If you’ve spent any time on the corner of the internet where people obsess over grids and black squares, you know the feeling. It’s that specific brand of frustration that hits right around Thursday or Friday. You’re staring at a clue—with some chance of failure nyt—and your brain just locks up. It’s not that the answer is impossible. It’s that the phrasing is just "crosswordy" enough to feel like a trick. Honestly, the New York Times crossword thrives on this kind of ambiguity. It’s why we love it, and why we occasionally want to throw our phones across the room.
The New York Times crossword isn't just a game; it's a linguistic battleground. When editors Will Shortz, Joel Fagliano, or Sam Ezersky greenlight a clue like "with some chance of failure," they aren't looking for a dictionary definition. They’re looking for a vibe. They’re looking for that "aha!" moment that only comes after you’ve cycled through five wrong interpretations of the English language.
The Answer Everyone Is Looking For
Let’s get the elephant out of the room. If you are stuck on a recent grid and the clue is with some chance of failure nyt, the answer is almost certainly AT RISK.
Wait. Or is it?
Depending on the day of the week and the specific construction of the puzzle, it could also be DICEY, IFFY, or even TENTATIVE. But in the context of recent high-profile puzzles that have trended on social media and crossword forums like Rex Parker’s blog, "AT RISK" is the heavy hitter. It’s a six-letter staple. It fits the grammatical slot of an adjective or an adverbial phrase perfectly.
Why does this specific clue trip people up? Because "with some chance of failure" is a dry, almost clinical way to describe something that we usually describe with more colorful language. In a Tuesday puzzle, the clue might be "Perilous." On a Saturday? You get this clinical, slightly obscured phrasing that forces you to translate "chance of failure" into the concept of "risk." It's a mental pivot.
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Why the NYT Crossword Logic is Getting Harder
There’s been a lot of chatter lately in the crossword community about "vibe shifts" in the NYT puzzles. Some veteran solvers think the clues are becoming more colloquial, while others argue they’re becoming needlessly opaque.
Actually, it's both.
The New York Times has a very specific style guide. They love "misdirection by part of speech." When you see with some chance of failure nyt, your brain looks for a verb because of the word "failure." But the crossword wants a state of being. It wants a descriptor.
Take the word "DICEY." It’s a classic NYT favorite. It’s short, uses a "Y," and fits into tight corners. If the constructor is feeling particularly cruel, they might use "with some chance of failure" to lead you toward a long, multi-word answer like ON THIN ICE. If you have seven letters and the clue is "with some chance of failure," and you're sweating because nothing fits, look at the crosses. Always look at the crosses.
The "Wordle Effect" on Crossword Clues
Since the New York Times bought Wordle back in 2022, there has been a massive influx of new solvers. This has changed the "metadata" of the puzzles. The editors know that millions of people are now coming to the Games app who didn't grow up on the 1990s era of puns.
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Consequently, clues like with some chance of failure nyt serve as a bridge. They aren't "inside baseball" clues about 1950s opera singers (the dreaded "crosswordese"). They are logic-based. They test your ability to find synonyms in real-time. This is the new era of the NYT puzzle: less trivia, more linguistic gymnastics.
If you're struggling, you aren't alone. Reddit threads dedicated to the daily puzzle often explode when these "vague-style" clues appear. One user recently noted that "with some chance of failure" felt more like a weather report than a crossword clue. That’s the point. It’s meant to be a bit sterile so that the answer feels like a discovery rather than a memory.
How to Beat the NYT Logic Every Time
If you want to stop Googling clues halfway through your morning coffee, you have to start thinking like a constructor. Constructors are obsessed with efficiency.
- Check the Tense: If the clue is "with some chance of failure," the answer won't be "failed." It has to be a state of existence.
- Count your vowels: NYT editors love words like IFFY because they help bridge sections with high consonant counts.
- Look for the "??": If the clue had a question mark at the end—With some chance of failure?—the answer would likely be a pun. Since this specific clue usually appears without one, you know the answer is a direct synonym, however dry it might be.
The reality is that AT RISK or DICEY are the bread and butter of these puzzles. They provide the connective tissue for the "theme" entries—those long, flashy answers that run across the middle of the grid.
The Nuance of "At Risk" vs. "Iffy"
Let's look at the nuance. "At risk" implies a serious consequence. If a project is at risk, it might lose funding. "Iffy" implies uncertainty. If a plan is iffy, it might just be annoying. The NYT editors use these interchangeably depending on the "crunch" of the puzzle.
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On a Monday or Tuesday, the clue is usually very literal.
On a Saturday, the clue for AT RISK might be something wildly tangential, like "In the line of fire, perhaps."
When you see with some chance of failure nyt, you are likely dealing with a Wednesday or Thursday puzzle. It’s that middle-ground difficulty where the clue is literal but the phrasing is just "off" enough to make you second-guess your first instinct.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Puzzle
Don't let a single clue ruin your streak. The NYT crossword app is a brutal mistress, but she can be tamed.
- Fill in the "Givens": Stop staring at the clue you don't know. Find the plurals. Find the "S" at the end of four-down that likely matches the end of seven-across.
- Say it out loud: Sometimes reading "with some chance of failure" aloud helps you realize it's just a fancy way of saying "risky" or "uncertain."
- Check the "Wordplay" Column: The New York Times actually publishes a daily column (often written by Deb Amlen) that explains the logic behind the day's trickiest clues. If you're genuinely stuck on a clue like this, the Wordplay column usually breaks down why that specific phrasing was chosen.
- Embrace the "Check Square" Tool: Look, if you’re just doing this for fun and not for a global leaderboard, use the check tool. Life is too short to be miserable over a crossword. If "AT RISK" doesn't fit, use the tool to see if you've got a rogue "E" somewhere else that's messing up your flow.
- Build a Personal Glossary: You'll notice that the same clues come back. "EPEE," "ALOE," "ERIE," and "AT RISK." These are the "glue" of the crossword world. Once you memorize that "with some chance of failure" usually points to a 5 or 6-letter word starting with a vowel, you’ll shave minutes off your solve time.
The NYT crossword isn't just about what you know. It's about how you think. When you encounter a clue that feels a bit robotic or overly formal, take a breath. It's just the editor trying to play a character. Usually, that character is a slightly pedantic professor who wants you to use the most "correct" version of a word possible.
Next time you see this clue, don't overthink it. It's likely AT RISK. Type it in, move on, and get to that gold trophy icon. You've earned it.