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New York Times, Monday, January 19, 2026

January 20, 2026

By Peter Gorman • 78 Clues

Across Clues

1. Package under a Christmas tree → GIFT

5. Old-fashioned butter maker → CHURN

10. Branded cotton swab → QTIP

14. Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan → OMAR

15. In on, as a trend → HIPTO

16. Big coffee containers → URNS

17. 1972 song by Elton John → TINYDANCER

19. Luxury auto whose logo is four overlapping rings → AUDI

20. In progress → ONGOING

21. :), ;), :D and others → SMILEYS

23. Formal "you," in Spanish → USTED

25. Comedian Wong → ALI

26. Projects, as a shadow → CASTS

29. 1985 song by John Cougar Mellencamp → SMALLTOWN

34. Comes to light → ARISES

36. X minus III, in old Rome → VII

37. Cosmonaut Gagarin → YURI

38. Held the reins → LED

39. Spot for a massage → SPA

41. R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10 → SZA

43. Element used in bronze → TIN

44. Sporting blade → EPEE

46. Draft pick? → ALE

48. Firstborn → ELDEST

50. 1987 song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles → BABYGRAND

53. Midsection measurement → GIRTH

54. Apt rhyme for "shriek" → EEK

55. Martial arts studios → DOJOS

57. Disheveled → UNKEMPT

61. Caribbean island with a liqueur named for it → CURACAO

65. Gently persuade → COAX

66. Capital of Arkansas ... or a description of 17-, 29- and 50-Across? → LITTLEROCK

68. In ___ land (daydreaming) → LALA

69. "I wish I could ___ that!" → UNSEE

70. A second helping, say → MORE

71. "Excuse me ..." → AHEM

72. Things shifted on a bicycle or in a car → GEARS

73. Winter coaster → SLED

Down Clues

1. ___ Jail (space on a Monopoly board) → GOTO

2. "Sign me up!" → IMIN

3. Vampire's tooth → FANG

4. Auditions → TRYOUTS

5. "U-S-A! U-S-A! ...," e.g. → CHANT

6. Movable joints on a door → HINGES

7. ___ code (what most product packages have) → UPC

8. Google Maps options: Abbr. → RTES

9. Bring into the mainstream → NORMALIZE

10. Counterpart of quantity → QUALITY

11. Factual → TRUE

12. Where the N.F.L.'s Colts play, informally → INDY

13. Letters before omegas → PSIS

18. Insults → DISSES

22. Springfield is its capital: Abbr. → ILL

24. Org. with notoriously long lines → DMV

26. Biblical spy for Moses → CALEB

27. South American flatbread → AREPA

28. Lesser-played part of a 45 → SIDEB

30. ChatGPT and Google Gemini, for two → AIS

31. Word before space or Mongolia → OUTER

32. Spot to find a pulse → WRIST

33. Final inning, typically → NINTH

35. Device for starting an engine → SPARKPLUG

40. In the style of → ALA

42. Former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize → ALGORE

45. Test taken at the 24-Down → EYEEXAM

47. Finale → END

49. Wins over with charm → DISARMS

51. Jewel → GEM

52. Pete who directed "Up," "Inside Out" and "Soul" → DOCTER

56. Novelist Verne → JULES

57. The N.C.A.A.'s Bruins → UCLA

58. Biblical ark builder → NOAH

59. Dark leafy green → KALE

60. Fork prong → TINE

62. Chilly → COOL

63. Surveyor's measure → ACRE

64. Gave a thumbs-up → OKED

67. Airport screening grp. → TSA