NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 19, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, February 19, 2016. 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.
Across clues & answers
- 26
- 53
- 62
- 64
Down clues & answers
- 10
- 18
- 38
- 47
- 60
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, February 18, 2016
across
- 1. Long Island university: ADELPH
- 7. Agenda starter: TEMONE
- 13. Well-read folks: LITERAT
- 15. Cube source: CEMAKER
- 16. "Me too": ANDSODO
- 17. Like some radiation: ONIZING
- 18. Rihanna's first #1 single: SOS
- 19. Windsurfing mecca: MAU
- 20. Suffix with class: CAL
- 21. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO
- 22. Carlo in the film business: PONT
- 23. Land of ancient Ephesus: ONIA
- 25. England's last Catholic king: JAMESI
- 28. Sign of stress: TALICS
- 32. Quarreling: ATIT
- 33. Vague reason for a social turndown: PLANS
- 37. Verb-to-noun suffix: ENCE
- 38. Martial arts rank: DAN
- 39. "So THAT'S the trick here!": OHO
- 40. Popular: BIG
- 41. At one time, once: ERST
- 43. Jack: KNAVE
- 45. It may start with "Starters": MENU
- 46. Composer Rimsky-Korsakov: NIKOLA
- 48. One might get you in: DBADGE
- 50. Don-turned-con: GOTT
- 52. Storyteller's admission: LIED
- 53. Johns: WCS
- 56. "Star Trek: T.N.G." role: TRO
- 57. Whit: OTA
- 58. Charge: FEE
- 61. Food item that may be eaten on a dare: HOTCHIL
- 63. Per se: NITSELF
- 65. Modus ___: OPERAND
- 66. "Forget they said that": GNOREIT
- 67. Follower of the Bushido code: SAMURA
- 68. Lights: GNITES
down
- 1. "I wish it weren't so": ALAS
- 2. Rat Pack nickname: DINO
- 3. Airport data, for short: ETDS
- 4. French article: LES
- 5. Trailers, e.g.: PROMOS
- 6. Sampled the sauce: HADANIP
- 7. Flat population?: TENANTS
- 8. Iago's wife: EMILIA
- 9. ___ Kanata, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" character: MAZ
- 10. "The Grapes of Wrath" migrant: OKIE
- 11. Rarest of the 50 state birds: NENE
- 12. So: ERGO
- 14. Ballyhoo: TOUT
- 15. First name in fashion: COCO
- 22. Stroke: PET
- 24. Bitter ___: ALE
- 25. Will Smith's actor son: JADEN
- 26. Space Invaders maker: ATARI
- 27. Eastern European capital: MINSK
- 29. Laid up, say: INBED
- 30. Sharing mail with, in a way: CCING
- 31. Transition: SEGUE
- 34. First name in horror: LON
- 35. "Now I see!": AHA
- 36. Halloween follower: Abbr.: NOV
- 42. Deck (out): TOG
- 43. Devastating name in 2005 news: KATRINA
- 44. There are two Oscars for it: EDITING
- 45. "___ Men": MAD
- 47. Mandrake the Magician's sidekick: LOTHAR
- 49. Pummel: BEATON
- 51. Squealed: TOLD
- 52. Past the baseline, in tennis: LONG
- 53. "... but ___ counting?": WHOS
- 54. Lola's club, in brief: COPA
- 55. Hold back: STEM
- 58. Stocking stuffers: FEET
- 59. "Night" memoirist Wiesel: ELIE
- 60. New newts: EFTS
- 62. Grand ___ (wine phrase): CRU
- 64. Title of respect that's an anagram of another title of respect: SRI
More daily puzzle hints
- WordleGuess the five-letter word in six triesGuide & tips
- ConnectionsSort 16 words into four hidden groupsGuide & tips
- StrandsFind the themed words hidden in a letter gridGuide & tips
- Spelling BeeMake words from seven letters around a center letterGuide & tips
- Mini CrosswordA bite-size crossword you can finish over coffeeGuide & tips
- Connections: Sports EditionConnections with a sports-only word poolGuide & tips
- Letter BoxedChain words around a square using all 12 lettersGuide & tips
- Midi CrosswordThe mid-size crossword between the Mini and the dailyGuide & tips
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.