You’re staring at the grid. The black and white squares are mocking you. It’s a Wednesday—or maybe a brutal Saturday—and you’ve hit a wall. Specifically, you’ve hit the wall at 10 across completely and utterly nyt style, and the letters just aren’t clicking. We’ve all been there. Crossword puzzles aren't just about vocabulary; they are about getting inside the specific, often eccentric mind of the person who wrote the thing. When the clue is something as emphatic as "completely and utterly," the New York Times crossword usually wants something more than just a synonym. It wants a vibe.
The NYT crossword is a beast of its own. It’s a cultural institution that has evolved from a wartime distraction in 1942 to a digital obsession for millions. But the way Will Shortz and his team (and now the newer editorial voices like Joel Fagliano) frame "absolute" terms is a specific language. If you see "completely and utterly," your brain should immediately start cycling through five-letter powerhouses or long, vowel-heavy adjectives. It’s rarely "totally." That’s too easy.
Decoding the Language of the NYT Grid
When you’re stuck on 10 across completely and utterly nyt, you have to think about the "crosswordese" factor. Puzzlers often look for words that fit the high-vowel requirements of a grid's construction. "Dead," "Pure," or the more sophisticated "Stark." But "utterly" usually signals a need for an adverb or a descriptor that carries weight.
Let's look at the actual stats. In the history of the NYT crossword, "completely" has been used as a clue for words like AMISS (when things go completely wrong) or ATONE (in a more abstract sense), but most often it points toward FULLY, QUITE, or the dreaded TOTAL. However, when the clue adds "utterly" into the mix, it’s a plea for intensity. You’re looking for DEAD, ALL, or perhaps SHEER.
Crosswords are a game of trickery. Sometimes "completely" isn't an adverb at all in the solver's mind—it’s a hint at a prefix. Think "Omni-" or "Pan-." If 10 across is only three letters, you’re almost certainly looking at ALL. If it’s four, PURE or DEAD (as in "dead wrong") are your best bets. The NYT loves these colloquialisms because they bridge the gap between formal English and how we actually talk over coffee.
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The Evolutionary Shift in NYT Cluing
Honestly, the puzzle has changed. If you were solving back in the 70s, the clues were more academic. Today? They are pop-culture-heavy and pun-reliant. A clue like 10 across completely and utterly nyt might even be a meta-reference to a song or a common phrase like "Stone Cold."
Deb Amlen, who writes the "Wordplay" column for the Times, often points out that the difficulty of a clue isn't just about the word itself, but where it sits in the week. A Monday clue for "completely" would be TOTAL. A Saturday clue? It might be HOLE AND CORNER or some obscure Latinate derivative.
Why we get stuck
It’s the "U" and the "T." For some reason, when people see the word "utterly," their brains lock onto the letter U. They start trying to fit ULTRA into a four-letter space. It doesn't work. The mental friction of the NYT crossword comes from its ability to use very common words to describe very simple concepts in ways that feel alien.
The grid is a physical space. Every letter in 10 across has to pay rent to the down clues. If you put in FULLY but 2 down starts with a Z, you’re in trouble. This is why "completely and utterly" is such a frequent flier in the clue world—it’s flexible. It can mean CLEAN (as in "a clean break") or STARK (as in "stark raving mad").
Real Examples from the Archives
Let’s get specific. In several past editions, "Completely" has led to:
- INTOTO (The Latin lover’s favorite)
- AFLOP (When a play fails completely)
- ALLIN (When you’re exhausted or betting it all)
If the clue is "Completely and utterly," the most frequent "NYT-ism" is STONE. As in "Stone deaf" or "Stone cold." It’s an intensifier. It’s gritty. It fits the vibe of a modern puzzle that likes to use evocative language.
Wait. Let's look at it from another angle. Sometimes the clue is a "hidden in plain sight" situation. If the clue is "Completely and utterly," and the answer is ORAL, it’s because the constructor is playing with the word "utterly" as in "to speak." This is the classic NYT "hidden meaning" trap. They take a word you think is an adverb and turn it into a verb. If you’ve ever spent twenty minutes staring at a three-letter word for "utter," only to realize the answer is SAY, you know the pain.
How to Beat the 10 Across Block
You need a strategy. You can't just guess. Well, you can, but it’s messy. First, check the crossings. If the first letter of 10 across is a consonant, you’re likely looking at a word like DEAD or PURE. If it’s a vowel, think ALL or ENOUGH.
Don't be afraid to leave it blank. Seriously. The NYT crossword is designed to be solved in clusters. If the top right corner is a disaster, move to the bottom left. Often, a "completely" clue is a "gimme" once you have two letters, but a total nightmare when the squares are empty.
Also, consider the era. If you're solving an archived puzzle from the 90s, the answer is going to be more formal. If it's a 2024 or 2025 puzzle, look for slang. "Completely" might be DEEP or MAD.
The Psychology of the Solve
There is a dopamine hit when that "completely" clue finally clicks. It’s why we do this. We like order. We like things to be "utterly" finished. The irony of being stuck on a clue that means "finished" or "total" is not lost on the constructors. They are trolls. Brilliant, dictionary-wielding trolls.
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One thing people forget is that the NYT has a specific "house style." They have certain words they love. ERIE, AREA, ETUI, ALEE. If "completely and utterly" can be answered with a word that contains three vowels, the constructor will choose that word nine times out of ten. It makes their job of building the rest of the grid much easier.
Actionable Tips for Your Next Grid
Stop overthinking the definition. When you see "completely," don't reach for a thesaurus. Reach for a pen and start filling in the down clues.
- Check the Tense and Part of Speech: Is the clue "completely" (adverb) or "to complete" (verb)? This changes everything. If it's 10 across and it's a verb, the answer could be END, STOP, or FILL.
- Look for Puns: If there is a question mark at the end of the clue—like "Completely and utterly?"—the answer is a joke. It might be SAYINGITALL or something equally ridiculous.
- Count the Vowels: If you have a lot of vowels in the surrounding area, the answer to 10 across is likely consonant-heavy to balance the grid.
- The "Check" Feature: If you’re playing on the app, don't be ashamed to use the "Check Square" tool if you're ten minutes into a staring contest with a blank box. Life is short.
The NYT crossword is a conversation between you and the constructor. Sometimes they are being literal. Sometimes they are being cheeky. But "completely and utterly" is almost always a signpost that a high-impact, definitive word is required.
Next time you open the app or grab the Sunday paper, remember that the grid is solvable. Even when 10 across feels like an impossible puzzle from a foreign dimension, it's usually just a common word wearing a clever disguise. Look for the "crosswordese" patterns, trust your gut on the down clues, and don't let the adverbs win.
Go back to the grid. Look at those empty squares again. Is it DEAD? Is it ALL? Is it PURE? It’s probably simpler than you think. Crosswords aren't about being the smartest person in the room; they're about being the most persistent.
Start by filling in every three-letter word you are 100% sure of. This creates an anchor. From those anchors, the longer, more complex clues like "completely and utterly" start to reveal their skeletons. You've got this. Keep your eraser handy and your mind open to the possibility that "utterly" might just mean "to talk."