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NYT Crossword — January 21, 2026

Wednesday’s 15 × 16 puzzle, 77 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 77 revealed

1S

2P

3I

4E

5L

6S

7T

8R

9E

10M

11B

12L

13E

14C

O

N

G

E

E

15O

A

T

M

E

A

L

16U

L

T

R

O

N

17P

O

T

H

E

A

D

S

18S

O

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E

19O

20S

A

K

A

N

21D

Y

E

22E

S

O

T

23E

R

I

C

24B

I

25T

26S

E

R

I

27A

L

C

O

28M

29M

30A

31U

32P

33S

34E

T

S

35F

O

E

36R

U

I

N

37N

I

H

A

O

38B

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N

39H

E

L

L

O

40P

L

O

T

S

41I

C

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42O

U

T

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D

43E

A

R

S

44G

O

O

45E

M

P

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R

E

46G

R

E

A

47T

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C

48A

P

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49T

O

N

50E

B

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Y

51S

52A

53L

54E

55C

56I

57A

58R

U

59P

A

U

L

60P

S

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S

61O

C

C

62A

S

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63A

64E

R

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S

65M

A

H

J

O

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G

66B

R

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D

G

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67P

L

E

A

S

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S

68S

A

T

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E

N

Across

36 clues

1Practiced pitches

7What arms might do on a final gym rep

14Lee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day

15Lee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day

16Enemy of the Avengers

17Ones with the munchies, maybe

18In need of a massage, say

19Like those local to Universal Studios Japan

21Hide one's roots, perhaps

22Like the study of the kabbalah

26Polarizing punctuation choice

31Bracket-busting wins in March Madness

35Friend or ___

36Complete disrepair

37Says ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way

38Recycling container

39Says ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way

40They might be foiled

41Treatment for a sprained ankle

42Like the villain at the end of a "Scooby-Doo" episode

45Jay-Z's and Alicia Keys's "___ State of Mind"

46Classic P.O.W. movie starring Steve McQueen, with "The"

50Transaction on an online marketplace

55Govt. org. in "Alias"

58Entertainer who says "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"

60Inflation measures, for short

61Opportunity to dress up

63Eagles' nests

65With gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game

66With gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game

68Luxurious cotton fabric

Down

41 clues

1Italian apology

2Some pullover shirts

3Any course whose name ends in "101"

4Bird with a plume that, ounce for ounce, was once worth more than gold

5Constellation near the Big Dipper

6Gentlemen, in Granada

8Like government bonds and Uber drivers

10Mrs., en français

12British title

13Ultimatum ender

17Life across the ___ is much the same

20British title

25Shredded, as a contract

27Top-of-the-line

28Prefix with vitamin or tool

29Athlete aiming for a four-minute finish, perhaps

30One end of an electrolytic cell

31Let float, as a currency

32Pertaining to hair

33Welcome sight for a sailor

34Patronizes, as a restaurant

39Warm and cozy

45Govt. sites for testing pollutants

47Ones with chiseled abs?

51Spar on a sailing boat

52Comment that breaks the fourth wall

54German steel city

55Provide for free, as a drink

56Suffix with method or metaphor

59Collectible caps in the ’90s

62Steely Dan album whose name is pronounced "Asia"

64The Three Kingdoms in Chinese history, e.g.

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026

15×16

Grid size

77

Total entries

38/202

Black / letter cells

5.2

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 21, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorGinny Too and Avery Gee Katz

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split36 across · 41 down

Longest entries

17DLife across the ___ is much the same12 ltrs 26APolarizing punctuation choice11 ltrs 46AClassic P.O.W. movie starring Steve McQueen, with "The"11 ltrs 17AOnes with the munchies, maybe8 ltrs 22ALike the study of the kabbalah8 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 38 black squares and averages 5.2 letters per entry.