You come to The Atlantic for the articles; you stay for the addiction that is the “Atlantic Games.” It’s the daily ritual for thousands of problem-solvers looking to flex their logic muscles over coffee. But let’s face it: nothing ruins the vibe like a crossword clue that simply won’t click. Don’t let a single obscure trivia question break your streak. We’ve cracked the codes, solved the ciphers, and filled the brackets, so you don’t have to stress. Here is your daily answer key for the Bracket City, Crossword, Fluxis, and Stacks.
- Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for December 28, 2025
- Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for December 28, 2025
- Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For December 28, 2025
- Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for December 28, 2025
Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for December 28, 2025
The Atlantic Crossword is a shapeshifting challenge. It starts the week as a bite-sized 5×5 “mini” on Mondays and grows progressively larger and more diabolical each day, culminating in a large themeless grid on Sundays. That being said, here are the answers for today’s Crossword:
1 Across: Opposite of a pan – RAVEREVIEW
11 Across: “In memoriam” piece, for short – OBIT
15 Across: Like someone who’s engaged, at a singles bar – INELIGIBLE
16 Across: Minor league – BUSH
17 Across: Hard-to-quantify emotional condition, for a group – TEAMMORALE
18 Across: Car for a star, maybe – LIMO
19 Across: Sharp-tipped tools – AWLS
20 Across: Place where workers expose veins – MINE
21 Across: Tons – PILES
22 Across: Have second thoughts, maybe – BALK
23 Across: Herb that has a stinging variety – NETTLE
24 Across: Nice way to denounce somebody? – JACCUSE
28 Across: Cirque du ___ – SOLEIL
29 Across: Some green fundraisers? – PROAMS
30 Across: Quick refresher – POWERNAP
32 Across: Hidden ___ (if-you-know-you-know spots) – GEMS
33 Across: Certain Anabaptist group – AMISH
35 Across: Pokémon that evolves into Kadabra – ABRA
36 Across: Chocolatier, say? – SWEETGIG
38 Across: Consume crudités, for example – EATRAW
40 Across: Drawing Hands artist – ESCHER
41 Across: Some red flags – CAVEATS
42 Across: Items coveted in The Rainbow Fish – SCALES
43 Across: On-line bait? – LURE
44 Across: Steel, e.g. – ALLOY
45 Across: Mini-___ (convenience store) – MART
46 Across: Food celebrated at a museum in Austin, Minnesota – SPAM
50 Across: Garlands hung throughout the year – LEIS
51 Across: “It pains me to do this, but…” – DONTHATEME
53 Across: Initialism for a Black dialect – AAVE
54 Across: Stays drawn – ENDSINATIE
55 Across: ___ Scott v. Sandford – DRED
56 Across: Finish line of the rat race, maybe – EASYSTREET
1 Down: Moreno who was awarded a 2018 Peabody – RITA
2 Down: Afresh – ANEW
3 Down: Saltimbocca protein – VEAL
4 Down: Common canopy liners – ELMS
5 Down: Thing that’s salted for some margaritas – RIM
6 Down: Rubs the right way? – EGOMASSAGES
7 Down: Mannish – VIRILE
8 Down: Morgan Stanley or Barclays: abbr. – IBANK
9 Down: Magazine found in a best-seller list? – ELLE
10 Down: Itty-bitty – WEE
11 Down: Completely destroy – OBLITERATE
12 Down: Source of some undercover support? – BUILTINBRA
13 Down: “One of you squealed!” – ISMELLARAT
14 Down: More than that? – THOSE
21 Down: Soccer legend whose jersey number was once projected on Christ the Redeemer – PELE
22 Down: Ski ___ – BUM
23 Down: “Boy, do I have a story for you!” – NOWHEARTHIS
24 Down: Legacy image files: abbr. – JPEGS
25 Down: Question to which “Crystal” might be a reply – AREWECLEAR
26 Down: Fills up, as a dance floor – COMESALIVE
27 Down: “That settles that!” – CASECLOSED
28 Across: “Help Wanted” sign? – SOS
30 Down: Playground game that combines spelling and basketball – PIG
31 Down: Fitting rhyme for claws – PAWS
34 Down: Space station that was returned to Earth in 2001 – MIR
37 Down: Gender-neutral pronoun – THEY
39 Down: Constitution or Wisconsin, in D.C. – AVE
41 Down: Greeting perfected by debutantes – CURTSY
42 Down: Word before days or dressing – SALAD
43 Down: Touches down – LANDS
45 Down: ___ Patel (CEO who attended the 2025 Met Gala with a robotic dog) – MONA
46 Down: Headliner, maybe – STAR
47 Down: Tennis great Sampras – PETE
48 Down: Bonne ___ – AMIE
49 Down: Encounter – MEET
51 Down: Star Wars actor Billy ___ Williams – DEE
52 Down: Colony resident – ANT
Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for December 28, 2025
Bracket City is a unique trivia-logic hybrid. You are presented with a tournament bracket of 16 items based on a specific category (e.g., “Capital Cities” or “90s Cartoons”). Your goal is to pick the winner of each matchup based on specific criteria given for that day, eventually narrowing it down to one final champion. One wrong pick in the early rounds can ruin your whole bracket. But don’t worry, we have all the answers for you.
- [Barbie’s plus one] = ken
- [place to open a tab without a browser] = Bar
- [eye___ 🤨] = brow
- [“___ or minus”] = plus
- [sign that’s a little longer than a hyphen 📏] = minus
- [Chicken that warned the sky was falling ⚠️🐔] = little
- [diver who generally does not get wet] = sky
- [what a boxer takes in a fixed fight 🤿] = dive
- [they might be little green 🛸 or In Black 🕶️] = Men
- [color for some serious magic 🔮 or belts 🥋] = Black
- [conveyor ___] = belt
- [color of a screen that gets heavy use in Marvel movies] = green
- [gaze at in awe 🦸] = Marvel
- [something you might be projecting on] = screen
- [word after housing, research, or Manhattan 💣] = project
- [bowler or beret] = hat
Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For December 28, 2025
Think of Stacks as Tetris meets Boggle . Letters fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to select adjacent letters to form words and clear the lines before they reach the top. The longer the word, the higher the score, and the more “junk” blocks you destroy. Below are the highest-scoring words found in today’s seed to help you clear the board efficiently. Here are the answers for today’s Stacks, arranged from top to bottom.
- Word 1: LASTS
- Word 2: ALIEN
- Word 3: TROUT
- Word 4: APRICOT
- Word 5: SNARLED
- Word 6: INMATURE
Follow these steps to get these words:
- Start by dropping the word INMATE on the left-most side
- Then drop the word PARLOR on the centre
- After that, drop the word STRICT in the left-most side
- After that, drop the word AROUND in the right-most side
- After that, drop the word ALLIES in the left-most side
- Finally, drop the word ASTUTE in the right-most side.
Check out more puzzles :
- NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post/LA Times Crossword Hints and Answers
- LA Times Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post Mini Meta Crossword
- Boston Globe Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- USA Today Crossword Answers
- LinkedIn Answers
Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for December 28, 2025
Fluxis is a game of vocabulary flow. The objective is to build a chain of words where each subsequent word must start with a specific letter from the previous word, usually the last letter or a highlighted “flux” letter. Points are awarded based on the rarity of the letters used. It requires a deep vocabulary and the ability to think several steps ahead to avoid getting stuck with a letter like ‘X’ or ‘Q’.
Today’s base word is: IMPOSING
- Category 1 : Odd number of letters : GAB
- Category 2: More consonants than vowels : ABACK
- Category 3: No repeated letters : KADI
That’s it, folks, for today’s Atlantic Games answers. Do come back tomorrow for a fresh set of solutions and another challenge for your brain.
