NY Times Crossword Answers May 12, 2025 | Expert Breakdown & Tips

NY Times Crossword Complete Solution: May 12, 2025

Published on Monday, May 12, 2025 • Updated daily

Our expert breakdown helps you solve the May 12 NYT crossword while expanding your vocabulary. Learn answer strategies and discover word connections.

NY Times Crossword Complete Solution May 12, 2025

Across Clues and Answers (37)

Clue #1: 1. Cowboy's rope

5-letter answer Answer: LASSO

Word Help: Synonyms: lariat, riata, rope

Clue #2: 6. Relative of a milkshake

4-letter answer Answer: MALT

Word Help: Synonyms: malt, malted_milk, malt_liquor

Clue #3: 10. NaCl

4-letter answer Answer: SALT

Word Help: Synonyms: salt, table_salt, SALT

Clue #4: 14. Take place

5-letter answer Answer: OCCUR

Word Help: Synonyms: go_on, happen, come

Clue #5: 15. Director Kazan who helped popularize Method acting

4-letter answer Answer: ELIA

Word Help: Synonyms: Charles_Lamb, Lamb, Elia

Clue #6: 16. Falco of "The Sopranos"

4-letter answer Answer: EDIE

Clue #7: 17. Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao

15-letter answer Answer: BRANDYALEXANDER

Clue #8: 20. "Ready, ___, go!"

3-letter answer Answer: SET

Word Help: Synonyms: located, determine, exercise_set
Antonyms: rise

Clue #9: 21. Serpentine swimmers

4-letter answer Answer: EELS

Word Help: Synonyms: eel

Clue #10: 22. Common destination for a field trip

6-letter answer Answer: MUSEUM

Word Help: Synonyms: museum

Clue #11: 23. Funeral vessel

3-letter answer Answer: URN

Word Help: Synonyms: urn

Clue #12: 24. Contacted using a beeper

5-letter answer Answer: PAGED

Word Help: Synonyms: page, paginate, foliate

Clue #13: 25. Created, as yarn or a spider web

4-letter answer Answer: SPUN

Word Help: Synonyms: spin_around, gyrate, spin

Clue #14: 28. 10-12-year-old

5-letter answer Answer: TWEEN

Clue #15: 31. ___ Francisco

3-letter answer Answer: SAN

Clue #16: 34. Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane

9-letter answer Answer: CANDYLAND

Clue #17: 36. Dig (out)

5-letter answer Answer: GOUGE

Word Help: Synonyms: nick, rack, wring

Clue #18: 38. "Goodie" on classic radio

5-letter answer Answer: OLDIE

Word Help: Synonyms: golden_oldie, oldie

Clue #19: 39. Food label inits.

3-letter answer Answer: RDA

Clue #20: 40. "Inside Out" emotion who says "We should lock the door and scream that curse word we know. It's a good one!"

5-letter answer Answer: ANGER

Word Help: Synonyms: angriness, wrath, choler

Clue #21: 41. Oboe accessories that are often carved by the oboist

5-letter answer Answer: REEDS

Word Help: Synonyms: Walter_Reed, beating-reed_instrument, vibrating_reed

Clue #22: 42. Move from an acrobat or breakdancer

9-letter answer Answer: HANDSTAND

Word Help: Synonyms: handstand

Clue #23: 44. Negative conjunction

3-letter answer Answer: NOR

Clue #24: 45. Montana is the only U.S. state with one in Spanish

5-letter answer Answer: MOTTO

Word Help: Synonyms: slogan, motto, catchword

Clue #25: 46. Defense Against the Dark ___ ("Harry Potter" class)

4-letter answer Answer: ARTS

Word Help: Synonyms: humanities, artistic_creation, graphics

Clue #26: 47. What a baby's bib might protect a onesie from

5-letter answer Answer: DROOL

Word Help: Synonyms: baloney, slobber, slabber

Clue #27: 50. Standout athlete, for short

3-letter answer Answer: MVP

Word Help: Synonyms: most_valuable_player, MVP

Clue #28: 52. Free items that come with drinks

6-letter answer Answer: STRAWS

Word Help: Synonyms: stalk, wheat, stubble

Clue #29: 54. Black-and-white cookie

4-letter answer Answer: OREO

Word Help: Synonyms: oreo, oreo_cookie

Clue #30: 56. What some people confuse with a monkey

3-letter answer Answer: APE

Word Help: Synonyms: anthropoid, ape, copycat

Clue #31: 59. Scottish archipelago west of Norway

15-letter answer Answer: SHETLANDISLANDS

Clue #32: 62. What spectacles perch on

4-letter answer Answer: NOSE

Word Help: Synonyms: poke, wind, pry

Clue #33: 63. "Oh, uh-huh, sure"

4-letter answer Answer: IBET

Clue #34: 64. Magicians' cries

5-letter answer Answer: TADAS

Clue #35: 65. Figure (out)

4-letter answer Answer: SUSS

Word Help: Synonyms: genus_Sus, Sus

Clue #36: 66. Social worker's assignment

4-letter answer Answer: CASE

Word Help: Synonyms: guinea_pig, grammatical_case, showcase

Clue #37: 67. Parental authority

5-letter answer Answer: SAYSO

Across Clues and Answers (37)

Clue #1: 1. Arcing tennis shots

4-letter answer Answer: LOBS

Word Help: Synonyms: lob

Clue #2: 2. Farmland unit

4-letter answer Answer: ACRE

Word Help: Synonyms: Akko, Akka, acre

Clue #3: 3. Jazz singer's improvised syllables

4-letter answer Answer: SCAT

Word Help: Synonyms: scat, lam, take_to_the_woods

Clue #4: 4. What the circle on the Japanese flag represents

3-letter answer Answer: SUN

Word Help: Synonyms: Sun, solarise, insolate

Clue #5: 5. "Can I take your ___?" (server's question)

5-letter answer Answer: ORDER

Word Help: Synonyms: orderliness, lodge, ordinate
Antonyms: deregulate, disorderliness

Clue #6: 6. Brunch or lunch

4-letter answer Answer: MEAL

Word Help: Synonyms: meal, repast

Clue #7: 7. "___ well that ends well!"

4-letter answer Answer: ALLS

Clue #8: 8. Word that would be more grammatical in the title "Lay, Lady, Lay"

3-letter answer Answer: LIE

Word Help: Synonyms: Trygve_Halvden_Lie, prevarication, consist
Antonyms: arise, stand

Clue #9: 9. Beatles song with the lyric "Should five percent appear too small, be thankful I don't take it all"

6-letter answer Answer: TAXMAN

Word Help: Synonyms: tax_collector, internal_revenue_agent, exciseman

Clue #10: 10. Touch or taste

5-letter answer Answer: SENSE

Word Help: Synonyms: common_sense, mother_wit, smell

Clue #11: 11. Source of extra sweetness

10-letter answer Answer: ADDEDSUGAR

Clue #12: 12. Stead

4-letter answer Answer: LIEU

Word Help: Synonyms: lieu, position, stead

Clue #13: 13. Four years, for a president

4-letter answer Answer: TERM

Word Help: Synonyms: term, full_term, terminus

Clue #14: 18. 1983 musical starring Barbra Streisand

5-letter answer Answer: YENTL

Clue #15: 19. Sept. preceder

3-letter answer Answer: AUG

Word Help: Synonyms: August, Aug

Clue #16: 23. Loosened, as a knot

5-letter answer Answer: UNDID

Word Help: Synonyms: undo, unmake, untie
Antonyms: make, wrap

Clue #17: 24. Nitpicker

6-letter answer Answer: PEDANT

Word Help: Synonyms: bookworm, pedant, scholastic

Clue #18: 25. Contempt

5-letter answer Answer: SCORN

Word Help: Synonyms: despite, contemn, freeze_off

Clue #19: 26. Kind of diet inspired by hunters and gatherers

5-letter answer Answer: PALEO

Clue #20: 27. Show up to a gala in a T-shirt, say

10-letter answer Answer: UNDERDRESS

Word Help: Synonyms: dress_down, underdress
Antonyms: dress_up, overdress

Clue #21: 29. Noted painter of soup cans

6-letter answer Answer: WARHOL

Word Help: Synonyms: Warhol, Andy_Warhol

Clue #22: 30. Go until

5-letter answer Answer: ENDAT

Clue #23: 32. Who might help an author get a book deal

5-letter answer Answer: AGENT

Word Help: Synonyms: federal_agent, agentive_role, agent

Clue #24: 33. Stereotypical bookworms

5-letter answer Answer: NERDS

Word Help: Synonyms: dweeb, wonk, nerd

Clue #25: 35. "Affirmative"

3-letter answer Answer: YES

Word Help: Synonyms: yes
Antonyms: no

Clue #26: 36. What you might "fill 'er up" with

3-letter answer Answer: GAS

Word Help: Synonyms: throttle, gasolene, accelerator

Clue #27: 37. Alternative to bottled

5-letter answer Answer: ONTAP

Clue #28: 43. Mosque toppers

5-letter answer Answer: DOMES

Word Help: Synonyms: bean, covered_stadium, noggin

Clue #29: 45. Art with tiles in fancy styles (that might produce smiles)

6-letter answer Answer: MOSAIC

Word Help: Synonyms: mosaic, arial_mosaic, Mosaic

Clue #30: 48. Gives stars to, say

5-letter answer Answer: RATES

Word Help: Synonyms: charge_per_unit, rates, betray

Clue #31: 49. "Wise" bird

3-letter answer Answer: OWL

Word Help: Synonyms: bird_of_night, owl, bird_of_Minerva

Clue #32: 51. Hybrid Chevys

5-letter answer Answer: VOLTS

Word Help: Synonyms: volt, V

Clue #33: 52. Strings with the pattern XXX-XX-XXXX, in brief

4-letter answer Answer: SSNS

Clue #34: 53. "___ shalt not …"

4-letter answer Answer: THOU

Word Help: Synonyms: 1000, one_thousand, G

Clue #35: 54. Poetic tributes

4-letter answer Answer: ODES

Word Help: Synonyms: ode

Clue #36: 55. Formal ceremony

4-letter answer Answer: RITE

Word Help: Synonyms: rite, ritual, religious_rite

Clue #37: 56. Boy's name … or how you might describe 17-, 34-, 42- or 59-Across?

4-letter answer Answer: ANDY

Clue #38: 57. Smartphone predecessors, in brief

4-letter answer Answer: PDAS

Word Help: Synonyms: organiser, personal_organiser, PDA

Clue #39: 58. Competitor of Petro-Canada

4-letter answer Answer: ESSO

Clue #40: 60. Org. with the Knicks and Clippers

3-letter answer Answer: NBA

Clue #41: 61. Battery for some small toys

3-letter answer Answer: AAA

Word Help: Synonyms: AAA, abdominal_aortic_aneurysm

Expert Solving Strategies

• Look for fill-in-the-blank clues first (they're often easiest)
• Watch for question marks indicating wordplay
• Check vowel patterns in partially solved words

Related Search Terms

NYT Crossword Help, Daily Puzzle Solutions, Crossword Answer Finder, May Crossword Answers