Back muscles, briefly

Latest answer — July 14, 2026

25 Across

These muscles help you pull and are often targeted in strength training! 💪

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Midi Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, July 14, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1___ Tuesday
  2. 5Memento from a movie ticket
  3. 9Taylor Swift, to Swifties, e.g.
  4. 10Hourly compensation
  5. 11Intellectual property protection ... or an apt description of 18-Down?
  6. 13What M&M;'s may do in a hot car
  7. 14Show you aren't interested on a dating app ... or an apt description of 14-Down?
  8. 19Meek
  9. 20"What ___ you even talking about?!"
  10. 21Disney character voiced by Idina Menzel
  11. 22Gold Card issuer, informally
  12. 23"Totally agree!"
  13. 24Swimming competition
  14. 25Back muscles, briefly
  15. 26Quirky

Down

  1. 1Behavioral quirk
  2. 2Kerfuffle
  3. 3Job for Al Pacino's character in "Heat" or "Serpico"
  4. 4Gold medal seekers
  5. 5Food for a pig
  6. 6Handled as a pair
  7. 7Cry of disgust
  8. 8Put chips on the table
  9. 12Part of a clarinet
  10. 14Pilfer
  11. 15"The Flintstones" character with orange hair
  12. 16"Nothing for me, thanks"
  13. 17Rescued, as one's teammates in Capture the Flag
  14. 18Contents of an article
  15. 22"___, amas, amat ..." (Latin 101 conjugation)

The answer to “Back muscles, briefly” in the New York Times Midi crossword is LATS — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on July 14, 2026 at 25-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Back muscles, briefly” answer

LATS (4 letters)

Use the reveal tiles above to uncover the solution one letter at a time if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Prefer the full answer straight away? It's LATS.

Why the answer is LATS

These muscles help you pull and are often targeted in strength training! 💪

What does LATS mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of LATS is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • the basic monetary unit of Latvia, equal to 100 santims (replaced by the euro in 2014)

When else has “Back muscles, briefly” appeared?

New York Times Midi reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

July 14, 2026 (most recent) → LATS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Back muscles, briefly”?

The answer is LATS, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on July 14, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Back muscles, briefly”?

4 letters: LATS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times Midi crossword on July 14, 2026, at 25-Across.

Can “Back muscles, briefly” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times Midi sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of today's NYT Midi answers?

Every clue and answer from that day's puzzle is linked above, and the full grid is on the NYT Midi answers page.

New York Times Midi Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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