NYT Crossword January 21 2026 Answers

All 77 clues from the Wednesday New York Times crossword, checked against the published NYT solution. Reveal answers one at a time right in the grid, or open any clue for the full explanation.

Constructed by Ginny Too and Avery Gee KatzEdited by Will Shortz

PUZZLE GRID15×16 · SPOILERS HIDDEN

1S2P3I4E5L6S7T8R9E10M11B12L13E14CONGEE15OATMEAL16ULTRON17POTHEADS18SORE19O20SAKAN21DYE22ESOT23ERIC24BI25T26SERI27ALCO28M29M30A31U32P33S34ETS35FOE36RUIN37NIHAO38BIN39HELLO40PLOTS41ICE42OUTED43EARS44GOO45EMPIRE46GREA47TESC48APE49TON50EBAY51S52A53L54E55C56I57A58RU59PAUL60PSIS61OCC62ASION63A64ERIES65MAHJONG66BRIDGE67PLEASES68SATEEN

Or reveal one answer at a time from the clue list below — it fills into the grid.

ALL CLUES77 CLUES

ACROSS

1APracticed pitches6 lettersSPIELS

7AWhat arms might do on a final gym rep7 lettersTREMBLE

14ALee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day6 lettersCONGEE

15ALee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day7 lettersOATMEAL

16AEnemy of the Avengers6 lettersULTRON

17AOnes with the munchies, maybe8 lettersPOTHEADS

18AIn need of a massage, say4 lettersSORE

19ALike those local to Universal Studios Japan6 lettersOSAKAN

21AHide one's roots, perhaps3 lettersDYE

22ALike the study of the kabbalah8 lettersESOTERIC

24ADrill insert3 lettersBIT

26APolarizing punctuation choice11 lettersSERIALCOMMA

31ABracket-busting wins in March Madness6 lettersUPSETS

35AFriend or ___3 lettersFOE

36AComplete disrepair4 lettersRUIN

37ASays ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way5 lettersNIHAO

38ARecycling container3 lettersBIN

39ASays ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way5 lettersHELLO

40AThey might be foiled5 lettersPLOTS

41ATreatment for a sprained ankle3 lettersICE

42ALike the villain at the end of a "Scooby-Doo" episode5 lettersOUTED

43AAll ___4 lettersEARS

44ASlime3 lettersGOO

45AJay-Z's and Alicia Keys's "___ State of Mind"6 lettersEMPIRE

46AClassic P.O.W. movie starring Steve McQueen, with "The"11 lettersGREATESCAPE

49AHeavy weight3 lettersTON

50ATransaction on an online marketplace8 lettersEBAYSALE

55AGovt. org. in "Alias"3 lettersCIA

58AEntertainer who says "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"6 lettersRUPAUL

60AInflation measures, for short4 lettersPSIS

61AOpportunity to dress up8 lettersOCCASION

63AEagles' nests6 lettersAERIES

65AWith gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game7 lettersMAHJONG

66AWith gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game6 lettersBRIDGE

67ASatisfies7 lettersPLEASES

68ALuxurious cotton fabric6 lettersSATEEN

DOWN

1DItalian apology5 lettersSCUSE

2DSome pullover shirts5 lettersPOLOS

3DAny course whose name ends in "101"5 lettersINTRO

4DBird with a plume that, ounce for ounce, was once worth more than gold5 lettersEGRET

5DConstellation near the Big Dipper3 lettersLEO

6DGentlemen, in Granada7 lettersSENORES

7DCaptured4 lettersTOOK

8DLike government bonds and Uber drivers7 lettersRATABLE

9D___ minority6 lettersETHNIC

10DMrs., en français3 lettersMME

11DBit of sweat4 lettersBEAD

12DBritish title4 lettersLADY

13DUltimatum ender4 lettersELSE

17DLife across the ___ is much the same12 lettersPACIFICOCEAN

20DBritish title3 lettersSIR

23DThese: Sp.5 lettersESTOS

25DShredded, as a contract6 lettersTOREUP

27DTop-of-the-line4 lettersAONE

28DPrefix with vitamin or tool5 lettersMULTI

29DAthlete aiming for a four-minute finish, perhaps5 lettersMILER

30DOne end of an electrolytic cell5 lettersANODE

31DLet float, as a currency5 lettersUNPEG

32DPertaining to hair5 lettersPILAR

33DWelcome sight for a sailor5 lettersSHORE

34DPatronizes, as a restaurant6 lettersEATSAT

38DLife stories4 lettersBIOS

39DWarm and cozy5 lettersHOMEY

44DBona fide7 lettersGENUINE

45DGovt. sites for testing pollutants7 lettersEPALABS

47DOnes with chiseled abs?6 lettersTORSOS

48D___ Dhabi3 lettersABU

51DSpar on a sailing boat5 lettersSPRIT

52DComment that breaks the fourth wall5 lettersASIDE

53DFeudal lord5 lettersLIEGE

54DGerman steel city5 lettersESSEN

55DProvide for free, as a drink4 lettersCOMP

56DSuffix with method or metaphor4 lettersICAL

57DPine4 lettersACHE

59DCollectible caps in the ’90s4 lettersPOGS

62DSteely Dan album whose name is pronounced "Asia"3 lettersAJA

64DThe Three Kingdoms in Chinese history, e.g.3 lettersERA

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