This clue appeared in the NYT Crossword on Saturday, August 22, 2026 (16 Across) and the NYT Crossword on Sunday, December 28, 2025 (64 Across). The answer is hidden below until you want it. Saturday puzzles are the hardest of the week and themeless, so clues are often deliberately misleading.
NYT Crossword, August 22, 2026, 16 Across
Answer length: 4 squares
First letter
R _ _ _
First and last letters
R _ _ L
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About the answer
REAL as a word: True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent; Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.
REAL has been an answer 4 times in the NYT Crossword and Mini since November 23, 2025.
NYT Crossword, December 28, 2025, 64 Across
Answer length: 5 squares
First letter
E _ _ _ _
First and last letters
E _ _ _ T
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About the answer
ERECT as a word: Upright; vertical or reaching broadly upwards; (of body parts) Rigid, firm; standing out perpendicularly, especially as the result of stimulation.
ERECT has been an answer 7 times in the NYT Crossword and Mini since November 15, 2025.
Other clues with the same answer
More clues from this puzzle
- Dish such as Germany's hasenpfeffer (1 Across)
- Set of 24 for a box jellyfish (11 Across)
- "Hello?" follower (15 Across)
- Beset by impossible circumstances (17 Across)
- ___ noche (tonight, in Spanish) (18 Across)
- "Let's talk about it afterward" (19 Across)
- From scratch (20 Across)
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