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NYT Crossword — January 28, 2026

Wednesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1A

2C

3A

4I

5M

6E

7D

8U

9S

10A

11R

12A

13P

14S

O

F

T

15R

A

I

N

E

D

16E

M

O

17H

O

R

S

18E

S

T

A

B

L

E

19L

A

W

20P

O

O

R

21M

I

L

22H

A

Z

E

23D

R

24A

25G

O

N

S

26L

A

Y

E

R

27H

28E

29E

D

30W

A

N

D

31O

U

R

32O

R

D

33S

A

I

D

34S

O

L

A

35M

36E

37P

I

G

38S

K

I

N

39C

A

T

S

C

A

N

40I

C

E

H

U

T

41M

A

V

S

42E

C

O

43P

A

L

44S

I

R

E

45U

S

E

S

46C

47H

I

C

K

48E

N

S

T

R

49I

P

50L

E

E

K

51L

A

S

52R

S

53V

54P

55I

N

C

56T

U

R

T

57L

58E

S

H

E

L

59L

60P

R

E

61A

D

F

E

E

S

62O

R

E

O

63S

I

S

64D

E

S

P

O

T

65T

A

B

S

Across

38 clues

1Brazilian berry

5Monster whose gaze remained lethal after her death

11Genre for many a mixtape

14It's not hard!

15Came down, in a way

16Like some angsty teens

17Article of furniture on which a plate of oats might be set?

19Justice's domain

20Deserving a D, say

22Difficult weather condition for driving

23Thick, spiked outer covering?

27Pay attention to, as warnings

31___ Lady (translation of "Notre Dame")

32Number indicating position: Abbr.

34Teenager's response to a dad joke, perhaps

37Relatives in a sty?

39"Throne" for a lion king?

40Arctic fishing shelter

41Dirk Nowitzki's longtime team, to fans

42Sustainability prefix

44Royal term of address

46Walk from one coop to another?

50Vegetable resembling a spring onion

51Vegas's airport code

52Letters in an envelope?

55Co. name ending

56Being flipped on its back, e.g.?

60Lead-in to Check on a boarding pass

61Commercial charges

62Cookie containing about 50 calories

63Tegan vis-à-vis Sara, in pop's Tegan and Sara

64Tyrannical ruler

Down

40 clues

1It goes down in flames

2Member-owned business

3Hairstyle popular among the Black Panther Party

4"How strange …"

5"___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel hit)

6Score points in Pac-Man, say

7Baseball venue

8Remove the ropes from, perhaps

9"Sex ___" (adage)

10Ending with lemon or lime

11Competitions with anchors

13Outlet store?

22Massive amounts of winnings, so to speak

25Laundry detergent brand

27Southwest people whose name means "peaceful"

28Children's author Carle

29Toeholds in solving jigsaw puzzles

34Word after space or screen

35Repellent spray

39Mobile food vendor's station

45What it all comes down to

46Assortment to view on YouTube

47Painter Matisse

48Avoid, as capture

49Org. authorized by the 16th Amendment

53Designer Wang

54Commoner, informally

57Many an August birth

58Winter setting in N.Y.C.

59Día de ___ Muertos

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Jan 28, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

37/188

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

12 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 28, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorKevin Curry

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split38 across · 40 down

Longest entries

23AThick, spiked outer covering?12 ltrs 46AWalk from one coop to another?12 ltrs 17AArticle of furniture on which a plate of oats might be set?11 ltrs 56ABeing flipped on its back, e.g.?11 ltrs 11DCompetitions with anchors10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 37 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.