This clue appeared in the NYT Crossword on Saturday, March 14, 2026 (18 Across). The answer is hidden below until you want it. Saturday puzzles are the hardest of the week and themeless, so clues are often deliberately misleading.
How to read this clue
This is a fill-in-the-blank clue: the answer completes the phrase, title or quotation.
Answer length: 5 squares
First letter
G _ _ _ _
First and last letters
G _ _ _ A
Show the answer
About the answer
GOTTA as a word: (colloquial) Synonym of have got to, have to [Expressing obligation; used with have.]; (colloquial) Contraction of got + a. [Expressing obligation; used with have.].
GOTTA has been an answer once in the NYT Crossword and Mini puzzles we have on file, which go back to October 23, 2025.
More clues from this puzzle
- Come back (9 Across)
- Recipient of a key to the city, say (14 Across)
- Shocked ... shocked! (16 Across)
- Like Thunderdell, the monster slain by Jack the Giant Killer (17 Across)
- Mottled (19 Across)
- Sch. whose symbol is the Native American war leader Osceola (20 Across)
- Title role for Paul Newman, 1963 (22 Across)
Play today's NYT Crossword at The New York Times
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