NYT Crossword Answers for March 26, 2025

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — When it comes to crossword themes, every part of a puzzle grid is fair game. Black squares and borders can serve as visual representations of concepts, like language “barriers” and state lines. They can even be arranged to represent architectural wonders.

In today’s crossword, Nathan Hale is especially 9-Down in his use of black squares to represent a themed phrase, timed to (nearly) coincide with a certain American sport’s opening day. Let’s root, root, root for the answers together, shall we?

Today’s Theme

“Waiter, there’s a hyphen in my clue!” Don’t send back the puzzle — this just means that the clues’ entries are part of a longer phrase that begins in a separate place. I’ll give you an example: At 19A, the clue reads [“I’ve done this before”]. To the right, 20-Across is just [-]. The phrase that solves 19A extends through 20A: NOT MY FIRST RODEO. Hang on, you may be thinking. I don’t see the word FIRST in the grid. That’s because it’s represented by the black square between 19A and 20A.

Repeat the exercise at 25A, and you’ll find that [Not so sure about a wedding, say] solves across the [-] at 27A to HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS. Once again, the word SECOND seems to be missing, replaced by a single black square.

This is where the revealer clue comes in handy: To [Take care of everything] is to COVER ALL THE BASES (40A) — which is exactly what four squares in this puzzle do. Now that we’ve identified first and second bases, you should have an easy time determining the remaining phrases: One uses the word “third,” and the last uses the word “home.”