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NYT Crossword — January 1, 2026

Thursday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1T

2H

3I

4S

5R

6A

7S

8P

9T

10U

11N

12E

13R

14H

O

S

T

15A

C

T

E

16D

A

L

O

N

E

17R

U

S

E

18W

H

A

TAB

O

U

T

B

O

B

19U

S

U

A

20L

21S

T

Y

X

22A

L

L

A

23M

E

E

M

A

24W

25E

T

E

26S

27E

A

R

28U

N

29C

L

E

S

A

30M

31P

32A

33P

34E

R

B

O

Y

35T

A

36M

37P

38A

39T

H

ESC

R

E

A

M

40S

41P

I

N

ALT

A

P

42A

S

I

A

N

43R

E

L

A

X

A

N

T

44S

C

45O

46P

E

O

U

T

47E

48P

49I

50E

V

A

L

51M

E

52D

53U

54S

55A

56G

A

N

57G

58E

R

I

59N

60D

E

M

O

N

61A

N

S

W

62E

R

K

E

Y

63S

64B

A

L

I

65D

E

T

E

C

T

I

V

E

S

66I

M

A

M

67S

L

A

N

G

68T

E

T

E

69T

I

R

E

Across

34 clues

1You're looking at it!

9Piano technician

14Parasite's target

15Had no co-conspirators

17Preparation for many a surprise party

18Which 1991 comedy starred Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss?

21Charon's domain

22Bistecca ___ fiorentina (Italian dish)

23Role for Annie Potts on "Young Sheldon"

27Gift for a musician

28Figure in much W.W. I propaganda

31Kid with a route

35Home to the first N.F.L. team to win a Super Bowl in its own stadium (2021)

39What Edvard Munch painting inspired a poster for "Home Alone"?

40What fictional English heavy metal band consists of David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls?

42Like the origins of Buddhism and Hinduism

43Chill pill, essentially

47Prefix with genetics

50Assessment, informally

51Gorgon slain by Perseus

58Where many family names begin O'-

60Denizen of hell

61Test graders' aids … or what is needed to respond to the six trivia questions in this puzzle?

64Neighbor of Java

65Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes

66Prayer leader

67Lit for fun, e.g.

Down

42 clues

1Idly pluck, as a banjo

2It always wins, they say

3One of Us, say?

4Driver of some engines

5Like most oysters served with mignonette

6Some Bavarian cries

8Which unit of data storage could hold 200,000 HD movies?

10Sephora competitor

13Steel rod with ridges

16Maliciously publishes the private info of online

20Actor Fishburne of "The Matrix"

24Org. for the Fever and the Dream

29End of many modern addresses

30Cat breed from an island in the Irish Sea

31Educational support grp.

32Sounds of realization

33Who won Best Supporting Actor for Martin Scorsese's "GoodFellas?"

34Pitchers' stats

36What Mediterranean nation lies between Italy and Libya?

37Go for the gold?

40Initialism for an online advertiser

43Take over for

48Group of experts

492010 release now owned by Meta, informally

52Entry in red ink

53So-called "fifth taste"

54Kind of wind … or an alternative to wind

55"Mob Psycho 100" genre

57Singer Stefani

59Negative for Nikolai

62Heart chart, for short

63Buffalo-to-Baltimore dir.

Click a clue for its own page with the answer and a short explanation.

Stats & info

Thursday, Jan 1, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

35/190

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Tricky

Thursday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 1, 2026

DayThursday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorTopher Booth

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split34 across · 42 down

Longest entries

18AWhich 1991 comedy starred Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss?12 ltrs 15AHad no co-conspirators10 ltrs 61ATest graders' aids … or what is needed to respond to the six trivia questions in this puzzle?10 ltrs 65ANancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes10 ltrs 39AWhat Edvard Munch painting inspired a poster for "Home Alone"?9 ltrs

Thursday is the gimmick day: rebus squares, reversed entries and other tricks are fair game. This grid has 35 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.