Need a hint for today’s NYT Crossword on Saturday, 18th October? Because we have them! All of them, in fact, so you can breeze through the NYT Crossword today without losing too much hair or sanity in the process.
Getting all of the answers handed to you isn’t much fun, though, which is why we offer alternative hints as well to shed light on the original clues or give you another thought process to follow to the answer!
NYT Crossword hints: Saturday October 18th 2025
Below you can find all the hints in today’s NYT Crossword, listed first across, then down. If you need a bit of help on any of them, tap or click on the spoiler text below them to reveal our extra clue. And to reveal the answer for each clue separately, just expand the spoiler boxes below!
1a. Measure of rank in Maori culture, informally.
Our hint: Two words, the second one is for short.
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Formally, they are called Moko.
8a. Bubbles.
Our hint: The layer on top of a freshly poured beer, say.
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A term you could use for almost any foamy substance!
13a. Sauce in Italian-American cuisine.
Our hint: A tomato-based sauce.
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Great for pasta or dipping.
14a. Knocked out.
Our hint: Amazed.
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To be in awe is to be both shocked and amazed by something.
15a. It’s in right now.
Our hint: Two words.
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Fads come and go!
16a. Was worthy of.
Our hint: The R in R-18, say.
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Judged, in a way.
17a. Having a single purpose.
Our hint: Latin for “for this”
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Designed for a specific issue.
18a. Light that goes up when things are going down?
Our hint: Used in emergency situations.
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A signal for help.
20a. Snatch.
Our hint: Something to keep things in.
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To bag something is to collect it.
21a. Crank cases?
Our hint: A study that explores the unexplained.
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The word crank is often used to describe someone on the fringe.
23a. Something pulled in many car chase scenes, for short.
Our hint: Usually reserved for emergencies.
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The handbrake, in other words.
25a. Home to the Arco di Constantino.
Our hint: The capital of Italy in Italian.
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Roma in Italian, Rome in English.
26a. Present a chance to get ahead.
Our hint: Or a way to get inside.
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When one door closes another one opens!
29a. Spaniards roll them.
Our hint: It’s phonetic spelling.
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Ars meaning R’s.
30a. Was really moving, in slang.
Our hint: Two words.
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“Let’s go!!”
31a. “Uh… I guess”
Our hint: Two words, the second one informal.
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Meaning sort of.
32a. Sources of 24/7 support.
Our hint: Lifesavers on the line.
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The Suicide Helpline, for example.
33a. Many an attachment.
Our hint: A type of digital file.
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Stands for “Portable Document Format”
36a. Ones catching waves.
Our hint: Not waves as in water.
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Radio waves!
37a. Longtime name in Cuban politics.
Our hint: Starts with an R.
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Raul Castro.
38a. Those playing the King of Egypt in “Aida”
Our hint: “Aida” is an opera.
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The King of Egypt is often played by a someone with a bass or basso vocal range.
39a. Monthly magazine that sponsors a large annual music festival in New Orleans.
Our hint: Has a focus on fashion, beauty, and empowerment.
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A pioneering American lifestyle magazine.
41a. Easily removed locks.
Our hint: Not locks as in locking devices.
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Locks as in hair!
42a. Limited assignment.
Our hint: A short period.
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“She did a stint at the local newspaper”, for example.
45a. Smallest number of the eurozone (122 square miles)
Our hint: Starts with an M.
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An island nation in the Mediterranean.
46a. Appropriately change course.
Our hint: Get used to another setting, perhaps.
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Evolve to suit your new environment.
48a. Spirals out of control?
Our hint: Strong wind storms.
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They can do a lot of damage!
50a. Panhellenenic Games venue.
Our hint: Starts with an N.
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The Panhellenic Games circuit was where the Olympics originated.
51a. Can’t cool off.
Our hint: Not in terms of temperature.
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Holding a grudge is not good for you.
52a. Gifted.
Our hint: To be talented at something.
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To be adept is to be highly skilled.
53a. Culinary concurrence.
Our hint: Two words.
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An important phrase in the kitchen.
1d. Understands.
Our hint: Starts with an F.
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“I just can’t fathom why you would do such a thing!”
2d. Site of some piercings.
Our hint: One of the more sensitive spots to pierce.
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Ouch.
3d. “There’s never been a better time” tech slonganeer.
Our hint: Starts with a C.
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Focuses on networking and communications.
4d. Fangorn resident.
Our hint: Wise creatures in LoTR.
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Tree-like beings.
5d. Sweet doings at a county fair.
Our hint: Two words.
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Yummy!
6d. ___ Sea, locale of a 20th Century environmental disaster.
Our hint: Between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
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Too much water was diverted from the Aral Sea, leading to the collapse of the ecosystem and several other damaging effects.
7d. Cry that might be made with a bow.
Our hint: Heard after a magician has finished his trick, perhaps.
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Indicates the big reveal.
8d. Responders to cruise ship emergencies.
Our hint: Two words.
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The fire trucks of the sea.
9d. It works in translation.
Our hint: Working from inside the body.
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RNA helps your body read genetic instructions.
10d. Crunchy snacks.
Our hint: Two words.
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Like muesli bars.
11d. Fine-tunes.
Our hint: Small adjustments.
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The finishing touches, perhaps.
12d. Divider of lots.
Our hint: Plants that can double as fences.
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Hedges make great dividers!
13d. Really into.
Our hint: Two words.
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It might be love!
15d. 21st-Century first lady.
Our hint: Served as first lady during the Presidency of her husband, George Bush.
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Laura Bush.
19d. Attire for many a flamenco dancer.
Our hint: Two words.
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A passionate color.
22d. Upright bar.
Our hint: The target in sports.
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Get the ball through them to score a goal!
24d. Bonheur who painted “Ploughing in the Nivernais”
Our hint: Starts with an R.
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A groundbreaking French artist.
27d. Woman’s name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet.
Our hint: Starts with an E.
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L.C!
28d. Colorful swimmers in the Amazon.
Our hint: Common pets.
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Bright little fish!
30d. Energy device that reflects sunlight.
Our hint: Starts with an H.
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Tracks and reflects sunlight.
31d. Rings up?
Our hint: A holy matrimony in present tense.
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To marry someone! How romantic.
32d. Can hold one’s own, in mordern lingo.
Our hint: Something someone who is good with the ladies has.
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“He has game!”
33d. Bread purchase, in the U.K.
Our hint: Two words.
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Cooked in a rectangular tin or pan.
34d. Like a building’s central air conditioning.
Our hint: Central systems with vents.
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Allows the heating or cooling to reach every room!
35d. Dogbane?
Our hint: Black Plague culprits.
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Tiny pests.
36d. Like drug dens, sometimes.
Our hint: Drug dens that are getting busted, in particular.
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Uh-oh!
37d. FAQ heading.
Our hint: What a note in “Alice in Wonderland” might be labeled as…
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Must be read!
38d. East African honorific.
Our hint: Starts with a B.
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A Swahili word meaning boss, sir, or master.
40d. Reduce to a pulp.
Our hint: A very strong impact.
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How smashed avo is prepared, for example!
43d. Minute.
Our hint: Minute as in small, not the unit of time.
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Like the itsy bitsy spider.
44d. Pay attention to.
Our hint: To jot something down.
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You can make both mental and physical notes!
47d. Zip.
Our hint: Some people have it in their step.
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“She’s got pep in her step!”
49d. Home to the U.S.’s first pizzeria, according to the Pizza Hall of Fame, for short.
Our hint: The Big Apple.
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New York City!
NYT Crossword answers: Saturday October 18th 2025
Done figuring it all out for yourself? Here’s the full completed NYT Crossword showing all the answers for today’s puzzle:
And there she is! The 18th of October NYT Crossword in all of her glory. No empty tiles in sight! Hopefully, this guide was able to help you get there.
This NYT Crossword was full of puns! It really took advantage of the double meanings some words have, which can really throw you off in a crossword. Minute/minute, for example, was my biggest hurdle! I really read it as minute for a long time. Of course, though, it meant minute! Silly me.
That’s all for today’s puzzle, but if you like to keep your brain active with more of NYT’s puzzles, you can also check out our guides on the Wordle hint and answer for Saturday 18th October and our Connections hint for Saturday 18th October.