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New York Times, Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Author:
Nate Cardin
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
64-Across : Puppet dragon of 1960s kids' TV
TotalDebutLatest
97/26/20189/15/2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
02501001
RebusCircleScrabFlowFresh
111.6725.225%
Nate Cardin

This puzzle:

Rows: 16, Columns: 15 Words: 81, Blocks: 42 Missing: {XZ} This is puzzle # 9 for Mr. Cardin. Grid flow: 33.7 Tuesday freshness: 53%
Jim Horne notes:

Six familiar names or phrases beginning with two letters pronounced individually, the second of which is R.

1
T
2
A
3
F
4
F
5
Y
6
A
7
N
8
T
9
E
10
E
11
Y
12
E
13
S
14
S
C
A
R
E
15
L
A
I
R
16
D
O
L
L
17
P
R
D
I
S
18
A
S
T
E
R
19
I
S
L
A
20
S
E
E
S
21
R
O
O
22
O
23
K
T
H
E
N
24
B
25
I
C
26
J
R
E
W
I
N
G
27
A
28
R
E
P
A
29
C
O
S
T
A
30
V
R
H
E
A
D
31
S
E
T
32
O
R
33
D
34
E
35
R
36
I
M
O
37
D
E
A
L
T
38
S
E
M
I
39
N
O
D
40
S
41
B
E
E
42
T
43
S
44
P
E
P
45
E
R
E
C
46
T
47
E
R
D
O
C
48
T
O
R
S
49
H
U
50
R
R
Y
51
P
A
R
T
Y
52
Q
53
R
54
C
O
D
E
S
55
O
B
I
56
T
O
L
L
E
D
57
A
58
R
F
59
P
60
E
61
R
62
U
63
I
D
E
A
64
H
65
R
P
U
F
66
N
S
T
U
F
67
P
E
A
R
68
O
O
P
S
69
O
U
T
D
O
70
S
O
N
S
71
T
E
S
T
72
S
P
U
D
S
© 2026, The New York Times9/15/26 ( No. 28,070 )
Across
1
Laffy ___, candy with a rhyming name : TAFFY
6
Poker buy-in : ANTE
10
"The windows to the soul," metaphorically : EYES
14
Frighten : SCARE
15
Villain's hideout : LAIR
16
American Girl toy : DOLL
17
Cringey ad campaign going viral, for example : PRDISASTER
19
Madonna's "La ___ Bonita" : ISLA
20
Goes out with : SEES
21
Piglet and Pooh's marsupial friend : ROO
22
"Well, in that case ..." : OKTHEN
24
Clic Stic and Wite-Out brand : BIC
26
Character at the heart of the "Who shot ...?" cliffhanger of 1980s TV : JREWING
27
Colombian cornmeal cake : AREPA
29
San José, ___ Rica : COSTA
30
Oculus Rift or Meta Quest 3 : VRHEADSET
32
Opposite of chaos : ORDER
36
Texter's "I think ..." : IMO
37
Started a game of blackjack, say : DEALT
38
18-wheeler : SEMI
39
Agrees nonverbally : NODS
41
Red root vegetables : BEETS
44
Kind of rally at high school : PEP
45
Put up, as a building : ERECT
47
Many characters on "The Pitt" : ERDOCTORS
49
"Quick!" : HURRY
51
Group holding a nominating convention : PARTY
52
Scannable squares often used in place of paper menus : QRCODES
55
___-Wan Kenobi : OBI
56
Rang, as a bell : TOLLED
57
Pooch's bark : ARF
59
Paddington Bear's country of origin : PERU
63
What a light bulb represents, in comics : IDEA
64
Puppet dragon of 1960s kids' TV : HRPUFNSTUF
67
Bottom-heavy fruit : PEAR
68
Britney Spears's "___! ... I Did It Again" : OOPS
69
Perform better than : OUTDO
70
Daughters' brothers : SONS
71
Exam : TEST
72
French fries-to-be : SPUDS
Down
1
Cough syrup amts. : TSPS
2
Farmland measure : ACRE
3
Haircut that transitions from shorter sides to longer top : FADE
4
Ultimate ___ (team sport) : FRISBEE
5
Word of consent : YES
6
Too : ALSO
7
Grp. with a phonetic alphabet : NATO
8
Cause for overtime : TIE
9
Screw-ups : ERRORS
10
Conflicts over Wikipedia content : EDITWARS
11
Mario's dinosaur sidekick : YOSHI
12
Actress Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" : ELLEN
13
Vernacular found in Urban Dictionary : SLANG
18
Place for coin-op game machines : ARCADE
23
Kind of high-fat diet : KETO
25
Tablet with Pro, Air and mini versions : IPAD
26
Scribbled (down) : JOTTED
27
Knight's wear : ARMOR
28
The "R" in R.I. : RHODE
29
The "log" in "ants on a log" : CELERY
30
Trellis-climbing plant : VINE
31
"Light" Jedi weapons : SABERS
33
Railroad station : DEPOT
34
Manicurist's filing board : EMERY
35
Laces (into) : RIPS
40
Well-educated sorts : SCHOLARS
42
Fill back to capacity, as a glass : TOPOFF
43
Healing cover : SCAB
46
"Lose the ___, dude!" : TUDE
48
Causes to make a mistake : TRIPSUP
50
Bit of fiery cinnamon candy : REDHOT
52
Cotton swabs not recommended for ear canal use : QTIPS
53
Cowboy contest : RODEO
54
Fresh from the dishwasher : CLEAN
57
Grindr and Tinder, for two : APPS
58
Sign of decay : RUST
60
"___, Brute?" : ETTU
61
"Ant-Man" star Paul : RUDD
62
Sights that make you go "What the ...?!" : UFOS
65
___ v. Wade (1973 Supreme Court decision) : ROE
66
Rejections : NOS

Answer summary:
3 unique to this puzzle.

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