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New York Times, Monday, August 10, 2026

Author:
Nate Cardin
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
*How to tackle big writing projects, per a seminal Anne Lamott book
TotalDebutLatest
87/26/20188/10/2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
02401001
RebusCircleScrabFlowFresh
111.6923.924%
Nate Cardin

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 38 Missing: {QV} This is puzzle # 8 for Mr. Cardin. Grid flow: 17.0 Monday freshness: 61%
Jim Horne notes:

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.

Now I have Side by Side by Sondheim stuck in my head.

1
A
2
P
3
E
4
S
5
S
6
L
7
A
8
T
9
E
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N
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J
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O
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Y
14
M
A
X
I
15
A
I
M
S
16
G
E
O
D
E
17
O
P
E
D
18
S
T
E
P
19
B
Y
S
T
E
P
20
R
I
C
E
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C
H
E
X
22
U
P
S
23
B
A
A
24
H
O
T
25
P
26
A
27
N
28
P
29
L
30
A
Y
B
Y
31
P
32
L
A
Y
33
C
A
N
E
34
L
A
S
S
O
35
H
A
Z
E
36
A
N
T
S
37
U
G
L
I
38
S
O
S
A
D
39
S
I
L
T
40
C
U
E
D
41
U
B
E
R
42
R
E
N
E
E
43
K
N
E
E
44
B
I
R
D
45
B
Y
B
I
R
D
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Y
A
P
47
E
T
A
48
L
A
Y
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A
L
L
50
L
51
A
U
N
C
52
H
53
E
54
D
55
F
56
O
57
U
R
B
Y
58
F
O
U
R
59
A
U
R
A
60
L
A
R
G
O
61
I
S
N
T
62
S
L
A
M
63
Y
K
N
O
W
64
N
E
T
S
65
E
A
S
E
© 2026, The New York Times8/10/26 ( No. 28,034 )
Across
1
"Planet of the ___" : APES
5
Wood strip found in many Ikea bed supports : SLAT
9
Take pleasure in : ENJOY
14
Size opposite of mini- : MAXI
15
Prepares to throw a dart, say : AIMS
16
Crystal-filled rock : GEODE
17
Newspaper opinion piece : OPED
18
*Title of a 1990s ABC sitcom and a 1990s New Kids on the Block hit : STEPBYSTEP
20
Cereal often found with pretzels in a party snack mix : RICECHEX
22
Vertical jumping ability, in basketball lingo : UPS
23
Sheep's cry : BAA
24
"___ to Go!," 2024 Chappell Roan hit sometimes compared to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." : HOT
25
Attracted to people of any gender, for short : PAN
28
*Detailed, real-time description of events : PLAYBYPLAY
33
Shape for a red-and-white striped Christmas candy : CANE
34
Rodeo rope : LASSO
35
Foggy mental state : HAZE
36
Raisins, when on a celery-and-peanut-butter "log" : ANTS
37
Wrinkly citrus fruit : UGLI
38
"What a shame" : SOSAD
39
Riverbank deposit : SILT
40
Prompted, on stage : CUED
41
Lyft competitor : UBER
42
Zellweger of "Bridget Jones's Diary" : RENEE
43
Joint sometimes bent in protest : KNEE
44
*How to tackle big writing projects, per a seminal Anne Lamott book : BIRDBYBIRD
46
Go on and on and on : YAP
47
LAX posting : ETA
48
Frito-___ : LAY
49
Not just some or most : ALL
50
Got off the ground, as a start-up company : LAUNCHED
55
*Many an off-road vehicle ... or a literal description of the answer to each asterisked clue (including this one!) : FOURBYFOUR
59
Otherworldly glow : AURA
60
It means slow (not big!) in music : LARGO
61
"Well, ___ that special!" : ISNT
62
Poetry competition : SLAM
63
"See what I'm talkin' 'bout?" : YKNOW
64
Brooklyn basketballers ... and what they swish : NETS
65
Effortlessness : EASE
Down
1
Spanish love : AMOR
2
Big ___ (nickname of baseball's David Ortiz) : PAPI
3
Company bigwig : EXEC
4
*Next to each other, like many washers and dryers : SIDEBYSIDE
5
Strut down the "RuPaul's Drag Race" runway, say : SASHAY
6
Lo-cal : LITE
7
Visa or Mastercard rival, informally : AMEX
8
Small recipe amt. : TSP
9
Home of the Great Pyramid : EGYPT
10
Loch ___ monster : NESS
11
Scribble (down) : JOT
12
Sappho's "___ to Aphrodite" : ODE
13
Slangy affirmative : YEP
19
Lifted, as one's spirits : BUOYED
21
___ San Lucas, Mexico : CABO
24
Venture, as a guess : HAZARD
25
Pressed sandwich : PANINI
26
Part of a reindeer's rack : ANTLER
27
Prepared one's home for a new arrival : NESTED
28
Spirited and determined : PLUCKY
29
"___ Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV reality show of the mid-aughts) : LAGUNA
30
Catching some Z's : ASLEEP
31
Irrational fear : PHOBIA
32
Word before printer or pointer : LASER
33
*Considered individually : CASEBYCASE
38
In a nonobvious way : SUBTLY
42
"Deadpool" actor Reynolds : RYAN
45
Says out loud without thinking : BLURTS
47
Spot for a roller skater's pad : ELBOW
49
Best Picture winner found hiding in "and the Oscar goes to ..." : ARGO
50
"Heads, I win. Tails, you ___!" (sneaky coin flip agreement) : LOSE
51
Parent's sister : AUNT
52
Hawaiian storytelling dance : HULA
53
Times of one's life, say : ERAS
54
Title for Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson : DAME
55
Take to the sky : FLY
56
Acorn-bearing tree : OAK
57
Caterer's coffee dispenser : URN
58
Above-water sign of a shark : FIN

Answer summary:
3 unique to this puzzle, 3 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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