The New Yorker Crossword

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A New Yorker crossword every weekday, getting easier from Monday to Wednesday, then two minis.

on newyorker.com

The New Yorker posts a new crossword on its site every weekday: full-size grids from Monday to Wednesday that get easier as the week goes on, and a Mini Crossword on Thursday and Friday. You solve in the browser. Recent puzzles are free; the older archive is for subscribers.

About The New Yorker Crossword

The New Yorker started publishing crosswords online in 2018. Today the puzzles live on the magazine’s site, where each one is dated and solved in the browser.

The week has a set shape. Monday brings a challenging full-size grid, Tuesday a moderately hard one and Wednesday a beginner-friendly one. On Thursday and Friday the magazine runs the Mini Crossword: Thursday’s is a little larger and trickier, Friday’s is small and quick. The full-size puzzles are usually themeless, with an occasional themed grid for special issues.

Because the difficulty steps down through the week, you can pick your day: Wednesday and Friday suit newer solvers, Monday suits people who want a fight. The cryptic crossword that used to run on Sundays has stopped, but the archive of past cryptics is still on the site.

Puzzles from the last seven days are free to play. Older puzzles in the archive are for subscribers.

How to play The New Yorker Crossword

Open the crossword page and choose today’s puzzle from the dated list.
Click a square or a clue to select an entry.
Type your answer; the cursor moves along the word.
Switch between across and down clues to work the crossings.
Fill every square correctly to finish the grid.

Tips

Start the week with Wednesday’s beginner-friendly grid if Monday’s feels too hard.
Fill in short crossing answers first; they give letters for the long ones.
Solve within a week of publication to play without a subscription.
On a phone, The New Yorker recommends using its app.