German cathedral city, to locals / SAT 1-10-26 / Mars comes third in it / Poles can be found next to them / Gay man, per historical slang inspired by Judy Garland / Loyal to a drastic extent / The kelpie of Celtic mythology / Andrew ___, banking tycoon who served as Treasury secretary from 1921 to 1932 / Kauai keepsake / Art form featuring performers in kishin (demon) and okina (old man) masks / Gemstone with gold-yellow bands

Constructor: Kameron Austin Collins

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: Ludwig Mies van der ROHE (36D: Architect Ludwig Mies van der ___) —

[Farnsworth House, Plano, IL]

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (/miːs ... roʊ/ MEESS-...-ROH; German: [ˈluːtvɪç ˈmiːs fan deːɐ̯ ˈʁoːə]; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German and American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture.

In the 1930s, Mies was the last director of the Bauhaus, a ground-breaking school of modernist art, design and architecture in Germany. After Nazism's rise to power, due to its strong opposition to modernism, he emigrated to the United States in 1937 or 1938. He accepted the position to head the architecture school at what is today the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Mies sought to establish his own particular architectural style that could represent modern times. His buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He is often associated with his fondness for the aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details".

• • •

***ATTENTION: READERS AND FELLOW SOLVERS*** : It's early January, which means it's time once again for my annual week-long pitch for financial contributions to the blog. Every year I ask readers to consider what the blog is worth to them on an annual basis and give accordingly. 2026 is a big year for me, as Rex Parker Solves the NYT Crossword will celebrate its 20th birthday in September. Two decades. The big 2-0. A score of years. One score and no years ago, I brought forth on this Internet a new blog, conceived in ... I think I'll stop there, but you get the idea. I've been at this a long time, and while it has been my privilege and joy, it has also been (and continues to be) a lot of work. Very early mornings, no days off—well, no days off for the blog. I do have two very able regular subs (Mali and Clare) who write for me once a month, as well as a handful of other folks who stand in for me when I go on vacation. But otherwise, it's just me, every dang day, up by 4am, solving and writing. I've never been this disciplined about anything in my life. Ask anyone. "Is he disciplined about anything else?" "No, he is not. Just this one thing. It's weird." And it's because I have a responsibility to an audience (that's you). Even after nearly 20 years, I'm still genuinely stunned and exceedingly grateful that so many of you have made the blog a part of your daily routine. Ideally, it adds a little value to the solving experience. Teaches you something you didn't know, or helps you look at crosswords in a new way, or makes you laugh (my highest goal, frankly). Or maybe the blog simply offers a feeling of commiseration—a familiar voice confirming that yes, that clue was terrible, or yes, that themer set should have been tighter, or wow, yes, that answer was indeed beautiful. Whether you find it informative or comforting or entertaining or infuriating—or all of the above—if you're reading me on a fairly regular basis, there's something valuable you're getting out of the blog. And I couldn't be happier about that.

["That's upside-down, sweetheart"]

Hopefully by now you can tell that for better or worse, what you get from me is my honest, unvarnished feelings about a puzzle. There's an explanatory element too, sure, but this blog is basically one person's solving diary. Idiosyncratic. Personal. Human. I'm not interested in trying to guess consensus opinion. I'll leave that to A.I. All I can do, all I want to do, is tell you exactly what it was like for me to solve the puzzle—what I thought, what I felt. Because while solving may seem like mere box-filling to outsiders, crossword enthusiasts know that the puzzle actually makes us feel things—joy, anguish, confusion (confusion's a feeling, right?). Our feelings might not always be rational, but dammit, they're ours, and they're worth having. And sharing. I love that crosswords engage the messy, human side of you, as well as the objective, solution-oriented side. If I just wanted to fill in boxes, without any of the messy human stuff, I'd solve sudoku (no shade, sudoku fans, they're just not for me!).

[conferring w/ my editor]

Over the years, I have received all kinds of advice about "monetizing" the blog, invitations to turn it into a subscription-type deal à la Substack or Patreon. And maybe I'd make more money that way, I don't know, but that sort of thing has never felt right for me. And honestly, does anyone really need yet another subscription to manage? As I've said in years past, I like being out here on this super old-school blogging platform, just giving it away for free and relying on conscientious addicts like yourselves to pay me what you think the blog's worth. It's just nicer that way. How much should you give? Whatever you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that amount is is fantastic. Some people refuse to pay for what they can get for free. Others just don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and free. But if you are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are three options. First, a Paypal button (which you can also find in the blog sidebar on the homepage, as well as at the bottom of every write-up):

Second, a mailing address (checks can be made out to "Michael Sharp" or "Rex Parker") (be sure to date them with the new year, 2026!):

Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905

The third, increasingly popular option is Venmo; if that's your preferred way of moving money around, my handle is @MichaelDavidSharp (the last four digits of my phone are 4878, in case Venmo asks you, which I guess it does sometimes, when it's not trying to push crypto on you, what the hell?!)

All Paypal contributions will be gratefully acknowledged by email. All Venmo contributions will get a little heart emoji, at a minimum :) All snail mail contributions will be gratefully acknowledged with hand-written postcards. I know snail mail is a hassle for most people, but I love it. I love seeing your (mostly) gorgeous handwriting and then sending you my (completely) awful handwriting. The human touch—it's nice. In recent years, my daughter has designed my annual postcards, but this year, grad school and NYC theater work are keeping her otherwise occupied, so I had to seek design help elsewhere. Enter Katie Kosma, who is not only a professional illustrator/designer, but (crucially!) a crossword enthusiast. She listened patiently to my long and disorganized list of ideas and in very short order was able to arrive at this year's design, inspired by film noir title cards. 

I'm very happy with how it turned out. The teeny boxes inside the letters, the copyright credit ("Natick Pictures, Inc."), and especially that pencil lamppost—mwah! I know most people solve online now, and many paper solvers prefer pen, but the pencil just feels iconic, and appropriate for the card's throwback vibe. That lamppost was entirely Katie's creation. She was a dream to work with. Can't say enough good things about her.

Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just indicate "NO CARD." 

Again, as ever, I'm so grateful for your readership. Please know that your support means a lot to me and my family. Now on to today's puzzle... 

• • •

Very excited to see KAC's name on the byline because I know he can turn the heat up. It's Saturday, I need the heat turned up. As you know, the overall softening of the NYTXW difficulty level, across the board, has been a source of ongoing annoyance to me. Hurray for general accessibility, but in the late-week puzzles can you please tighten the screws a little! Saturdays are for suffering! Anyway, I have some familiarity with Kam's work (both here and at the New Yorker), and I know he can throw hard, so I was excited. And it turns out, my excitement was warranted. The puzzle really wasn't that tough, but it had enough fight to make it interesting, and more than enough ZIP, which is ultimately the point. I've done grueling puzzles that had zero ZIP. None. ZIPless. But this thing ... this thing goes places. All over the map. To the Czech Republic, for instance, for one of the better clues of the day (41D: Poles can be found next to them). And to Japan, for the full NOH THEATER (we usually just see NOH—not as exciting) (55A: Art form featuring performers in kishin (demon) and okina (old man) masks). We go to Germany for that city I know but couldn't confidently spell (KÖLN—we spell it "Cologne"). But the most important trip this puzzle took went straight to Oz. The way my face and heart lit up when I plunked down FRIEND OF DOROTHY! (8D: Gay man, per historical slang inspired by Judy Garland). I believe the words "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" came out of my mouth as I went to take this screenshot:

[The second "garland" of the puzzle (see also LEI) (4D: Kauai keepsake)]

Increased acceptance of LGBTQ+ people has largely eradicated the need for euphemisms and code words, so I wonder if younger solver will ever have heard this expression, but I was so happy to be reminded of this "historical slang" (and happy to have lived long enough to see the "slang" become "historical"). Not sure where I learned the term FRIEND OF DOROTHY. I want to say Golden Girls, but that's just because Bea Arthur's character was named "Dorothy," I think (Bea Arthur—another gay icon). However I heard it, I heard it, and of all the things one might've called a gay man when I was younger, FRIEND OF DOROTHY (FOD!) was certainly among the nicest and most colorful. And it's a perfect grid-spanning 15 letters; I'm honestly surprised it hasn't been used before. But nope. It's a debut. Not All Debuts Are Good!™—but some sure as hell are. YOU LOOK FAB, FRIEND OF DOROTHY! 

["YOU LOOK FAB!!" + ATTACK MODE = "Fab Attack!"]

The only time this puzzle lost its ZIP was when it occasionally drifted into old-time crosswordese (RHEE, ROHE ... "Rhee-Rohe, Raggy!")

And then there's the "OH" doubling, which did make me say "Oh ... no." OH, CRUD, we've got another "OH" expression. In its defense, "OH, CRUD!" does make a nice yin to "OH, SNAP"s yang. And the two of them together pave the way for the NOH that's to come. OH, OH, NOH. Speaking of saying "OH!" ... ORGASMS! Not just one, a whole bunch. And with a cool literary clue (5D: Phenomena once known as "les petites morts" ("little deaths")). If you read (or teach!) literature, esp. pre-modern literature, then you are apt to run into this concept (the death / orgasm connection can be found all over the place). There is definitely stuff in this puzzle to frustrate or even annoy you, I suppose, but from where I was sitting, there was a lot more to love. I laughed out loud at my entree to the SW corner:

VITAL SIGNS and NOSE HAIR—two things I'm increasingly concerned about as I age (young men, I know you're probably worried about hair loss, but trust me, hair loss is fine: what you should be worried about is hair gain — in all the places you do not need or want it). NOSE HAIR—the battle is real! See also EAR HAIR (which no one talks about, but yikes). 

Bullets:

• 15A: The kelpie of Celtic mythology (WATER HORSE) — I think I'd like KELPIE in the grid a lot more than I like WATER HORSE. Are there other water horses? Is a WATER HORSE a phenomenon? Apparently. I guess the Loch Ness Monster (NESSIE!) is sometimes referred to as a WATER HORSE. I've never heard the term. When I got to TIGER EYE (which I'd also never heard of) (14D: Gemstone with gold-yellow bands), I thought/worried there might be some kind of animal theme going on.

• 18A: Sound made by a toaster? (TING!) — the "toaster" in this case is one making a toast (say, at a wedding). You know, you signal to the room that you're about to make a toast by striking your wine glass with ... silverware, probably. Although it's also possible that your kitchen toaster makes a TING! sound when the toast is done. Doesn't matter how you got to TING, only that you got there.
• 38A: Andrew ___, banking tycoon who served as Treasury secretary from 1921 to 1932 (MELLON) — I would like to take this moment to formally apologize to the MELLON Foundation for squandering my MELLON Dissertation Fellowship. I spent most of that year at the movie theater, or in used bookstores, amassing a rather large collection of vintage paperbacks, rather than in the library or at my desk. I mean, I'm not that sorry, I have an amazing paperback collection that gives me joy, and I saw a lot of cool movies. But I am a little sorry. Hey, I did finish my dissertation. Eventually.
• 46A: Volume units (SONES) — one of the few initial errors I made today. I went with TOMES at first. Then I had "AM TOO" (instead of "IS TOO") for the "playground retort" (still the lowest form of fill), which gave me MONES. I eventually remembered that SONES were a thing, but I know the term solely from crosswords (mostly crosswords of yore).
• 28D: Loyal to a drastic extent (RIDE-OR-DIE) — another wonderful, colorful colloquial entry. 

• 20A: Mars comes third in it (ANNÉE) — "Mars" = "March" in French, just as ANNÉE = "year." I thought I saw through this one when I wrote in ANNUM (Latin for "year"). While Mars is a Roman god, Mensis Martius is (apparently!) the Latin term for the month of March. It means "month of Mars." So I was close. Ish.

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. today's constructor, Kameron Austin Collins, was interviewed at length on Daniel Grinberg's crossword construction podcast "Crosstalk" (Episode 4). You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.  

P.P.S. because it's my annual fundraising week, mail has begun to come in, and some of the notes are really lovely. You all have been so encouraging and supportive, which has been especially important in these bleak times (esp. during this very bleak week—shout out, Minneapolis). Thank you thank you thank you.

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