NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 13, 1998

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Friday, February 13, 1998

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:33 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, February 13, 1998. 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.

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

Across clues & answers

1
Mount
6
Pie-eyed
13
Circulation, in a way
15
Dealer's deal
16
Ripple
17
Boneless cuts
18
Japanese novelist Kobo ___
19
French peers
21
Heyerdahl raft
22
Vera's TV husband
24
Buckles
25
"5,000 Nights at the Opera" author
26
Niels Bohr, e.g.
27
___ de la Société
28
Enticed
29
She had a reputation for being fast
31
Scares off
32
It's less filling
34
They take turns
37
Relative of baggataway
41
Like mutton
42
Gounod contemporary
43
Start of a whaler's cry
44
Sparks et al.
45
Menial
46
___ fit (blew up)
47
Dr. of rap
48
Honorary Shawnee
49
Hwys.
50
Tax base
52
Crush
56
Without her, Theseus didn't have a clue
57
More piquant
58
More than many
59
Fell off

Down clues & answers

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

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Thursday, February 12, 1998

across

1. Guitar attachment: WAWA
5. Tell secrets: BLAB
9. One who tries: JUDGE
14. "Family Ties" role: ALEX
15. Terza ___ (Italian verse form): RIMA
16. Burger garnish: ONION
17. Dot on a map: ISLE
18. Augury: OMEN
19. Burn a bit: SINGE
20. Opposition?: FOLLOWINGPHOTO
23. Novel ending: IST
24. "1-2-3" singer Barry: LEN
25. Wine and dine: REGALE
29. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" hero: BRAD
31. Buddy: MAC
34. Cut off: ALONE
35. Egyptian port: SUEZ
36. Lady's man: EARL
37. Exposition?: BEFOREWYEANDZEE
40. ___ a secret: INON
41. Sing the praises of: LAUD
42. Smart or Smiley: AGENT
43. Colonial descendants' grp.: DAR
44. Like a Dali watch: LIMP
45. Carol starter: ADESTE
46. Gained a lap?: SAT
47. Poetic pugilist: ALI
48. Deposition?: BETWEENLAANDDA
56. Battle lineup: ARRAY
57. Wahines' wear: LEIS
58. Syria, long ago: ARAM
59. Hotel offering: SUITE
60. Safety, e.g.: BACK
61. Score unit: NOTE
62. Beef on the hoof: STEER
63. Lot measurement: AREA
64. Pinnacle: APEX

down

1. Street urchin: WAIF
2. To boot: ALSO
3. Sound: WELL
4. Relative of a Salchow: AXEL
5. Enjoy a bookstore: BROWSE
6. Last straw: LIMIT
7. Mass assent: AMEN
8. Report of a shooting?: BANG
9. Teased: JOSHED
10. Blue side: UNION
11. Force: DINT
12. Full of energy: GOGO
13. Hydrocarbon suffix: ENE
21. Ship of fuels?: OILER
22. Tollbooth location: PLAZA
25. Hog-wild: RABID
26. "Mefistofele" soprano: ELENA
27. Attempt: GOFOR
28. In a while: ANON
29. Purchase what's left: BUYUP
30. Stalk by the river: REED
31. Lost worlds?: MAZES
32. Don't exist: ARENT
33. One of the Boyers of baseball: CLETE
35. Did the butterfly: SWAM
36. Nose out: EDGE
38. Upper crust: ELITE
39. 1976 Olympics name: NADIA
44. Handle cases: LAWYER
45. 7.2 million-dollar bargain: ALASKA
46. Express: STATE
47. Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt: ALICE
48. Champagne word: BRUT
49. Iroquois enemy: ERIE
50. Where Napoleon was solo: ELBA
51. Within earshot: NEAR
52. "Peter Pan" dog: NANA
53. Discontinue: DROP
54. Go with: DATE
55. Payment option, for short: AMEX
56. Dummkopf: ASS

Hints and full breakdown for Feb 12

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.