Quick Answer
Clue: “Word that can precede piano, total or staircase”
Answer: GRAND
Answer length: 5 letters
Clue number and direction: 1-Down
The New York Times crossword clue “Word that can precede piano, total or staircase” is answered with GRAND, which fills all five squares of 1-Down.
Why GRAND Is the Right NYT Answer
- The clue uses a classic “can precede” pattern, pointing to a word that forms common phrases with each listed term: grand piano, grand total, and grand staircase are all standard English expressions.
- That makes GRAND the only word that naturally and correctly combines with all three.
- Answer listings for the January 23, 2026 NYT Mini explicitly give GRAND as the 1-Down solution, confirming both the word and its 5-letter length.
- Other possibilities either fail with one of the three pairings or do not match the required pattern, so GRAND is the unique clean fit.
What GRAND Means in Plain English
- In everyday use, grand can mean impressive, large, or magnificent, as in a grand building or grand plan. As a noun, it also refers to a grand piano, the large, horizontal-style piano seen in concert halls and living rooms.
- The phrase grand total means the final overall sum, and a grand staircase is a wide, impressive staircase often found in mansions, hotels, or theaters.
- The clue leans on these familiar phrases rather than a tricky or obscure sense of the word.
Crossword-Specific Help for GRAND
- For 1-Down, GRAND appears in the grid as G R A N D, and you might see partial patterns like G_ A N D, RAN, or GR__D once some across answers are filled.
- In this Mini, 1-Down crosses key across entries like GRAFT (1-Across), REPLY (6-Across), AMPUP (7-Across), NOLTE (8-Across), and DWEEB (9-Across), which help confirm each letter.
- GRAND is a fairly common crossword entry because it is versatile: it can be clued via money (“a grand” for 1000), via “piano,” via “total,” or via “magnificent.”
- When you see “word that can precede…” in a clue, always check if GRAND forms natural two-word phrases with the given examples.
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
- For “Word that can precede ___” clues, test whether a candidate word makes all the given pairings sound like real, in-the-language phrases; GRAND passes that test for piano, total, and staircase.
- Keep GRAND in mind for clues mentioning “piano type,” “impressive total,” or “majestic staircase,” since all of those can point to the same 5-letter answer.
Use crossings from across entries especially the initial G from GRAFT and the N from NOLTE to lock in GRAND quickly at 1-Down.
