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New York Times, Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Author:
Kevin Curry
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
"Throne" for a lion king?
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
811/7/20231/28/20263
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1031300
ScrabDebutFlowFresh
1.613025.828%
Kevin Curry

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 37 Missing: {JQX} This is puzzle # 8 for Mr. Curry. Grid flow: 32.8 Wednesday freshness: 38%
Kevin Curry notes:
XWord Info has been huge in my own constructor journey, so I wanted to provide a peek behind the scenes at how I created this theme ... read more
Jim Horne notes:

Imagine DRAGON SLAYER is DRAGON'S LAYER, etc.

1
A
2
C
3
A
4
I
5
M
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E
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D
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U
9
S
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A
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R
12
A
13
P
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S
O
F
T
15
R
A
I
N
E
D
16
E
M
O
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H
O
R
S
18
E
S
T
A
B
L
E
19
L
A
W
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P
O
O
R
21
M
I
L
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H
A
Z
E
23
D
R
24
A
25
G
O
N
S
26
L
A
Y
E
R
27
H
28
E
29
E
D
30
W
A
N
D
31
O
U
R
32
O
R
D
33
S
A
I
D
34
S
O
L
A
35
M
36
E
37
P
I
G
38
S
K
I
N
39
C
A
T
S
C
A
N
40
I
C
E
H
U
T
41
M
A
V
S
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E
C
O
43
P
A
L
44
S
I
R
E
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U
S
E
S
46
C
47
H
I
C
K
48
E
N
S
T
R
49
I
P
50
L
E
E
K
51
L
A
S
52
R
S
53
V
54
P
55
I
N
C
56
T
U
R
T
57
L
58
E
S
H
E
L
59
L
60
P
R
E
61
A
D
F
E
E
S
62
O
R
E
O
63
S
I
S
64
D
E
S
P
O
T
65
T
A
B
S
© 2026, The New York Times1/28/26 ( No. 27,840 )
Across
1
Brazilian berry : ACAI
5
Monster whose gaze remained lethal after her death : MEDUSA
11
Genre for many a mixtape : RAP
14
It's not hard! : SOFT
15
Came down, in a way : RAINED
16
Like some angsty teens : EMO
17
Article of furniture on which a plate of oats might be set? : HORSESTABLE
19
Justice's domain : LAW
20
Deserving a D, say : POOR
21
1,000 G's : MIL
22
Difficult weather condition for driving : HAZE
23
Thick, spiked outer covering? : DRAGONSLAYER
27
Pay attention to, as warnings : HEED
30
Casting rod? : WAND
31
___ Lady (translation of "Notre Dame") : OUR
32
Number indicating position: Abbr. : ORD
33
Uttered : SAID
34
Teenager's response to a dad joke, perhaps : SOLAME
37
Relatives in a sty? : PIGSKIN
39
"Throne" for a lion king? : CATSCAN
40
Arctic fishing shelter : ICEHUT
41
Dirk Nowitzki's longtime team, to fans : MAVS
42
Sustainability prefix : ECO
43
Chum : PAL
44
Royal term of address : SIRE
45
Functions : USES
46
Walk from one coop to another? : CHICKENSTRIP
50
Vegetable resembling a spring onion : LEEK
51
Vegas's airport code : LAS
52
Letters in an envelope? : RSVP
55
Co. name ending : INC
56
Being flipped on its back, e.g.? : TURTLESHELL
60
Lead-in to ✔ on a boarding pass : PRE
61
Commercial charges : ADFEES
62
Cookie containing about 50 calories : OREO
63
Tegan vis-à-vis Sara, in pop's Tegan and Sara : SIS
64
Tyrannical ruler : DESPOT
65
Keep ___ on : TABS
Down
1
It goes down in flames : ASH
2
Member-owned business : COOP
3
Hairstyle popular among the Black Panther Party : AFRO
4
"How strange ..." : ITSODD
5
"___ Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel hit) : MRS
6
Score points in Pac-Man, say : EAT
7
Baseball venue : DIAMOND
8
Remove the ropes from, perhaps : UNBIND
9
"Sex ___" (adage) : SELLS
10
Ending with lemon or lime : ADE
11
Competitions with anchors : RELAYRACES
12
Wow : AMAZE
13
Outlet store? : POWER
18
Muff : ERR
22
Massive amounts of winnings, so to speak : HAULS
24
Anticipate : AWAIT
25
Laundry detergent brand : GAIN
26
Plunders : LOOTS
27
Southwest people whose name means "peaceful" : HOPI
28
Children's author Carle : ERIC
29
Toeholds in solving jigsaw puzzles : EDGEPIECES
33
Sneak around : SKULK
34
Word after space or screen : SAVER
35
Repellent spray : MACE
36
Son of Seth : ENOS
38
Humble home : SHACK
39
Mobile food vendor's station : CART
41
Stumble : MISSTEP
44
Wolfs (down) : SNARFS
45
What it all comes down to : UPSHOT
46
Assortment to view on YouTube : CLIPS
47
Painter Matisse : HENRI
48
Avoid, as capture : ELUDE
49
Org. authorized by the 16th Amendment : IRS
53
Designer Wang : VERA
54
Commoner, informally : PLEB
56
Skosh : TAD
57
Many an August birth : LEO
58
Winter setting in N.Y.C. : EST
59
Día de ___ Muertos : LOS

Answer summary:
5 unique to this puzzle, 1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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