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New York Times, Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Author:
Jonathan Raksin
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
16-Across : BEFORE (Deck 1): Slackers
TotalDebutLatest
21/20/20266/17/2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0011000
ScrabDebutFlowFresh
1.61912.741%
Jonathan Raksin

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 16 Words: 83, Blocks: 42 Missing: {JKQVXZ} Grid has repeated answers. This is puzzle # 2 for Mr. Raksin. Grid flow: 8.4 Wednesday freshness: 70%
Jonathan Raksin notes:
It's nice to be back with another crossword in the Times! The three sets of (nonreversible, with one special exception noted below) "shuffle ... read more
Jim Horne notes:
Each "BEFORE" answer can be split into two equal halves, like two halves of a deck. Interleaving those halves one letter at a time produces the ... read more
1
M
2
I
3
S
4
C
5
A
6
S
7
T
8
M
9
S
10
N
11
C
12
U
13
S
14
S
15
E
N
C
A
N
T
O
16
G
O
O
17
F
O
F
F
S
18
S
T
A
R
D
O
M
19
S
H
O
R
T
C
O
N
20
C
O
N
S
O
L
E
21
S
22
O
R
E
23
A
N
I
24
R
E
S
T
25
S
26
T
27
O
28
T
29
A
30
L
31
L
E
N
32
O
33
P
E
34
S
35
T
36
C
A
S
E
37
F
38
U
39
S
40
E
41
S
T
O
42
N
E
P
I
T
43
R
44
I
F
F
L
E
45
S
H
U
F
F
L
E
S
46
S
E
T
P
O
I
N
T
47
B
U
C
O
48
P
E
R
U
49
D
Y
E
50
D
51
T
52
O
53
M
54
B
55
F
L
Y
T
56
O
57
W
O
58
R
59
D
60
S
61
N
I
A
62
P
63
S
64
I
65
C
O
O
L
66
N
E
S
S
67
A
68
L
69
C
70
A
P
O
N
71
E
72
A
G
A
I
N
S
T
73
G
O
O
F
O
F
F
S
74
D
I
D
T
I
M
E
75
E
G
O
T
76
T
O
P
77
S
T
E
E
L
E
R
© 2026, The New York Times6/17/26 ( No. 27,980 )
Across
1
Like Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, some say : MISCAST
8
App brought back by Microsoft in 2024 : MSN
11
Swear : CUSS
15
Disney film set in a fictional Colombian village : ENCANTO
16
BEFORE (Deck 1): Slackers : GOOFOFFS
18
Celebrity : STARDOM
19
Fast-paced scam, such as the shell game : SHORTCON
20
BEFORE (Deck 2): PlayStation and Switch : CONSOLES
22
Laterite, for example : ORE
23
Folkie DiFranco : ANI
24
Chills : RESTS
26
"___ Recall" (1990 sci-fi film) : TOTAL
31
Jay who hosted the 2020s revival of "You Bet Your Life" : LENO
33
Wild European rabbit in Australia, e.g. : PEST
36
Beer buy : CASE
37
Join tightly : FUSE
41
BEFORE (Deck 3): Quarry : STONEPIT
43
Casino maneuvers carried out three times in this puzzle? : RIFFLESHUFFLES
46
AFTER (Deck 3): Crucial moment in a tennis match : SETPOINT
47
Osso ___ (veal dish) : BUCO
48
"The Emperor's New Groove" setting : PERU
49
Blond, but not really : DYED
51
Many a discovery in the Valley of the Kings : TOMB
55
Visit by plane : FLYTO
57
___ With Friends : WORDS
61
Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" : NIA
62
Telepathy, e.g. : PSI
65
AFTER (Deck 2): Noted quality of the Fonz : COOLNESS
67
Geraldo Rivera uncovered his "vaults" on live TV : ALCAPONE
72
"___ the Day" (Thomas Pynchon's longest novel) : AGAINST
73
AFTER (Deck 1): Slackers : GOOFOFFS
74
Was up the river : DIDTIME
75
Awards achievement reached in 2026 by Steven Spielberg : EGOT
76
Outdo : TOP
77
Rival of a Raven : STEELER
Down
1
Paul who played William Shakespeare in "Hamnet" : MESCAL
2
Vocalize : INTONE
3
Digitize, as a document : SCANIN
4
"Just What I Needed" band, with "the" : CARS
5
Disney+ series whose name sounds like a compound conjunction : ANDOR
6
Got via the "five-finger discount" : STOLE
7
"The Complete Works of ..." books, say : TOMES
8
Booker T.'s backing band : MGS
9
Neighborhood mentioned in "Werewolves of London" : SOHO
10
Former queen of Jordan : NOOR
11
Portable bed : COT
12
Mixed martial arts org. : UFC
13
Bay Area airport code : SFO
14
ID thief's target: Abbr. : SSN
17
Instrument ridge : FRET
21
Valvoline rival : STP
25
Gathering, informally : SESH
27
Cat that's spotted in South America : OCELOT
28
It's on a roll : TAPE
29
Sale caveat : ASIS
30
Permitted to : LET
32
Repelled : OFFPUT
34
Scrapbook keepsake : STUB
35
Popcorn ___ (fried vegan treat) : TOFU
38
Subject of a declassified Pentagon document, in brief : UFO
39
Averted a tag, maybe : SLID
40
Start of a counting-out rhyme : EENY
42
Lions and Bears are in it, in brief : NFC
43
Stagger : REEL
44
"Hey, doing my best" : ITRY
45
Goulash, e.g. : STEW
46
UV blockage fig. : SPF
50
Medical moniker : DOC
52
Final score of at least 10% of professional soccer matches : ONENIL
53
"Glad I'm back?" : MISSME
54
Thanksgiving kitchen tool : BASTER
56
Research for a political hit, slangily : OPPO
58
Map lines : ROADS
59
Give minimum effort : DOGIT
60
British glam rock band of the 1970s : SLADE
63
Lenient : SOFT
64
411 : INFO
66
TV's Nick at ___ : NITE
67
Gray, say : AGE
68
Record : LOG
69
Bill's partner : COO
70
Back at sea : AFT
71
"Ability" that's hard to believe, for short : ESP

Answer summary:
1 unique to this puzzle, 1 debuted here and reused later.

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