NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 6, 1997

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Thursday, February 6, 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 Thursday, February 6, 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.

72 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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Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, February 5, 1997

across

1. Response to a pass?: SLAP
5. Green-skinned pear: ANJOU
10. Plug of tobacco: CHAW
14. Glazier's sheet: PANE
15. Master: LEARN
16. ___ avis: RARA
17. Italian wine region: ASTI
18. Alberta national park: BANFF
19. Fair: EVEN
20. "Skeletons From the Closet" group: THEGRATEFULDEAD
23. Prefix with second: NANO
24. Antique car: REO
25. Get into trouble, in a way: RATON
28. Scant: MERE
30. Watch pocket: FOB
33. Food for a ladybug: APHID
34. Japanese plane of W.W. II: ZERO
35. Don Juan: ROUE
36. Lehar work, with "The": MERRYWIDOWWALTZ
39. Crackerjacks: PROS
40. Grays: AGES
41. Words to an audience: ASIDE
42. Philly-to-Norfolk dir.: SSW
43. ___ Minor: URSA
44. Happy hour perch: STOOL
45. ___ Lanka: SRI
46. "That is so funny": HAHA
48. #1 song of 1973 and 1996: KILLINGMESOFTLY
56. I-79 terminus: ERIE
57. When to celebrate el ano nuevo: ENERO
58. ___ Minor: ASIA
59. Genuine Risk, for one: MARE
60. Squelched: SATON
61. Echelon: RANK
62. Prep exam, for short: PSAT
63. Comic Arnold: STANG
64. Gets on the nerves of: IRKS

down

1. Flap: SPAT
2. Pirate's punishment: LASH
3. Upfront money: ANTE
4. Apres-bain gowns: PEIGNOIRS
5. Composer Berg: ALBAN
6. Nifty, in the 50's: NEATO
7. Primer girl: JANE
8. German composer Carl: ORFF
9. Straighten, as a brow: UNFURROW
10. Belief: CREDO
11. Be afflicted with: HAVE
12. Environs: AREA
13. Prop for Doug Henning: WAND
21. Lustful: RANDY
22. Wilderness Campaign general: LEE
25. Parking garage features: RAMPS
26. Copycats: APERS
27. Kind of pillow: THROW
28. Euripedes tragedy: MEDEA
29. Valentine's Day visitor: EROS
30. Page number: FOLIO
31. Surpass: OUTDO
32. Rim that holds a gem: BEZEL
34. Sharp turns: ZIGS
35. Early name of Haile Selassie: RASTAFARI
37. Suspicious quality: WARINESS
38. California Indian: WASHO
43. Geller with paranormal powers: URI
45. February forecast: SLEET
46. Shore bird: HERON
47. "With ___ in My Heart": ASONG
48. Shawn of the Sonics: KEMP
49. They may be rolled over: IRAS
50. Italy's capital: LIRA
51. Small annoyance: GNAT
52. "I ___ man who wasn't there": META
53. Figure in a Rimsky-Korsakov opera: TSAR
54. Join: LINK
55. Shaggy oxen: YAKS

Hints and full breakdown for Feb 5

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.