"To protect my crew, the gamble was necessary," as [circled letters] might say Crossword Clue

We have the 10-letter answer for "To protect my crew, the gamble was necessary," as [circled letters] might say crossword clue, last seen in the NYT Crossword August 3, 2025 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

"To protect my crew, the gamble was necessary," as [circled letters] might say Crossword Answer

↓45.

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Helpful Hints

Hint 1: Clue Definitions

NECESSARY (noun)
1. anything indispensable
NECESSARY (adjective)
1. absolutely essential
2. unavoidably determined by prior circumstances
PROTECT (verb)
1. shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
2. use tariffs to favor domestic industry

More NYT Crossword (8/3/2025) Answers

Across

1. Final act of a play?

4. Iconic sci-fi setting spelled out in this puzzle's shaded squares

8. Skyrocket

12. "Reckon so"

15. Working without ___

17. Seemingly forever

19. Some spa jobs, in brief

20. Manner of speaking

21. Like used BBQ pits

22. Member of this puzzle's shaded squares who might say "I cannot change the laws of physics, Captain!"

24. Like being late or cutting in line

25. Something clicked to add an attachment

27. Take up space

28. Kind of protagonist in "Lethal Weapon" or "Die Hard"

30. Swear

31. Digital investment choices, informally

33. Not much, as of wasabi

34. Narrowly get (by)

35. "Now that we're all here, please proceed"

38. Lab reports?

41. Overzealous sort

43. Got acquainted

44. D.M.V.-issued card authenticated by airport security

47. Build a stockpile

49. Didn't go fast?

50. Employee's status meaning "I'm currently away"

51. Take down a notch

52. Purveyors of provocative posts

53. 8.5" x 11": Abbr.

54. Kris Kross #1 hit with the lyric "How high? Real high, 'cause I'm just so fly"

56. El presidente ousted in a 1955 coup

57. Danger

58. Cry from a victor

59. Type that tends to be right-leaning

61. Like quality vocals

63. Looks inside?

65. Drug-busting unit

66. City whose Fushimi Inari shrine features 10,000+ red torii gates

67. Brother of Disney's Louie and Dewey Duck

68. Something hit to get fit

70. Hands-on professional?

72. Baseball team whose mascot is Wally the Green Monster

75. Seeing romantically

76. Humble hold 'em holding

78. "The Bear" streamer

80. Cold War weapon inits.

81. Beethoven's No. 8?

82. Line of luxury hotels

84. Takes to school, in a way

85. Cosmic explosion

86. It goes on the run

87. Be a wingman, e.g.

88. False

90. Inits. for this puzzle's shaded squares

91. Move like a supermodel

93. Unit of purity

95. Lower oneself

97. They study how knights move

99. Canyon's edge

100. On the ___ (raging)

102. Gone skinny-dipping, e.g.

103. Significant stretch

104. Mr Turkey

105. Some window installations, informally

106. Warp-driven device

108. Major exporter of mangoes

110. One giving the highlights?

112. By dawn's early light?

114. Intending to, casually

115. Bring upon oneself

116. Wordlessly indicate "Please give me a hand"

117. "___ a broken heart" (Emily Dickinson poem)

118. Iron Man's suit, e.g.

119. Fire away

120. False

121. Docking station

122. Some draft picks

All Answers

Down

1. Some farm sounds

2. Camped nearby and surveilling, in police jargon

3. "Our window is closing for escape w-elocity!," as [circled letters] might say

4. Hardly spicy

5. Next in line

6. Goddess of daybreak

7. Fill-in

8. Direct opposite of verso (found hidden in this clue!)

9. It's a promise

10. Enemy of the Jedi

11. By Juan's early light?

12. "Any time! I'm a doctor, not a do-nothing!," as [circled letters] might say

13. Way back?

14. Slight gripe, so to speak

16. Slip of the pen

18. Tantalizing

19. A low "Yo!"

20. Trampled (on)

23. Sound of a wardrobe malfunction

26. Euphemistic expression of commitment

29. Speaks roughly

31. Cherry or lime

32. Bask in

34. Reaction to a social media post, maybe

36. "Logic dictates that you control your emotions," as [circled letters] might say

37. Sneakily exploits

39. Thing of the past

40. "Stepping on the gas, Captain!," as [circled letters] might say

42. Seaside flock

46. IHOP rival

47. Florida beach town, informally

48. "We received a distress signal. Any injuries?," as [circled letters] might say

55. Tough spot

58. Stranded during a winter storm, say

60. Texter's sweet sentiment

62. Big hits, in brief

64. Make a case against?

68. Old-fashioned contraction

69. Backwoods bumpkin

70. Bite-size

71. Former Wisconsin senator Feingold

73. "Clearly!," in textspeak

74. Major e-tailing season

77. World capital with 400 kilometers of bike lanes

79. He might be carrying a big picture

83. This puzzle's theme

84. "I want to come back to the ship," as everyone circled in this puzzle seems to have said to 22-Across

87. NPR journalist Shapiro

89. Punch

92. Belly, in kidspeak

94. Carnival-themed Vegas hotel

96. In spades

97. Symbols of grace

98. Object

100. Garbage

101. "___ is more important than life" (Klingon proverb)

102. "Transformers" actor ___ LaBeouf

107. 2004 landing site for Spirit

109. Land west of Eng.

111. "... you get the gist": Abbr.

113. Alt-rocker DiFranco

114. Chinwag

All Answers