You’re staring at the grid. It’s a Wednesday. Or maybe a brutal Saturday. The clue says "That's correct," and you have four empty boxes mocking you. You type in TRUE. Doesn't fit. You try YESY. No, that’s not even a word. You're stuck. This is the specific torture of the thats correct nyt crossword clue, a staple of Will Shortz’s—and now Joel Fagliano’s—editing style that relies entirely on register, tone, and the flexibility of the English language.
Crosswords aren't just about facts. They aren't trivia contests. If they were, we’d all just use Wikipedia and be done with it. No, the New York Times crossword is a linguistics game. When you see "That's correct," the puzzle isn't asking for a synonym. It's asking for a performance. It's asking you to imagine a human being standing in a room, nodding their head, and uttering a specific sound.
The Infuriating Versatility of Affirmation
English is weird. We have roughly a thousand ways to say yes, and the NYT uses every single one of them. The difficulty of a thats correct nyt crossword entry usually depends on the day of the week. On a Monday, you’re looking for something dead simple. AMEN. Or maybe YES. But as the week progresses, the constructors start getting playful. They move away from the literal and into the colloquial.
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Think about the last time someone told you something right. You might have said, "Quite." Or maybe "I'll say." Perhaps even "Too true."
Each of these has a different "flavor." The crossword clue relies on you matching that flavor. If the clue is "That's correct!" with an exclamation point, the answer is likely something high-energy like YOUBET or EXACTLY. If it's "That's correct..." with an ellipsis, it might be the more hesitant SOIT IS. The punctuation in the NYT isn't flavor text. It's a coded instruction.
Real Examples from the Archives
Let's look at some actual historical hits. In a 2023 puzzle, the clue "That's correct" led to the answer AMEN. Simple, right? But in a more devious 2021 grid, the answer was THEVERYONE. That’s ten letters long. It changes the entire geometry of the Southeast corner.
Constructors like Robyn Weintraub or Brendan Emmett Quigley love these because they are "green paint" killers. In crossword slang, "green paint" is a phrase that is technically a thing but isn't a thing. "That's correct," however, is a conversational cornerstone. It allows for "unit" answers. These are phrases that function as a single block of meaning.
- DITTO (5 letters): Common in the early week.
- AMEN (4 letters): Often shows up when there’s a religious or emphatic slant.
- TRUE (4 letters): The most basic, yet often the hardest to see because it's so plain.
- RIGHTO (6 letters): The British flair.
- UH HUH (4 or 5 letters, depending on the grid): The bane of many solvers because of that pesky 'H'.
Why the "Register" Matters
Register is just a fancy linguistics term for how we change our speech based on who we're talking to. The NYT Crossword is obsessed with it. A clue for thats correct nyt crossword might be "That's correct, in a way." This is a signal. It means the answer is slangy or metaphorical.
Maybe the answer is YUP. Or maybe it's the more formal INDEED.
If you're stuck, look at the clues around it. If the surrounding clues are high-brow—references to opera, Latin phrases like in situ, or obscure poets—the answer to "That's correct" is probably going to be formal. If the puzzle is full of pop culture and modern slang, start thinking about words like YEAH or WORD.
Honestly, it’s about vibes. You have to feel the puzzle.
The Role of the Editor
Joel Fagliano, who took the reins during Will Shortz's recent medical leave, has a specific penchant for the "conversational" clue. Under his guidance, the NYT Mini and the main daily have seen an uptick in these types of entries. He wants the puzzle to sound like people actually talking in 2026, not like a dictionary from 1954.
This means "That's correct" is less likely to be "VERILY" and more likely to be "FACTS" or "IT IS."
The evolution of the thats correct nyt crossword clue tracks the evolution of American English. We are moving away from the formal and toward the punchy. We want efficiency. We want the grid to breathe.
Breaking Down the "Aha!" Moment
The "Aha!" moment is why we play. It's that second where the neurons fire and the fog clears. With a clue like "That's correct," that moment usually comes from a cross-reference. You have the 'T' from a down clue and the 'O' from another. Suddenly, T _ _ O isn't a mystery. It's DITTO.
But what if it's not?
What if the answer is "TOO TRUE"? This is where the trickery lies. The NYT loves to use "multi-word" answers without telling you they're multi-word. There are no spaces in a crossword. TOOTRUE looks like gibberish until your brain parses it.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Being too literal. Don't just think of synonyms for "correct." Think of things people say when they agree.
- Ignoring the tense. If the clue is "That was correct," the answer might be "SOTRUE" or something in the past tense, though that's rarer for this specific phrase.
- Forgetting the "Cross" in Crossword. If you have three possible four-letter words (TRUE, AMEN, YEPY—okay, not that last one), don't guess. Look at the vertical clues. The 'A' in AMEN is much easier to verify than the 'T' in TRUE.
The Psychology of the Solve
There is a psychological phenomenon called "functional fixedness." It’s a cognitive bias that limits you to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. In crosswords, this happens when you see "That's correct" and your brain locks onto the word "YES."
You have to break that lock. You have to be fluid.
The best solvers—the ones you see at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament—treat every clue as a variable. They don't see words; they see possibilities. When they encounter thats correct nyt crossword clues, they are mentally cycling through a Rolodex of affirmations.
How to Get Better at These Specific Clues
Practice is the obvious answer, but it's more than that. It's about reading the "New York Times style." Every publication has a "voice." The Wall Street Journal is more pun-heavy. The New Yorker is more "look how smart I am." The NYT is the middle ground—it's sophisticated but accessible.
To master the "That's correct" variations:
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- Watch for the "?" If the clue is "That's correct?", the question mark usually indicates a pun or a literalization of a figurative phrase.
- Count the letters immediately. Don't even read the clue fully until you know if you're looking for a 3-letter "YEP" or a 7-letter "YOU GOT IT."
- Use the "Check" feature sparingly. If you're using the NYT app, checking a single letter can help, but it robs you of the dopamine hit of the solve. Try to get at least two crossing letters before giving up.
The thats correct nyt crossword mystery isn't really a mystery once you realize the puzzle is trying to talk to you. It's a conversation. Listen to the tone of the grid, check your crosses, and don't be afraid to delete "TRUE" when it clearly isn't working.
Actionable Solver Strategy
- Scan for Punctuation: Immediately identify if the clue has an exclamation point or a question mark. This dictates the "energy" of the answer.
- Letter Count First: For a 3-letter answer, your primary suspects are YES, YUP, and AYS. For 4 letters, look for TRUE, AMEN, and SO IT.
- Verify the Vowels: Most affirmation words are vowel-heavy (A-M-E-N, I-N-D-E-E-D). Use your down clues to lock in at least two vowels; this usually narrows the field from ten possibilities to two.
- Think in Phrases: If the answer is longer than 5 letters, stop looking for single words. Start thinking about what you’d say to a friend who just made a great point during a drink at a bar. "Too true," "Spot on," or "You said it."
Solving the NYT puzzle is a marathon, not a sprint. Every "That's correct" you fill in makes the next one easier. You start to see the patterns. You start to speak the language. Eventually, you won't even need the crosses. You'll just know. And that, honestly, is the best feeling in the world.