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New York Times, Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Author:
Daniel Bodily
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
Apt name for a groundskeeper?
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
183/17/20228/5/20266
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
3144501
RebusCircleScrabFlowFresh
231.6627.444%
Daniel Bodily

This puzzle:

Rows: 14, Columns: 15 Words: 58, Blocks: 48 Missing: {JQVXY} This is puzzle # 18 for Mr. Bodily. Grid flow: 6.3 Wednesday freshness: 91%
Daniel Bodily notes:
This puzzle was a particularly challenging one to construct (see this similar puzzle for some background). I spent a great deal of ... read more
Jim Horne notes:

"Temple services" for HEAD MASSAGES is brilliant.

1
C
2
H
3
A
4
R
5
T
6
T
7
O
8
P
9
P
10
E
11
R
12
L
E
A
D
I
N
13
G
14
N
O
W
H
E
R
E
15
A
R
I
Z
O
N
A
I
C
E
D
T
E
A
17
P
A
G
E
R
19
A
N
K
S
20
C
21
A
R
D
22
C
23
A
24
S
25
E
26
H
27
E
A
D
M
29
A
30
S
31
S
A
G
E
S
32
C
A
R
B
O
33
N
S
T
O
R
A
G
E
35
W
E
S
T
E
R
N
S
A
H
A
R
A
37
I
N
T
E
R
N
E
38
T
B
O
T
S
40
G
O
E
S
B
42
U
S
T
43
F
44
I
45
R
S
T
46
M
47
A
48
T
49
E
50
B
51
O
52
O
53
L
E
A
N
A
55
L
56
G
E
B
R
A
57
I
N
D
I
A
N
A
H
O
O
S
I
E
R
59
C
O
U
N
T
S
N
O
S
E
S
© 2026, The New York Times8/5/26 ( No. 28,029 )
Across
1
& 6 #1 hit : CHARTTOPPER
12
& 14 Ultimately fruitless : LEADINGNOWHERE
15
& 16 Beverage sold in pastel-colored cans : ARIZONAICEDTEA
17
& 18 Measures of search engine optimization : PAGERANKS
20
& 22 Pocket ID holder : CARDCASE
26
& 28 Temple services? : HEADMASSAGES
32
& 34 Sequestration of a greenhouse gas : CARBONSTORAGE
35
& 36 Sparsely populated African land : WESTERNSAHARA
37
& 39 Web Crawlers, e.g. : INTERNETBOTS
40
& 41 Loses all one's dough : GOESBUST
43
& 46 Starbuck vis-à-vis Captain Ahab : FIRSTMATE
50
& 54 Math that underpins computer logic : BOOLEANALGEBRA
57
& 58 Member of the last undefeated N.C.A.A. Division I men's basketball team (1976) : INDIANAHOOSIER
59
& 60 Tallies attendees : COUNTSNOSES
Down
1
Michael of "Barbie" : CERA
2
Alexander who served under Reagan, Nixon and Ford : HAIG
3
Axlike tool depicted in hieroglyphs : ADZE
4
City on Guanabara Bay, familiarly : RIO
5
Paramount ancestor, in brief : TNN
6
Apt rhyme of "clock" : TOCK
7
Isn't settled up : OWES
8
High degree : PHD
9
Word with project or peeve : PET
10
Before, in a hymnbook : ERE
11
Stephen of "V for Vendetta" : REA
12
One of 25 in a track 10K : LAP
13
Actress Teri : GARR
14
Writer Anaïs whose name is hidden in this clue : NIN
19
Capt.'s superior : ADM
20
Pole tossed in a Scottish game : CABER
21
Beautify : ADORN
22
Stone figure? : CARAT
23
Petri dish gels : AGARS
24
Company that debuted Sonic the Hedgehog : SEGA
25
Legal termination? : ESE
26
Proverbial waste maker : HASTE
27
Some Deco works : ERTES
29
"Well, I have to save my ___" (Shrek line) : ASS
30
Total guesses : STABS
31
🔥 "Ooh-la-la!" 🔥 : SOHOT
32
Our "-zoic" : CENO
33
Florence-to-Venice dir. : NNE
35
Part of a George Washington costume (though he rarely wore one) : WIG
38
Cable channel with many reruns : TBS
42
Site of the 2002 and 2034 Winter Olympics : UTAH
43
Big success : FEAT
44
Actors McKellen and McShane : IANS
45
Messenger ___ : RNA
46
Imbroglio : MESS
47
Rose's lover of 1920s Broadway : ABIE
48
Número de Caballeros in a 1944 film : TRES
49
Something that may be lent or bent : EAR
50
Pen letters? : BIC
51
Musical Yoko : ONO
52
Sch. in Norfolk, Va. : ODU
53
"Hamilton" star ___-Manuel Miranda : LIN
55
Apt name for a groundskeeper? : LON
56
Word that becomes its own synonym when "p" is added to the end : GOO

Answer summary:
11 unique to this puzzle.

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