You're staring at your phone. It’s 10:14 PM on a Tuesday, or maybe it’s a groggy Monday morning, and the cursor is blinking stubbornly at a five-letter or seven-letter gap. You see the clue: "Let's do this!" Your brain immediately goes into overdrive. Is it a command? A celebratory shout? An invitation to a party? The lets do this nyt crossword clue is one of those classic New York Times curveballs that feels incredibly simple until you actually have to fit it into the grid. It’s conversational. It’s idiomatic. And frankly, it’s a little bit annoying if you don’t catch the constructor's "vibe" right away.
Crosswords are basically a secret handshake between the person who built the puzzle and you. Sometimes that handshake is firm and professional. Other times, like with a phrase such as "Let's do this," it’s a bit more casual, leaning into the way we actually talk in real life rather than how we write in textbooks.
The Multiple Personalities of Let's Do This
The NYT Crossword, edited for decades by the legendary Will Shortz and more recently assisted by a robust team of editors like Joel Fagliano, loves phrases that can mean three different things depending on the context. When you see "Let's do this" as a clue, you aren't just looking for a synonym. You're looking for a specific social energy.
One of the most frequent answers is IM IN.
Think about it. Someone suggests hitting a late-night diner or starting a grueling CrossFit session. You shrug and say, "Let’s do this." In the grid, that translates to a quick, four-letter affirmation. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Depending on the day of the week—remember, the NYT gets harder as the week goes on—the answer could be GAME ON. That’s a bit more competitive, right? It implies a challenge has been issued. If the puzzle is a Saturday, you might be looking at something far more literal or obscure, like HERE GOES or even SHALL WE.
Why Context is King in the Grid
You can't just guess. Well, you can, but you'll end up erasing a lot of digital ink.
The brilliance of the lets do this nyt crossword clue lies in the punctuation. Usually, if the clue has an exclamation point, the answer needs that same "oomph." If the clue is "Let's do this!", the answer is rarely a dry word like "START." It’s going to be something punchy.
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Take the answer IT IS ON.
This is a classic "Shortz-era" answer. It’s colloquial. It’s something you’d hear in a movie right before a dance-off or a high-stakes poker game. It fits the five-letter or six-letter slots perfectly. But wait—sometimes the constructor is looking for something even more informal. Have you ever seen LETS as part of the answer itself? Occasionally, the NYT will use a "cross-reference" clue where "Let's do this" refers to a specific theme.
I remember a puzzle from a few years back where the theme revolved around "Action" verbs. In that case, the answer wasn't a phrase at all, but a specific command related to a movie set. It’s that kind of trickery that keeps the NYT Crossword at the top of the food chain. It’s not just a vocabulary test. It’s a lateral thinking exercise.
Decoding the Constructor's Intent
Who makes these things? People like Robyn Weintraub or Brendan Emmett Quigley. These constructors are masters of the "conversational" clue. They want you to feel like you’re having a chat. When they use a clue like lets do this nyt crossword, they are often trying to bridge the gap between the old-school "crosswordese" (words like ALOE, ETUI, or ERNE) and modern English.
Let's look at the literal side. If the answer is START, it’s probably a Monday. Mondays are gentle. They want you to succeed. They want you to feel like a genius before the Tuesday transition hits you. But by Thursday, "Let's do this" might be a clue for a pun. Maybe the answer is ACT I because that’s literally when you "do this" in a play.
See what they did there?
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It’s frustrating. It’s brilliant. It’s why we pay for the subscription.
Common Answers for "Let's Do This!"
If you're stuck right now, look at your crossing letters. They are your only real friends in this world.
- IM IN: The classic four-letter acceptance.
- GAME ON: For the competitive puzzles.
- HERE GOES: Usually for a moment of hesitation before starting.
- LETS: Sometimes the clue is just a fill-in-the-blank style, though rare for this specific phrase.
- ITS TIME: A bit more dramatic, often appearing in mid-week puzzles.
- READY: Simple, clean, effective.
- ALL SET: The "I'm prepared" version of the phrase.
Honestly, the best way to solve these is to say the clue out loud. Use different tones. Say it like a cheerleader. Say it like a tired office worker. Say it like a villain in a Bond movie. Usually, the tone that feels most "natural" will lead you to the right number of letters.
The Evolution of NYT Clueing
The New York Times crossword hasn't stayed static. In the 1990s, you’d rarely see slang. Today? It’s everywhere. This shift towards "lifestyle" language means clues like lets do this nyt crossword appear more frequently. They reflect how we text. They reflect how we talk in Slack channels.
Deb Amlen, who runs the Wordplay column for the Times, often talks about how the "aha!" moment is the most important part of a puzzle. That moment when the clue "Let's do this" finally clicks because you realized it wasn't a command, but an agreement. That little spark in the brain? That’s dopamine, and it’s why people have been doing this every day for decades.
Strategies for Friday and Saturday Puzzles
If you're hitting this clue on a weekend, prepare for pain. The "Let's do this" clue on a Saturday won't be IM IN. It might be something absurdly specific to a hobby or a niche industry. Or it might be a multi-word phrase that spans half the grid.
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One trick I’ve learned: look for the "hidden" meaning. Could "this" refer to a specific task? If the puzzle has a theme about baking, "Let's do this" might lead to BAKE. If it's about sports, it could be PLAY. Always check the title of the puzzle if it has one (though daily NYT puzzles only have titles on Sundays). The title is the "key" to the "this" in "Let's do this."
How to Get Better at Catching These Phrases
You can't just memorize the dictionary. You have to live in the world. Watch TV, read the news, listen to how people talk at coffee shops. The NYT Crossword is a cultural barometer.
If a new slang term for "starting something" becomes popular on TikTok, you can bet your bottom dollar it will show up in a Friday puzzle within six months. Being an "expert" at the lets do this nyt crossword isn't about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about being the most observant.
- Check the crossings. If you have a 'G' and an 'O', it's probably GAME ON.
- Count the letters. Five letters? Try IM IN (with a space) or READY.
- Gauge the day. Monday is literal. Saturday is a trick.
- Read the Wordplay blog. If you’re really stuck, the NYT’s own blog breaks down the logic behind the toughest clues every single day.
Crosswords are supposed to be fun, even when they make you want to throw your phone across the room. The "Let's do this" clue is a perfect example of that tension. It’s the bridge between the puzzle and the real world.
Next time you see it, don't overthink. Just breathe. Think about the last time you said those words to a friend. What were you doing? Where were you going? The answer is probably hidden in that memory.
To improve your solve times, start by tackling the "Short Fill" first. Get those three and four-letter words out of the way. This builds a skeleton for the larger phrases like lets do this nyt crossword to hang on. Also, try to solve the puzzle in a "Downs Only" mode once in a while to sharpen your intuition for how words flow together without the crutch of the Across clues. If you really want to dive deep, use a database like XWord Info to see every time this specific clue has been used in the past thirty years. You'll start to see patterns that no human could just guess.