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New York Times, Monday, January 12, 2026

January 12, 2026

By Carolyn Davies Lynch and Christina Iverson • 81 Clues

Across Clues

1. Intimidate, with "out" → PSYCH

6. Bird's dramatic dive → SWOOP

11. Place to store a lawn mower → SHED

15. Hawaiian greeting → ALOHA

16. ___ cold brew → NITRO

17. Concluding part of a song → CODA

18. Rhyming advice to a spitting talker → SAYITDONTSPRAYIT

21. "Halt!" → STOP

22. ___-anxiety (fear of harm to the environment caused by human activity) → ECO

23. Use, as machinery → OPERATE

24. Lots and lots → SOMANY

27. Acronym of affection in ASL → ILY

28. E.M.T. process often administered to the beat of "Stayin' Alive" → CPR

31. Rhyming advice to a gym rat → NOPAINNOGAIN

36. Avoids, as capture → ELUDES

38. French "not" → PAS

39. Prefix that means "all" → OMNI

40. Garage jobs involving grease guns → LUBES

41. "If all ___ fails ..." → ELSE

43. Comic/TV host O'Brien → CONAN

44. Man's name that's a citrus fruit spelled backward → EMIL

45. Substance that's a homophone and anagram of 51-Across → ORE

46. Reddish-brown antiseptic in a first-aid kit → IODINE

47. Rhyming advice to a renter of VHS tapes → BEKINDREWIND

51. Contraction that's a homophone and anagram of 45-Across → OER

52. Massachusetts' Cape ___ → COD

53. Smooched → KISSED

55. "I'll take the blame here" → MYFAULT

59. Liquid that circulates in a plant → SAP

60. Locale for Adam and Eve → EDEN

64. Rhyming advice to a procrastinator → YOUSNOOZEYOULOSE

67. Fairy tale villain → OGRE

68. Lock of hair → TRESS

69. Leaf on a sushi tray → SHISO

70. Broad inlets → BAYS

71. Handle, as matters → SEETO

72. Conceal for the time being, as information → SITON

Down Clues

1. Get a grade other than an F → PASS

2. Mattress supporter → SLAT

3. Toy that can go "around the world" → YOYO

4. You might let these "fall where they may" → CHIPS

5. A chef might wear a puffy white one → HAT

6. Chocolate treat designed to look like a mountaintop → SNOCAP

7. Actress Ryder of "Beetlejuice" → WINONA

8. Baseball's Mel → OTT

9. " ... in that range" → ORSO

10. Mary who sings "In every job that must be done there is an element of fun" → POPPINS

11. So great it's unnerving → SCARYGOOD

12. Georgetown athlete → HOYA

13. Put in a good word, perhaps? → EDIT

14. Something circled on a calendar → DATE

19. Presentations during a product unveiling → DEMOS

20. Move, to a Realtor → RELO

25. More than 10 billion of them are currently in circulation in the U.S. → ONES

26. Plaints of puppies → YIPS

28. One with many Insta followers, perhaps → CELEB

29. Fancy feather → PLUME

30. Toy cube inventor Erno → RUBIK

32. Scottish negative → NAE

33. Test an OB may perform in the second trimester → AMNIO

34. Silly → INANE

35. Football player with a team name inspired by the California gold rush → NINER

37. Where meats and cheeses are often displayed → DELICASES

41. Blunder → ERR

42. Vegetable that looks like a large scallion → LEEK

43. Girls Who ___ (nonprofit promoting women in computer science) → CODE

45. Incomplete sets on sale → ODDLOTS

46. Source of motivation, in modern lingo → INSPO

48. Verb preceder, typically → NOUN

49. Most sagacious → WISEST

50. Parent's declaration in response to defiance → ISAYSO

54. New ___, capital of India → DELHI

55. "Get outta my hair!," in a text → MYOB

56. Discipline for the flexible → YOGA

57. Rage → FURY

58. Ripped (up) → TORE

61. Phrase sometimes chanted after a dare → DOIT

62. Canadian gas brand → ESSO

63. Element with the symbol Ne → NEON

65. Last of 26 letters → ZEE

66. Initialism on a Navy carrier → USS