{"id":2125,"date":"2026-01-26T10:16:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T10:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/?p=2125"},"modified":"2026-01-26T10:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T10:16:09","slug":"nyt-crossword-analysis-jan-26-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/nyt-crossword-analysis-jan-26-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NYT Crossword Analysis (Jan 26, 2026): Find Pete in the Grid!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is Monday, and we are looking at an easy puzzle with some semi-tricky clues centered upon a specific name: Pete<\/strong>. You may know someone named Pete; he may be your father, son, friend or partner. If you do, tell them the NYT Crossword of Jan. 26 presents a subtle wordplay with their name!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, all the “Petes” in the grid are famous people: a baseball player, a musician, and a comedian. Before diving into today’s theme, can you guess these celebrities? Let me know in the comments!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17-Across is the first “Pete” question: Classic flowering locale adjacent to the White House [baseball star]. The answer is ROSE GARDEN<\/strong>. Pay close attention to the “baseball star” hint in brackets. As a former member of the Cincinnati Reds known for his aggressive style, our star is Pete Rose<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Section 29-Across suddenly jumps into the world of music: Grammy Award that\u2019s good for laughs? [1960s rock musician]. in 2024, the winner of BESTCOMEDYALBUM<\/strong> (Best Comedy Album) was Dave Chappelle for The Dreamer album. But where is the Pete? Look at the bracketed hint again: 1960s rock musician. Like the previous clue, half of Pete’s full name is hidden in the answer. Since it is not “Pete Comedy,” it must be Pete Best<\/strong>, the original drummer for the Beatles!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also like: NYT Crossword Analysis (Jan 25, 2026): Technology in the Grid!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

46-Across comes along the last Pete: North Carolina educational institution [former \u201cS.N.L.\u201d cast member]. That Institution name is DAVIDSONCOLLEGE<\/strong> (Davidson College). This one is quite straightforward: the name is Pete, he\u2019s a comedian and his surname is in the answer. Pete Davidson<\/strong> is the star here, the famous American comedian whose career took off on Saturday Night Live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 60-Across is the revealer of the entire theme: Athletic trifectas \u2026 or a phonetic hint to the starts of 17-, 29- and 46-Across. Pat Riley (then head of the Los Angeles Lakers) actually trademarked the phrase “Three-Peat” in 1988 when the team was chasing its third consecutive championship. “Three Peats”<\/strong> sounds exactly like “Three Petes,”<\/strong> a clever phonetic wordplay for a Monday morning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did the Three-Peat pun catch you off guard, or did you fill in the Petes immediately? Drop your fastest completion time in the comments below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need the answers for daily crossword puzzles like the NYT Crossword<\/a> or the NYT Mini<\/a>, make sure to check Daze Puzzle<\/a> every day to find the solutions you need in record time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is Monday, and we are looking at an easy puzzle with some semi-tricky clues centered upon a specific name: Pete. You may know someone named Pete; he may be your father, son, friend or partner. If you do, tell them the NYT Crossword of Jan. 26 presents a subtle wordplay with their name! Actually, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crossword-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}