Quick Answer
Clue: “Just ___ the doctor ordered”
Answer: WHAT
Answer length: 4 letters
Position: 1-Down
The New York Times crossword clue “Just ___ the doctor ordered” has the 4-letter answer WHAT, completing the common idiom “just what the doctor ordered.”
Why “WHAT” Is the Right NYT Answer
- The phrase “just what the doctor ordered” is a fixed English idiom meaning “exactly what is needed or wanted.” The blank in the clue falls right where “what” appears in that expression, so the only word that logically fits is WHAT.
- NYT Mini answer lists for the January 19, 2026 puzzle confirm WHAT as the official solution for this clue, matching both the idiom and the four-letter slot in the grid.
What “WHAT” Means in Plain English
- On its own, what is a very common pronoun used to ask questions or refer to “the thing that.” In the idiom “just what the doctor ordered,” it refers to the specific thing that perfectly solves a problem or hits the spot, like a nap or a hot drink.
- So the clue is really pointing solvers to a missing word inside a well-known phrase, not to a standalone definition.
Crossword-Specific Help: Pattern, Crossings, and Variants
- In the grid, 1-Down is W‑H‑A‑T, so even a partial pattern like W__T from crossings makes WHAT very easy to see. Because WHAT is such a common four-letter word, it appears frequently in crosswords, often clued via short phrases or partial idioms like this one.
- Similar clues might read “Just ___ the doctor ordered, idiom word” or “Word missing from ‘just ___ the doctor ordered,’” all leading to the same entry, WHAT.
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
- When a clue shows a familiar saying with a blank especially something you’ve heard in everyday speech mentally recite the full phrase and drop in the missing word.
- Always check the letter count: common function words like WHAT, THAT, THIS, and JUST are frequent answers when the grid calls for 4-letter fill inside idioms.
Recognizing idioms like “just what the doctor ordered” will help you snap in answers quickly and use their letters to unlock surrounding entries in the Mini.
