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New York Times, Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Author:
Bryan Kaproth-Gerecht
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
One known for the morning grind?
TotalDebut
18/25/2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0010000
CircleScrabDebutFlowFresh
11.59132.253%
Bryan Kaproth-Gerecht

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 76, Blocks: 37 Missing: {FQZ} This is the debut puzzle for Mr. Kaproth-Gerecht. Grid flow: 32.2 Tuesday freshness: 91%
Jim Horne notes:

Overlaid concentric circles go through each planet's name in order.

1
N
2
I
3
B
4
A
5
K
6
O
7
N
8
R
9
A
10
J
11
A
12
S
13
E
V
A
14
B
O
H
O
15
S
A
T
U
R
N
16
P
E
R
17
S
E
I
D
S
18
U
T
O
P
I
A
19
T
R
I
L
L
20
A
E
21
O
N
22
M
I
D
I
23
U
S
S
R
24
M
E
N
S
25
A
26
T
I
L
27
N
O
T
28
V
29
E
N
U
S
30
W
31
H
E
T
S
32
E
N
A
33
M
O
R
34
M
E
35
R
C
U
R
Y
36
A
L
I
37
T
38
T
I
M
E
39
S
40
P
R
U
C
E
41
S
42
P
O
S
43
T
44
O
45
P
46
C
H
A
S
M
47
T
I
48
T
A
N
49
I
R
L
50
H
I
C
51
E
52
A
R
T
H
53
R
E
B
A
54
A
V
E
55
S
56
W
A
W
A
57
B
E
G
I
N
58
T
E
C
A
59
T
E
60
I
T
61
S
A
D
A
T
E
62
U
R
A
N
U
S
63
T
S
A
R
64
M
A
T
65
P
Y
R
E
X
66
H
O
P
E
67
E
L
S
overlay
© 2026, The New York Times8/25/26 ( No. 28,049 )
Across
1
Sharpened point of a quill pen : NIB
4
One-named Senegalese American singer with the #1 hits "I Wanna Love You" and "Don't Matter" : AKON
8
South Asian royals : RAJAS
13
Actress Longoria : EVA
14
Free-spirited style, informally : BOHO
15
*6th : SATURN
16
Summer meteor shower named for a mythological hero : PERSEIDS
18
Paradise : UTOPIA
19
Musical flutter : TRILL
20
Billion years, astronomically : AEON
22
___ skirt : MIDI
23
"Miracle on Ice" foe, for short : USSR
24
Smart set : MENSA
26
To, informally : TIL
27
"___ it!" (shout in a game of tag) : NOT
28
*2nd : VENUS
30
Arouses, as an appetite : WHETS
32
Captivate : ENAMOR
34
*1st : MERCURY
36
Settled on the ground, say : ALIT
38
Something told with two hands? : TIME
39
Bluish-silver Christmas trees, maybe : SPRUCES
42
Hosp. recovery area : POSTOP
46
Great divide : CHASM
47
Moon believed to have a subsurface ocean : TITAN
49
Gamer's "off-line" : IRL
50
Kool-Aid competitor : HIC
51
*3rd : EARTH
53
McEntire of country music : REBA
54
Some Monopoly properties: Abbr. : AVES
56
Drink in a sippy cup, to a toddler : WAWA
57
Commence : BEGIN
58
Mexican beer brand : TECATE
60
"I'd love to go" : ITSADATE
62
*7th : URANUS
63
Bygone Russian leader : TSAR
64
Pad : MAT
65
Baker's glassware brand : PYREX
66
"Thing with feathers that perches in the soul," per Emily Dickinson : HOPE
67
"Y"-sounding pair of letters, in Spanish : ELS
Down
1
*8th : NEPTUNE
2
Allen who was the 2001 N.B.A. M.V.P. : IVERSON
3
One known for the morning grind? : BARISTA
4
Second-born son in the Bible : ABEL
5
___ pond : KOI
6
"Wowza!" : OHDAMN
7
Tiny biting insect : NOSEEUM
8
Creature sometimes trained for bomb detection : RAT
9
Focus of some physicists : ATOM
10
*5th : JUPITER
11
Desert quality : ARIDITY
12
Epitomes of slowness : SNAILS
15
Symbols of fair weather : SUNS
17
Mirror-and-prism camera, for short : SLR
21
Arrival of symptoms : ONSET
25
"Man, that's hardly fair!" : AWCMON
28
Fullness, in hairstyling : VOLUME
29
"The Little Mermaid" prince : ERIC
31
Shades : HUES
33
*4th : MARS
35
Kelly of morning TV : RIPA
37
Neon ___ (aquarium fish) : TETRA
39
Like someone emerging from freezing cold water, typically : SHIVERY
40
Raceway speed setter : PACECAR
41
Mull over : SITWITH
43
Reason to go into penalty kicks : TIEGAME
44
Like the paths of 45-Down, as visually depicted in this puzzle : ORBITAL
45
Celestial "wanderers" ... or what this puzzle's circled letters represent : PLANETS
46
Flirt with, in a way : CHATUP
48
"Are you sure?" : THATSO
52
Spellbinds : AWES
53
Sunburned, perhaps : RED
55
Reasonable : SANE
57
Reveal : BARE
59
Black-and-white wedding rental : TUX
61
Gullible sort : SAP

Answer summary:
1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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