Home/Archive/Jan 5, 2026

NYT Crossword — January 5, 2026

Monday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1W

2O

3R

4T

5H

6A

7S

8H

9H

10A

11L

12O

13E

N

N

U

I

14T

I

E

15P

A

R

E

R

16B

O

A

R

D

17R

O

O

M

18A

I

R

E

D

19K

E

A

N

U

20A

T

T

I

R

E

21M

22R

23T

24T

A

X

25I

D

R

I

V

E

R

26C

O

U

27N

28S

E

L

29G

O

O

30E

D

S

31A

S

S

E

T

32N

O

B

L

33E

34T

A

K

E

O

35F

36F

F

R

O

M

W

37O

38R

39K

40D

W

E

L

L

41A

A

R

O

N

42E

43B

44B

45A

T

A

46P

47E

N

N

A

M

E

48F

L

Y

49S

W

A

T

50T

E

R

51L

E

E

52F

I

L

I

A

L

53B

R

I

54C

55E

56E

M

I

L

Y

57T

O

U

C

H

D

58O

59W

60N

61T

E

N

T

S

62I

N

S

63I

G

L

O

O

64E

Y

E

S

65S

E

E

66C

E

D

E

D

Across

35 clues

6Volcanic coating that buried Pompeii

9Angel's headgear

14Score like 5-5 or 10-10

15Fruit-peeling gadget

16Meeting spot for a company's overseers

19Actor Reeves who plays John Wick

21Wrestler-turned-actor with a mohawk

241976 film with Robert De Niro as an alienated cabbie

26Lawyer, or a lawyer's advice

30Op-___ (newspaper pieces)

31Advantageous quality

34Enjoy a vacation day, say

41Burr who dueled with Hamilton

46Mark Twain, for Samuel Langhorne Clemens

48Bug killer that goes "smack!"

51Losing general at Appomattox

52Relating to a son or daughter

53Fanny ___, central figure in Broadway's "Funny Girl"

56Poet Dickinson

57Gridiron success … or, when read as two words, the conclusion to the sequence formed by the starts of 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across

61Backpackers' shelters

62Write-___ (unlikely election winners)

63Home with a dome

64Lumps of coal, for a snowman

Down

41 clues

1Spider's creation

2Peace promoter Yoko

3Cell's messenger material

4Istanbul native

6Lacking a key, in music

7Crazy Horse's people

8Adjustable skirt feature

9Port-au-Prince's country

11Looked lasciviously

15Police officer who monitors an assigned area

17Label as G or R, say

20Spicy marinade with chili peppers

21Exam for a doctor-to-be

22Parks honored in the Capitol's Statuary Hall

23Walrus's long tooth

25Composer Stravinsky

28Passengers getting an illicit free ride

32Org. with Patriot games

33Actor McGregor with a Golden Globe for "Fargo"

35Pertaining to development in the womb

36Opposite of hilly

37Like some history or hygiene

38City surrounding Vatican City

39On bended ___

42Overly refined

43"Yikes!," to a Brit

44Reporter's attribution atop an article

47Rock's Carmen or Clapton

49Earthy deposits by a river

50Steak similar to a porterhouse

57"___ better to have loved and lost ..."

60Silent approval

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

Stats & info

Monday, Jan 5, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

38/187

Black / letter cells

4.9

Avg entry length

15 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedJan 5, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorLynn Lempel

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split35 across · 41 down

Longest entries

34AEnjoy a vacation day, say15 ltrs 24A1976 film with Robert De Niro as an alienated cabbie10 ltrs 48ABug killer that goes "smack!"10 ltrs 16AMeeting spot for a company's overseers9 ltrs 57AGridiron success … or, when read as two words, the conclusion to the sequence formed by the starts of 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across9 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 38 black squares and averages 4.9 letters per entry.