Take a breather
what a nap gives you, and a silent beat on a music staff; it starts with R.
Show the answer
Rest
14-Across (9 letters), Give up one’s accomplices / Grandmothers, affectionately
a verb followed by its plural noun, run together; informing on partners in crime fits the grid.
Show the answer
Namenames
19-Across (4 letters), Botch
to mess up a line on stage; it starts with F.
Show the answer
Flub
20-Across (4 letters), Lordly term of address
what a subject might call a king, or what a stallion does for a foal; it starts with S.
Show the answer
Sire
21-Across (4 letters), “Homer and ___ Exchange Cross Words” (“The Simpsons” episode)
Homer’s saxophone-playing daughter; it starts with L.
Show the answer
Lisa
22-Across (4 letters), Privy to, as secret plans
two tiny prepositions run together; it starts with I and ends with N.
Show the answer
Inon
23-Across (3 letters), Sixtieth of a min
the short form of a unit of time, also what you say when asking someone to wait “just a” moment; it starts with S.
Show the answer
Sec
24-Across (4 letters), Government agents, for short
a clipped plural of “federal”; it starts with F.
Show the answer
Feds
25-Across (3 letters), Tongue-clicking sound
a vowelless sound of mild disapproval; it starts with T.
Show the answer
Tsk
26-Across (3 letters), “I’d like to ___ you try”
a verb for what your eyes do; it starts with S.
Show the answer
See

Down

1-Down (3 letters), Word after Def, Pearl or Space
also a sticky fruit spread for toast; it starts with J.
Show the answer
Jam
2-Down (3 letters), Foe encountered by Frodo on the way to Mordor
a grunting fantasy monster from Tolkien; its middle letter is R.
Show the answer
Orc
3-Down (3 letters), Gift of ___
the talent for idle chatter; it starts with G.
Show the answer
Gab
4-Down (8 letters), Pretends it’s the case that
three short words run together, meaning to make-believe; it starts with A.
Show the answer
Actsasif
5-Down (9 letters), Backbreaking workplaces, so to speak / Crackers traditionally used to soothe an upset stomach
a seasoning plus the places where it is dug from underground; one letter dropped gives a plain cracker.
Show the answer
Saltmines
6-Down (3 letters), Fury
hot anger; it starts with I.
Show the answer
Ire
7-Down (3 letters), Muscles retracted when doing the vacuum pose
the midsection muscles gym fans train for a six-pack look; it starts with A.
Show the answer
Abs
9-Down (8 letters), On a horse without a saddle / Helper who refills liquor bottles and cleans glassware
riding with nothing under the rider; one letter dropped gives a tavern worker.
Show the answer
Bareback
12-Down (3 letters), Number of Oscars won by “West Side Story” (1961)
a two-digit count, the same as the fingers on two hands; it starts with T.
Show the answer
Ten
14-Down (3 letters), Org. with Lions and Bears, oh my!
the initials of a football league with teams in Detroit and Chicago; it starts with N.
Show the answer
Nfl
15-Down (5 letters), Top-tier celebrity’s status
a single letter and a word run together, naming the highest rung of fame; it starts with A.
Show the answer
Alist
16-Down (5 letters), Sources of creative inspiration / Swiss Army knives have many of these
Greek goddesses who inspire artists; drop the first letter and you get what a multi-tool has plenty of.
Show the answer
Muses
17-Down (5 letters), Diminish, as trust / Was a passenger on
to wear away bit by bit; drop the first letter and you get a past-tense verb about a bus or bike.
Show the answer
Erode
18-Down (5 letters), One of a person’s five (six, if they’re psychic)
sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell are each one of these; it starts with S.
Show the answer
Sense

How today’s grid is shaped

The grid has 15 black squares and 66 letters. The 15 Across entries break down as four of 3 letters, nine of 4 letters and two of 9. The 14 Down entries are seven of 3 letters, four of 5, two of 8 and one of 9. Saturday’s list is 10 clues longer than Friday’s 19.

With 29 clues and five double-barreled ones, the rules are worth a quick look on our Midi Crossword page before you start.

Pencil the solving days into our printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More of Saturday’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints, Strands hints, Spelling Bee hints and Pips hints. For the same date, try the Mini answers for Nov. 7 or the daily Crossword answers for Nov. 7. Friday’s grid is in our Midi answers for Nov. 6.

Today’s NYT Midi answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

Clue	Answer
1-Across	Jog
4-Across	Asia
8-Across	Arab
10-Across	Carb
11-Across	Mcbattles
13-Across	Rest
14-Across	Namenames
19-Across	Flub
20-Across	Sire
21-Across	Lisa
22-Across	Inon
23-Across	Sec
24-Across	Feds
25-Across	Tsk
26-Across	See
1-Down	Jam
2-Down	Orc
3-Down	Gab
4-Down	Actsasif
5-Down	Saltmines
6-Down	Ire
7-Down	Abs
9-Down	Bareback
12-Down	Ten
14-Down	Nfl
15-Down	Alist
16-Down	Muses
17-Down	Erode
18-Down	Sense

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 Midi Crossword answer

The Midi on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026: Across 1 Chilis, 6 Ghosts, 7 Soared, 8 Worse, 9 Idle, 10 Scars, 12 Hotair, 14 Pacman, 16 Nestea; Down 1 Charlatan, 2 Horserace, 3 Isee, 4 Ltd, 5 Is, 6 Goodcop, 7 Swish, 11 Sims, 13 Rat, 15 Ne. Yesterday's hints and full solution.

Frequently asked questions

What does the title Leave Me Out of It mean in this Midi?

It is an instruction. Five entries carry two clues separated by a slash. The first clue gives the word in the grid. The second describes the same word after the letters M and E have been taken out, the pronoun ME read as two letters. The longest themed entry loses both pairs of those letters, and each of the others loses one letter.

Why does 14-Across have two clues?

14-Across reads "Give up one's accomplices / Grandmothers, affectionately". It is one of the five themed entries, and it is the one where the second clue drops the most. Solve from the first clue, then check that deleting the letters M and E leaves a shorter plural that answers the second.

What are the NYT Midi Crossword answers for Nov. 7, 2026?

Spoilers: Across, Jog, Asia, Arab, Carb, Mcbattles, Rest, Namenames, Flub, Sire, Lisa, Inon, Sec, Feds, Tsk, See; Down, Jam, Orc, Gab, Actsasif, Saltmines, Ire, Abs, Bareback, Ten, Nfl, Alist, Muses, Erode, Sense.

Sources

The Midi 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.