Home/Archive/Jan 3, 2026

NYT Crossword — January 3, 2026

Saturday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 66 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 66 revealed

1B

2A

3D

4A

5P

6P

7L

8E

9S

10S

11P

12A

13D

14E

15I

C

E

P

A

L

A

C

E

16T

O

B

E

Y

17L

A

S

T

D

A

N

C

E

18A

M

B

L

E

19L

I

K

E

L

I

K

E

D

20P

E

R

E

S

21S

O

N

Y

22M

23U

L

L

E

T

24R

25O

T

C

26M

O

R

E

O

V

E

27R

28M

I

N

S

K

29B

O

N

D

30S

I

T

E

31A

C

E

32S

33P

I

C

E

U

34P

35A

H

I

36H

E

M

37I

38E

B

A

Y

39L

40E

T

I

N

41I

C

A

N

42H

E

L

P

43A

G

E

S

44O

N

T

A

P

E

45D

46I

N

G

47S

O

B

E

R

48C

49L

I

C

K

H

50E

51R

52E

53O

K

A

N

D

54A

U

N

A

T

U

R

E

L

55S

E

N

S

E

56M

N

E

M

O

N

I

C

S

57O

R

D

E

R

58P

A

R

E

N

T

E

S

E

Across

33 clues

1Spoilers that ruin a whole lot

15Building that shouldn't have running water

16Actor Maguire

18Stretch one's legs, say

19Really went for

20French fathers

21PlayStation 5 maker

22Hairstyle associated with lesbian culture

24Campus mil. group

26"On top of that …"

28European capital that names some animals if you interchange its last two letters

29Part of many a financial portfolio

32Add pizazz to

36Prefix with sphere

38Place to make offers

43Number range for some board games

44How someone might be caught

48Direction to get to an address

53"Your point being …?"

55Have a feeling

56Aids in recalling

57What "seder" means, literally

58Exaggerated speaking style that promotes language development

Down

33 clues

2Berry found in swamps

4Some chances to get credit, in brief

5Symbols of love on some bridges

6Opposite of "with the works"

7Lincolnesque, in a way

8Behold, in Latin

9Support from an angel

11Fruits related to grapefruits

12Save space, in a way

13Words on an incriminating email, perhaps

14Emoji indicating interest

23Language in which "thank you" is "shukriya"

24Appliance that uses a thermostat to know when to stop

25Performer who's juggling a lot?

26Tech that records movement

27Part of a certain steering system

28When repeated, a fish

29Place with a chapel and mess hall

33Soft, sticky treat

34Drifters at sea

40Annual event with baskets

42Not so simple

45Where French fries are "frog sticks"

46Start of a declaration of 47 B.C.

47Nothing special

49Selene's Roman counterpart

50Lake ___, body of water near London

51Informal endorsements

52It's conditional

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

Stats & info

Saturday, Jan 3, 2026

15×15

Grid size

66

Total entries

30/195

Black / letter cells

5.9

Avg entry length

10 ltrs

Longest entry

Hardest

Saturday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 3, 2026

DaySaturday

ThemeThemeless

ConstructorHannah Slovut-Einertson

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split33 across · 33 down

Longest entries

12DSave space, in a way10 ltrs 13DWords on an incriminating email, perhaps10 ltrs 24DAppliance that uses a thermostat to know when to stop10 ltrs 25DPerformer who's juggling a lot?10 ltrs 1ASpoilers that ruin a whole lot9 ltrs

Saturday is the hardest grid of the week, themeless and clued as obliquely as the editor allows. This grid has 30 black squares and averages 5.9 letters per entry.