NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 5, 1997

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Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Wednesday, February 5, 1997

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:39 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, February 5, 1997. The daily crossword is the classic: a 15×15 grid on weekdays and a larger Sunday puzzle, with difficulty rising from a gentle Monday to a fiendish Saturday. Hints come first and the solution stays hidden until you ask for it.

76 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Tuesday, February 4, 1997

across

1. Pickle container: JAR
4. Motionless: INERT
9. Fashion: VOGUE
14. Matriarch of all matriarchs: EVE
15. Actor Romero: CESAR
16. Boiling: IRATE
17. Weighed in: TIPPEDTHESCALES
20. Light lunches: SALADS
21. To any extent: ATALL
22. List-ending abbr.: ETAL
23. Moo juice container: UDDER
25. Grp. overseeing toxic cleanups: EPA
28. Perfect rating: TEN
29. Most prudent: WISEST
31. Become raveled: FRAY
32. Painful spots: SORES
33. Carroll adventuress: ALICE
34. Caused disharmony: ROCKEDTHEBOAT
38. Napping spots: SOFAS
39. Magazine exhortation: RENEW
40. Break in relations: RIFT
41. Out of business: CLOSED
43. Compaq products: PCS
46. ___ Miss: OLE
47. Engulfs in amusement: SLAYS
48. Cream ingredient: ALOE
49. Tear to shreds: RIPUP
51. Part of MOMA: MODERN
53. Blabbed: SPILLEDTHEBEANS
57. ___ pedis (athlete's foot): TINEA
58. Take to the stump: ORATE
59. Certain shirt: TEE
60. Anxiety: ANGST
61. Wanderer: GYPSY
62. Japanese honorific: SAN

down

1. High-fliers: JETSET
2. Fly: AVIATE
3. Change tactics: REPLAN
4. Like an eclair: ICED
5. Composer Rorem and others: NEDS
6. Superlative ending: EST
7. Short cheer: RAH
8. Firestone features: TREADS
9. Clergyman: VICAR
10. Kind of surgery: ORAL
11. Indoor court: GALLERIA
12. Indian with a bear dance: UTE
13. Some M.I.T. grads: EES
18. Chum: PAL
19. Leave be: STET
23. Wielded: USED
24. Partner of search: DESTROY
26. Warsaw ___: PACT
27. Word of assent: AYE
29. Canton cookware: WOKS
30. Land west of Eng.: IRE
31. Current: FLOW
32. Sing "shooby-doo": SCAT
33. Out for the night: ABED
34. Aggravate: ROIL
35. Part of a church service: OFFERING
36. Piano-playing Dame: HESS
37. Ariz.-to-Kan. dir.: ENE
38. Sign of stage success: SRO
41. Professor Plum's game: CLUE
42. Pomeranian, for one: LAPDOG
43. Stitched folds: PLEATS
44. Window of an eye: CORNEA
45. Breath mint brand: SENSEN
47. Sloppy-landing sound: SPLAT
48. Suffix with stock: ADE
50. France's ___ de Glenans: ILES
51. Queens team: METS
52. Follow the code: OBEY
53. ___ Puf fabric softener: STA
54. Wrestler's goal: PIN
55. Have a go at: TRY
56. Gen. Arnold of W.W. II fame: HAP

Hints and full breakdown for Feb 4

More daily puzzle hints

How the week is built

Monday and Tuesday: straightforward definitions and familiar answers. These are the best days to learn.
Wednesday: a step up, often with a playful theme.
Thursday: the trick day, with rebus squares (several letters in one square) and answers that turn corners or skip squares.
Friday and Saturday: themeless and tough, with sly clues and long open sections.
Sunday: a bigger 21×21 grid with a theme, about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday.

Crossword-solving habits worth building

Learn the common fill. Short vowel-heavy words such as ERA, OREO, ALOE and ETNA appear constantly because they help constructors connect sections.
Read clue signals. "?" means wordplay, "Abbr." means an abbreviation, "e.g." means an example of a category, and a foreign word in the clue hints at a foreign answer.
Find the theme. The longest answers usually share a gimmick; the title (on Sundays) or a "revealer" clue explains it.
Erase without fear. When crossings don't work, the wrong letter is usually in the answer you were most confident about.
Use targeted help. Reveal one letter here, or try our crossword solver with a pattern like ?R?S?.

The Crossword FAQ

When is the next crossword released?

Weekday puzzles go live at 10 p.m. Eastern Time the night before; weekend puzzles are released earlier in the evening.

What is a rebus square?

A square that holds more than one letter. Sometimes it holds a whole word or a symbol. They are most common on Thursdays.

Which day is the hardest?

Saturday is generally the hardest, followed by Friday. Sunday is larger but closer to midweek difficulty.

Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive.