You come to The Atlantic for the articles; you stay for the addiction that is the “Atlantic Games.” It’s the daily ritual for thousands of problem-solvers looking to flex their logic muscles over coffee. But let’s face it: nothing ruins the vibe like a crossword clue that simply won’t click. Don’t let a single obscure trivia question break your streak. We’ve cracked the codes, solved the ciphers, and filled the brackets, so you don’t have to stress. Here is your daily answer key for the Bracket City, Crossword, Fluxis, and Stacks.
Table of Contents
Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for January 17, 2026
The Atlantic Crossword is a shapeshifting challenge. It starts the week as a bite-sized 5×5 “mini” on Mondays and grows progressively larger and more diabolical each day, culminating in a large themeless grid on Sundays. That being said, here are the answers for today’s Crossword:
Click to reveal Across Answers
- 1 Across: “Yesterday!” – ASAP
- 5 Across: Figure that might be found poolside? – DEPTH
- 10 Across: Sweater hole? – PORE
- 11 Across: Nebraska city whose name was Peyton Manning’s famous audible – OMAHA
- 12 Across: “Puh-leeeasssseeee?” e.g. – PLEA
- 13 Across: “Both ___ Now” (Joni Mitchell hit) – SIDES
- 14 Across: Movie franchise that introduced Jigsaw – SAW
- 15 Across: Like a theatergoer who misses the opening number – TARDY
- 16 Across: Publisher of the video game Sonic Rumble – SEGA
- 18 Across: Men who have taken a knee, maybe – SIRS
- 20 Across: Things that might leave tan lines – STRAPS
- 22 Across: Org. that received a Tony Award in 2016 – NEA
- 23 Across: Organs that have rods and cones – EYES
- 24 Across: Times up? – HIGHS
- 26 Across: Salonga who provided the singing voice for two Disney princesses – LEA
- 27 Across: Endures – TASTES
- 28 Across: Chap – LAD
- 29 Across: “Everything hurts” – IMSORE
- 30 Across: “my b” – SRY
- 31 Across: Listed – LEANED
Click to reveal Down Answers
- 1 Down: Bites before mains, for short – APPS
- 2 Down: Like stuff that’s “2000 and late” – SOLASTYEAR
- 3 Down: “Is everyone prepared?” – AREWEREADY
- 4 Down: Legume that interfered with a certain princess’s sleeping – PEA
- 5 Down: Thin, savory Indian dish – DOSA
- 6 Down: Qatar’s hereditary rulers – EMIRS
- 7 Down: Bear who’s the main character of a new West End musical – PADDINGTON
- 8 Down: Memorable Poltergeist line – THEYREHERE
- 9 Down: “With a name like Smucker’s, it ___ to be good” – HAS
- 15 Down: ___ to Pay (contactless-payment method) – TAP
- 17 Down: Contents of a whoopee cushion, literally and figuratively – GAS
- 19 Down: Gave some lip – SASSED
- 20 Down: Markets – SELLS
- 21 Down: “Can’t win ’em all!” – SHAME
- 25 Down: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl creator Rae – ISSA
- 27 Down: “Didn’t know this until right now”: abbr. – TIL
Click to reveal the Crossword answers grid
Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for January 17, 2026
Bracket City is a unique trivia-logic hybrid. You are presented with a tournament bracket of 16 items based on a specific category (e.g., “Capital Cities” or “90s Cartoons”). Your goal is to pick the winner of each matchup based on specific criteria given for that day, eventually narrowing it down to one final champion. One wrong pick in the early rounds can ruin your whole bracket. But don’t worry, we have all the answers for you.
Click to reveal today’s Bracket City Answers
- [event featuring witnesses and a jury, maybe 🧑⚖️] = trial
- [Jehovah’s ___ (✊🚪)] = witness
- [diamond-adorned lane for carpoolers and families 🛣️] = hov
- [one might have a deep end] = pool
- [___ and feather (gnarly punishment)] = tar
- [plumage component 🦚] = feather
- [Professor dressed in purple in Clue] = plum
- [this right here, e.g. 🕵️♀️] = Clue
- [tenured one 👩🏫] = Professor
- [this way 👉] = right
- [🎶 “jingle all the ___” 🎶] = way
- [popular countdown starting point] = ten
- [noble title for Dracula 🧛] = count
- [companion of jangle] = jingle
- [letters before an MD or PhD’s name] = Dr
- [like almost all TVs these days] = hD
Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For January 17, 2026
Think of Stacks as Tetris meets Boggle. Letters fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to select adjacent letters to form words and clear the lines before they reach the top. The longer the word, the higher the score, and the more “junk” blocks you destroy. Below are the highest-scoring words found in today’s seed to help you clear the board efficiently. Here are the answers for today’s Stacks, arranged from top to bottom.
Click to reveal words for today’s Stacks
- Word 1: LEVY
- Word 2: TALL
- Word 3: UNDID
- Word 4: MEDLEYS
- Word 5: WHIPLASH
Follow these steps to get these words:
- Start by dropping the word HILLY in the centre
- Then drop the word WEDDED on the left-most side
- After that, drop the word NAILS on the right
- After that, drop the word MUTELY on the left-most side
- Finally, drop the word LAVISH in the centre
Check out more puzzles :
- NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post/LA Times Crossword Hints and Answers
- LA Times Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post Mini Meta Crossword
- Boston Globe Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- USA Today Crossword Answers
- LinkedIn Answers
Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for January 17, 2026
Fluxis is a game of vocabulary flow. The objective is to build a chain of words where each subsequent word must start with a specific letter from the previous word, usually the last letter or a highlighted “flux” letter. Points are awarded based on the rarity of the letters used. It requires a deep vocabulary and the ability to think several steps ahead to avoid getting stuck with a letter like ‘X’ or ‘Q’.
Today’s base word is: FLEXIBLE
Click to reveal today’s Fluxis Chain Answers
- Category 1: Alternating vowel-consonant: EBON
- Category 2: Even number of letters: BONACI
- Category 3: No repeated letters: IF
That’s it, folks, for today’s Atlantic Games answers. Do come back tomorrow for a fresh set of solutions and another challenge for your brain.
