Tunnel-making machine

Latest answer — January 02, 2026

24 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Friday, January 02, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Havanese greeting
  2. 4Tolstoy book whose title asks a question
  3. 13Reluctantly stoop
  4. 16They rate up to 350,000 on the Scoville scale
  5. 17H.S. class for tough life lessons?
  6. 18"Just tell me when it's over"
  7. 19Dance move also known as a backslide
  8. 21Skims, as soup stock
  9. 22Fig. that cannot start with 9
  10. 23Org. for The Rock and Brock Lesnar
  11. 24Tunnel-making machine
  12. 25Not many
  13. 27Windfalls
  14. 28Keep coming up
  15. 30One might lead to pay back
  16. 34Make some introductions, say
  17. 35The Cowboys of the N.C.A.A.
  18. 36Word from the Lakota for "they dwell"
  19. 37Emotional manipulation tactic
  20. 39Meaty meal
  21. 40Attraction on the western side of Carson Range
  22. 41"Oof!"
  23. 42Seems less impressive, so to speak
  24. 43Spray in the kitchen
  25. 44German stock market index
  26. 47Cumbrous
  27. 49One-to-one relationship
  28. 51Exchanges blows?
  29. 53Up to
  30. 54Eggless bread spread
  31. 55"A-a-a-and ___!" (improv show ender)
  32. 56High-carb snack
  33. 57May day celebrant

Down

  1. 1President who wrote "Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it"
  2. 2Default outcomes, perhaps
  3. 3Kind of sequence that proceeds 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ...
  4. 4Duration
  5. 5Modern security threat
  6. 6Org. with the Rule of Law Initiative
  7. 7Cylindrical oven
  8. 8Extremely well-liked?
  9. 9Personal opinion?
  10. 10Hooting and hollering
  11. 11Part of an underground network
  12. 12Pithy put-downs
  13. 14Main ingredient in an aviation cocktail
  14. 15"I like the sound of that!"
  15. 20"So adorable!"
  16. 24Prepare to ship, say
  17. 26Delivery means to a gas station
  18. 27Count in the Blues Hall of Fame
  19. 28On the ___ (frequently, informally)
  20. 29Bird whose eggs are sometimes a canvas for Aboriginal art
  21. 30Capotes are flapped at them
  22. 31"Let's go, sleepyhead!"
  23. 32Booking, for short
  24. 33Server's obstacle
  25. 38"Word on the street is ..."
  26. 41___ Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code"
  27. 42Night of lawlessness in a long-running horror franchise, with "the"
  28. 43Try-hard
  29. 45Kind of acid
  30. 46Stem component
  31. 47Capitulate
  32. 48Lender's security
  33. 49Table outside
  34. 50Big purveyor of health supplements
  35. 52Gender-neutral term in a family

The answer to “Tunnel-making machine” in the New York Times crossword is BORER — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on January 2, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 24-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.

“Tunnel-making machine” answer

BORER (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is BORER.

Why the answer is BORER

BORER is the 5-letter solution that fits "Tunnel-making machine" in the NYT Crossword crossword on January 2, 2026 (24-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does BORER mean?

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

(noun)

  • a worm, mollusc, insect, or insect larva which bores into wood, other plant material, or rock
  • a tool for boring

When else has “Tunnel-making machine” appeared?

New York Times 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.

January 2, 2026 (most recent) → BORER. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Tunnel-making machine”?

The answer is BORER, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on January 2, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Tunnel-making machine”?

5 letters: BORER.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on January 2, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 24-Across.

Can “Tunnel-making machine” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times 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 this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for January 2, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times 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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