This clue appeared in the NYT Crossword on Saturday, September 19, 2026 (26 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.
How to read this clue
This is a fill-in-the-blank clue: the answer completes the phrase, title or quotation.
A clue in quotation marks is something a person might say. Look for another way of saying it, or the reply it suggests.
Answer length: 3 squares
First letter
R _ _
Show the answer
About the answer
RUE as a word: (transitive) To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place; Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, especially the herb Ruta graveolens (common rue), formerly used in medicines.
RUE has been an answer 10 times in the NYT Crossword and Mini since November 11, 2025.
Other clues with the same answer
More clues from this puzzle
- Runner's goal, maybe (20 Across)
- Good-for-nothings (21 Across)
- The very first one was won by a ventriloquist (23 Across)
- Like much Ikea furniture (24 Across)
- Inhale, so to speak (27 Across)
- Youngest congressional appointees (28 Across)
- Some strenuous athletic events, informally (33 Across)
- "Dog Day Afternoon" director (35 Across)
Play today's NYT Crossword at The New York Times
All crossword clues · Today's NYT Crossword answers · Today's Mini answers