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New York Times, Friday, January 16, 2026

January 17, 2026

By Kyle Dolan • 72 Clues

Across Clues

1. Coming-out party? → BABYSHOWER
11. Finish (up) → WRAP
15. "Hello-o-o?" → ANYONEHOME
16. Dialect featured in the literature of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, for short → AAVE
17. Scenario calling for self-reliance → SINKORSWIM
18. Summer flier → GNAT
19. Classic 1926 poem associated with the Harlem Renaissance → ITOO
20. Do some cleaning → DUST
21. Creatures that can turn into humans on land, in Scottish folklore → SEALS
22. Sound around a summer cornfield → CAW
23. Wood used for flooring → FIR
24. Trunk item → GASCAN
25. Shortest-reigning English monarch (9 days) → JANEGREY
28. Molecule that can self-splice → RNA
29. Enthusiasm-curbing → JADING
32. "Here we go!" → LETSROCK
34. Uncovered → OPEN
35. Some cuts of meat → CHOPS
37. Tennis great who had a tennis scholarship from U.C.L.A. → ASHE
38. Place for trading stories? → BOOKFAIR
40. Diverts → AMUSES
42. It takes a long time to get this → OLD
43. Leading character on social media? → ATSYMBOL
45. White House partner, for short → FLOTUS
47. Assume, as costs → EAT
48. Do some cleaning → MOP
51. Market for currencies, informally → FOREX
52. Financial aid basis → NEED
54. Hand count? → FIVE
55. Ian : Scotland :: ___ : Wales → EVAN
56. One might help you hitch a ride → CARTRAILER
58. Parmesan cheese feature → RIND
59. Novel whence the line "Four legs good, two legs bad" → ANIMALFARM
60. Rests → SITS
61. They're green year-round → FAKEPLANTS

Down Clues

1. Bare-bones → BASIC
2. Oscar-winning musical role for Rita Moreno → ANITA
3. Already → BYNOW
4. "The Memory Police" author ___ Ogawa → YOKO
5. Brand lead-in to Caps or Balls → SNO
6. Unwieldy situation, metaphorically → HERDINGCATS
7. "As if!" → OHSURE
8. Blows away → WOWS
9. Release → EMIT
10. Kind of cycle → REM
11. Listing on a W-2 form → WAGES
12. Stumbled upon → RANACROSS
13. Overwhelming amount → AVALANCHE
14. Some terrarium denizens → PETSNAKES
21. Declares → SAYS
23. Tai chi accessory → FAN
24. Receives unfair criticism → GETSABADRAP
25. Nimble, zigzagging maneuver → JINK
26. Best Original Song Oscar winner from 2014's "Selma" → GLORY
27. P.E. unit → REP
29. Invitations to come on board → JOBOFFERS
30. First NASA mission broadcast live from orbit → APOLLOVII
31. Secret offering? → DEODORANT
33. Julia of "The Addams Family" → RAUL
36. ___ Excellency → HIS
39. Like leatherette → FAUX
41. Witticism → MOT
44. Start of a secret invitation, perhaps → MEETME
46. Leans → TENDS
48. Locale of a semiannual fashion week → MILAN
49. Opposite of subtle → OVERT
50. Makes do for a while? → PERMS
52. Gram, by another name → NANA
53. Composer Satie → ERIK
54. Goal-oriented global org.? → FIFA
56. Half-___ → CAF
57. Totally → ALL