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New York Times, Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Author:
Ginny Too and Avery Gee Katz
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
50-Across : Transaction on an online marketplace
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
46/30/20241/21/20261
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1011100
ScrabDebutFlowFresh
1.562937.549%
Ginny Too
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
35/12/20241/21/20262
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1011000
RebusScrabDebutFlowFresh
11.631642.668%
Avery Gee Katz

This puzzle:

Rows: 16, Columns: 15 Words: 77, Blocks: 38 Missing: {QVWXZ} Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 4 for Ms. Too. This is puzzle # 3 for Ms. Katz. Grid flow: 48.1 Wednesday freshness: 94%
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S
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K
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D
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B
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T
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A
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M
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M
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U
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P
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F
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R
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N
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B
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H
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M
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B
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P
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© 2026, The New York Times1/21/26 ( No. 27,833 )
Across
1
Practiced pitches : SPIELS
7
What arms might do on a final gym rep : TREMBLE
14
Lee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day : CONGEE
15
Lee has a hot bowl of ___ to start off his day : OATMEAL
16
Enemy of the Avengers : ULTRON
17
Ones with the munchies, maybe : POTHEADS
18
In need of a massage, say : SORE
19
Like those local to Universal Studios Japan : OSAKAN
21
Hide one's roots, perhaps : DYE
22
Like the study of the kabbalah : ESOTERIC
24
Drill insert : BIT
26
Polarizing punctuation choice : SERIALCOMMA
31
Bracket-busting wins in March Madness : UPSETS
35
Friend or ___ : FOE
36
Complete disrepair : RUIN
37
Says ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way : NIHAO
38
Recycling container : BIN
39
Says ___ to his neighbor, then heads on his way : HELLO
40
They might be foiled : PLOTS
41
Treatment for a sprained ankle : ICE
42
Like the villain at the end of a "Scooby-Doo" episode : OUTED
43
All ___ : EARS
44
Slime : GOO
45
Jay-Z's and Alicia Keys's "___ State of Mind" : EMPIRE
46
Classic P.O.W. movie starring Steve McQueen, with "The" : GREATESCAPE
49
Heavy weight : TON
50
Transaction on an online marketplace : EBAYSALE
55
Govt. org. in "Alias" : CIA
58
Entertainer who says "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" : RUPAUL
60
Inflation measures, for short : PSIS
61
Opportunity to dress up : OCCASION
63
Eagles' nests : AERIES
65
With gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game : MAHJONG
66
With gossip and beer over Friday's ___ game : BRIDGE
67
Satisfies : PLEASES
68
Luxurious cotton fabric : SATEEN
Down
1
Italian apology : SCUSE
2
Some pullover shirts : POLOS
3
Any course whose name ends in "101" : INTRO
4
Bird with a plume that, ounce for ounce, was once worth more than gold : EGRET
5
Constellation near the Big Dipper : LEO
6
Gentlemen, in Granada : SENORES
7
Captured : TOOK
8
Like government bonds and Uber drivers : RATABLE
9
___ minority : ETHNIC
10
Mrs., en français : MME
11
Bit of sweat : BEAD
12
British title : LADY
13
Ultimatum ender : ELSE
17
Life across the ___ is much the same : PACIFICOCEAN
20
British title : SIR
23
These: Sp. : ESTOS
25
Shredded, as a contract : TOREUP
27
Top-of-the-line : AONE
28
Prefix with vitamin or tool : MULTI
29
Athlete aiming for a four-minute finish, perhaps : MILER
30
One end of an electrolytic cell : ANODE
31
Let float, as a currency : UNPEG
32
Pertaining to hair : PILAR
33
Welcome sight for a sailor : SHORE
34
Patronizes, as a restaurant : EATSAT
38
Life stories : BIOS
39
Warm and cozy : HOMEY
44
Bona fide : GENUINE
45
Govt. sites for testing pollutants : EPALABS
47
Ones with chiseled abs? : TORSOS
48
___ Dhabi : ABU
51
Spar on a sailing boat : SPRIT
52
Comment that breaks the fourth wall : ASIDE
53
Feudal lord : LIEGE
54
German steel city : ESSEN
55
Provide for free, as a drink : COMP
56
Suffix with method or metaphor : ICAL
57
Pine : ACHE
59
Collectible caps in the '90s : POGS
62
Steely Dan album whose name is pronounced "Asia" : AJA
64
The Three Kingdoms in Chinese history, e.g. : ERA

Answer summary:
3 unique to this puzzle.

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