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NYT Crossword — January 23, 2026

Friday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 70 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 70 revealed

1S

2C

3A

4N

5T

6G

7R

8A

9Y

10S

11M

12O

13G

14O

H

P

U

H

15L

E

A

S

E

16P

I

C

O

17L

E

S

B

I

A

N

B

A

R

18A

L

T

O

19D

R

E

20S

W

E

E

T

21P

R

E

E

N

22B

O

Y

S

23R

24A

R

E

S

T

25B

26E

E

N

E

27S

E

L

E

C

T

28H

A

R

D

E

R

29T

A

P

S

H

O

30E

31S

32U

S

E

R

S

33N

A

T

34S

A

N

A

A

35E

S

C

O

O

36T

E

R

37H

O

N

E

S

T

38T

O

N

G

U

E

39A

N

G

S

T

40C

O

M

M

I

T

41T

U

N

E

42H

I

R

E

E

43E

44L

E

N

A

45Z

46I

47P

48E

A

S

Y

49C

R

E

A

T

I

50V

I

T

Y

51F

R

E

E

52Y

E

A

R

S

L

A

T

E

R

53T

A

T

S

54A

D

D

S

55S

L

I

M

E

Across

35 clues

6What some may be dyeing to conceal?

10Environmental concern

14"Don't be absurd!"

16___ Mountain (ski area in Killington, Vt.)

17She's out there!

18Many a choirgirl

19"Black-ish" patriarch

21Fiddle with feathers, say

22Backstreet ___

23Like kyawthuite, among gems

25Designer Geoffrey

28Like quartzite vis-à-vis quartz

29They really click as a pair

32Masters of manipulation

33Commercial preceder of Geo

34Capital near the Red Sea

35Micromobility option

39Internal turmoil

40Say "I do," say

41One may be carried in a concert hall

42Recent recruit

43First name on the Supreme Court

49It is "making the complicated simple, awesomely simple," per Charles Mingus

51Out of joint?

52Text insert for a flash-forward film scene

54Apt rhyme for "pads"

Down

35 clues

1Completely convinced

2French letter opener

3Niche for a shrine

4Essence of the matter

5"I'll take the blame"

6Some body builders?

8How to look at your hot fudge sundae

9A little possessive, perhaps?

11Momentous moments

12Bits in a byte, e.g.

13"I'm listening"

15One who's on the defense, perhaps

21Digital applications?

24Rigi of Switzerland, e.g.

25One setting on speakers

26Classic toy for budding engineers

28Peach or plum

30Interest of Marco Polo, with "the"

31Settled on the bottom?

40Grammy-winning R&B singer named for a Revlon fragrance

41They make streaks on cheeks

45Trattoria tubes

49Texter's "ciao"

50Late actor Kilmer

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

Stats & info

Friday, Jan 23, 2026

15×15

Grid size

70

Total entries

34/191

Black / letter cells

5.5

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Hard

Friday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 23, 2026

DayFriday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorJoyce Keller

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 35 down

Longest entries

5D"I'll take the blame"12 ltrs 21DDigital applications?12 ltrs 10DPocket money11 ltrs 22DLonging look11 ltrs 14A"Don't be absurd!"10 ltrs

Friday puzzles run themeless, so the fill leans on long open entries and wordplay clues rather than a central gimmick. This grid has 34 black squares and averages 5.5 letters per entry.