Lead-in to "X," "Y," "Z" or "Alpha" Crossword Clue

We have the 3-letter answer for Lead-in to "X," "Y," "Z" or "Alpha" crossword clue, last seen in the NYT Crossword January 26, 2026 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

Lead-in to "X," "Y," "Z" or "Alpha" Crossword Answer

↓9.

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

Hide

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

Helpful Hints

(noun)
1. informal term for information

Hint 2: Clue Definitions

LEAD-IN (noun)
1. the introductory section of a story
2. wire connecting an antenna to a receiver or a transmitter to a transmission line
ALPHA (adjective)
1. early testing stage of a software or hardware product
2. first in order of importance
ALPHA (noun)
1. the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet
2. the beginning of a series or sequence

Hint 3: Anagram

Unscramble the letters below to solve for today's answer.
ENG

More NYT Crossword (1/26/2026) Answers

Across

1. Pie nut

6. Boring task

10. "I want to be in the loop on this email"

14. Love, Italian-style

15. Walking stick

16. Sounds of inspiration

17. Classic flowering locale adjacent to the White House [baseball star]

19. Get gooey, maybe

20. Backstreets

21. Spooky

22. ___ one and only

25. Itinerary calculation, in brief

26. Connections

28. Purple yam used to flavor desserts

29. Grammy Award that's good for laughs? [1960s rock musician]

33. Truffle pigs' assets

34. Connection between topics

35. “Over here!”

36. ___ Vicious

37. Increase

41. "Do the Right ___" (Spike Lee film)

44. Food court pizza chain

46. North Carolina educational institution [former "S.N.L." cast member]

50. Allhallows ___

51. Cut as grass

52. Beverage that may come in a pint

53. Cry between "ready" and "go"

54. Parisian thanks

56. Waiter or waitress

59. 'Do __ others . . .'

60. Athletic trifectas … or a phonetic hint to the starts of 17-, 29- and 46-Across

64. Wishes undone

65. Fireplace fuel

66. Jadedness

67. Send an eggplant or taco emoji, say

68. Ones appointed by corp. boards

69. No-nos

All Answers

Down

1. Number on a golf card

2. Music genre influenced by the Smiths and the Cure

3. Modern lead-in to play

4. Space

5. Fail to take care of

6. "Aiiiiieeeee!," e.g.

7. Noblewoman

8. Like a biased presentation

10. Arrived

11. Winged figure in Raphael's "Sistine Madonna"

12. Beach city west of Los Angeles

13. Think highly of

18. Stevie Nicks and Karen Carpenter, vocally

21. Jacob’s brother, in the Bible

22. Baker's meas.

23. Mothers of barnyard chicks

24. Those, in Spanish

27. N.F.L. team at MetLife Stadium, as shown on scoreboards

30. ___-frutti

31. Endorse digitally

32. Corporate department that handles contracts

36. Oversize article of winter footwear

38. Metals that miners mine

39. Egg on

40. T.S. Eliot or W.H. Auden

42. Kind of port in A/V

43. Prefix with -metric or -morphic

44. Puzzle (out)

45. Censored, as on an audiotape

46. Takes exception

47. Fifth or Madison, in Manhattan

48. Point of a polygon

49. Stroke lovingly

55. "It'll ___ ya"

57. Thus

58. Nevada city near Lake Tahoe

60. Extra attention, in brief

61. Journalist Curry

62. Famed Egyptian king, for short

63. Bro's sibling

All Answers