Home/Archive/Jan 4, 2026

NYT Crossword — January 4, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 136 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 136 revealed

1R

2I

3B

4C

5A

6G

7E

8O

9S

10I

11R

12I

13S

14A

15M

16A

17N

I

T

R

A

T

E

S

18S

E

S

A

M

E

19P

L

A

C

20E

21A

P

L

U

S

S

E

S

22S

T

O

P

I

T

Y

O

U

T

W

23O

24M

A

L

T

A

25N

E

26O

27M

I

N

28M

E

N

T

O

R

29B

U

B

30B

A

31H

32A

33D

E

N

34G

A

W

K

S

35C

36A

E

S

A

R

37I

G

N

O

R

E

38S

39T

E

L

O

S

40A

L

F

41S

U

42B

M

E

N

U

43P

44A

O

L

O

45M

A

U

46D

47T

Y

P

E

A

B

48A

L

I

T

49A

50S

51I

52S

53P

I

N

E

54N

U

T

S

55P

L

56A

C

A

T

E

57D

58C

F

C

59N

O

S

E

60P

O

E

T

R

Y

61M

U

62F

A

S

A

63A

64U

65R

I

C

66F

I

L

C

H

E

S

67E

R

R

O

R

68S

G

T

M

A

69J

70S

P

I

R

E

S

71J

72U

L

Y

73A

L

E

74P

U

75S

H

E

S

O

N

76P

O

P

S

U

77G

78A

79R

80P

I

S

81H

82D

R

A

T

83S

I

84N

T

E

R

85P

A

V

E

86A

87D

A

I

R

88S

A

Y

S

Y

O

89U

90L

O

S

91J

92E

S

U

S

93P

94R

95E

E

N

E

D

96A

S

97L

A

N

T

98C

U

R

A

D

99H

A

D

S

T

100B

R

E

A

D

101A

D

O

B

E

102S

103N

Y

S

104S

105I

E

106C

U

R

107I

108E

109L

A

T

E

B

L

110O

O

M

E

111R

112S

113A

G

114R

A

R

I

A

N

115S

I

E

R

R

A

L

E

O

N

E

116G

O

O

S

E

E

G

G

117C

F

O

118K

I

D

N

A

P

119O

T

H

E

L

L

O

Across

63 clues

1It protects the heart

8Egyptian god of the underworld

17Substances found in cured meats and explosives

18Theme park with attractions like The Count's Splash Castle and Oscar's Rusty Rotten Rockets

22"That's enough bickering!"

24Valletta's land

25Sci-fi protagonist who says "I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life"

27Max's opposite

28Morpheus, to 25-Across

31Actor Thomas ___ Church

34Stares stupidly

35General who crossed the Rubicon

39Ultimate end, to Aristotle

41Secondary list of options

43___ Veronese, "The Wedding at Cana" painter

45Queen ___ Land (region of Antarctica claimed by Norway)

47Classification that anyone can donate to

49With warts and all

53Pesto ingredients

55Made less angry now

58Ozone no-no, for short

59The dash in many an emoticon

60It's a "tyrannical discipline," said Sylvia Plath

61Titular role in a 2024 Disney prequel

63Derived from gold

66Steals, informally

67Something a bug produces

68Certain Army noncom

70Points to a church?

71What the 7 may mean in 7/11

73Brewed beverage

76Certain drink + what that drink has a lot of = women's lifestyle website

80"Horsefeathers!"

82"Fiddlesticks!"

83Combine using heat without melting, as particles

85Make a lot, say?

86Famed firefighter Red

88"All right, but that's not my opinion"

90L.A.P.D. unit?

93Devoted effort to looking attractive

98Bandage brand

99Possessed, biblically

100Word before winner or after Wonder

103Buffalo's home: Abbr.

104"Sprechen ___ Deutsch?"

106Eponym of element 96

109They'll get there eventually

113Like the cultivation of land

115Country whose border shape is the world's roundest

117Co.'s $$$ head

118Steal for ransom

119Whence the phrase "wear one's heart on one's sleeve"

Down

73 clues

1Kelly of morning TV

2"Come on and let loose for a while!"

3Name of Ohio State's buckeye mascot

4Wrinkly fruits

5Parts of many online handles

6Davis of "Thelma & Louise"

7"___ quam videri" (North Carolina's motto)

81940s spy grp.

9Ready … or a word after ready

10Chemist's variant

11Violent seizure, as of property

13He scattered his brother's remains across the land and usurped his throne

15Hawaiian for "long mountain"

16Intermission follower on Broadway

17War zone for Rambo, informally

19Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon ___"

20Wicket and Teebo of Endor, e.g.

26"I'm flattered!"

30Believing his friend and ally had too much power, he led a party of conspirators to put an end to him

32State capital that's closest to the U.S. Capitol

33Like five Across answers by five Down answers in this puzzle, literally and figuratively

35Kids' summer getaway

36Kyrgyzstani mountain range

39Where idols go head-to-head?

42Small part in a gig

46It's in your jeans

48Plot divisions

51"Assuming that's true …"

52He led his brother to his demise by endangering his nephew

54"Not gonna lie …"

56First enactors of democracy

57Fencing contests

60Chemistry lab dropper

62Prepare quickly, as eggs for breakfast

64Wrinkly fruit

65GPS lines: Abbr.

66Programming language that's also a musical key

69He sold out his master in exchange for silver

71Baby in a pouch

75Title for a guru

76Survivor's affliction, for short

77Elf portrayed by Cate Blanchett in "The Fellowship of the Ring"

78Big name in makeup

79Music score squiggle

81Disagrees (with)

84Ixnays from Irkutsk

87Obnoxious fratty sort, colloquially

89Possible scenario, to a coder

912011 Lady Gaga hit

94Paired chips with dips?

95Touch lightly, as a gas pedal

97Floral victory symbol

98Lead-in to Tech

102Camera inits.

103___ me tangere (Latin warning)

105Jafar's parrot in "Aladdin"

107Driven by envy toward his comrades, he fabricated events that led to their downfall

108Official lang. of Liberia

110Acorn, in the future

111Messenger ___

112Birth month of most Virgos: Abbr.

114"Ruh-___!" (cry from Astro on "The Jetsons")

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Jan 4, 2026

21×21

Grid size

136

Total entries

78/363

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 4, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeBase Pairs

ConstructorGene Louise De Vera

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split63 across · 73 down

Longest entries

33DLike five Across answers by five Down answers in this puzzle, literally and figuratively13 ltrs 22A"That's enough bickering!"12 ltrs 109AThey'll get there eventually12 ltrs 18ATheme park with attractions like The Count's Splash Castle and Oscar's Rusty Rotten Rockets11 ltrs 115ACountry whose border shape is the world's roundest11 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 78 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.