NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 25, 2017

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Saturday, February 25, 2017

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:17 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, February 25, 2017. 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.

66 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

Friday, February 24, 2017

across

1. Take a while to wear off: LAST
5. Bird food holder: CRAW
9. Allow through: ADMIT
14. Big dog: GREATDANE
16. "It Is Never Too Late to Mend" novelist, 1856: READE
17. The Fab Four kicked it off: BRITISHINVASION
19. Like many sub-Saharan languages: TONAL
20. What often follows grace: DIGIN
21. Their tops can produce "power output": QWERTYKEYBOARDS
27. Nitrogen source for plants: SOIL
28. Put in firmly: ENROOT
29. Michelangelo and others: OLDMASTERS
34. With nothing on: NUDE
35. Title mankini wearer in a 2006 film: BORAT
36. Woman often depicted 34-Across by 29-Across: EVE
37. Didn't release: SATON
38. Astronomical discovery initially called Xena: ERIS
39. Ingredient in some mulled wine: ORANGEZEST
41. File menu option: SAVEAS
43. Locale of Franklin County ... or of Aretha Franklin's birth: Abbr.: TENN
44. Workout area?: EXERCISESCIENCE
50. Music direction to stop playing: TACET
51. Celebrity astrologer Sydney ___: OMARR
52. Usually anonymous newspaper worker: EDITORIALWRITER
57. They're more important than quarters: SEMIS
58. Bavaria, per part of its official name: FREESTATE
59. Seahawks stadium name before 2011: QWEST
60. Twitter feature: FEED
61. Something pulled uphill: SLED

down

1. Orientation letters?: LGBTQ
2. Orientation aid: ARROW
3. River that Henry Miller likened to "a great artery running through the human body": SEINE
4. Golden Horde member: TATAR
5. They may be stored in towers: CDS
6. Match noise: RAH
7. Darth Vader's childhood nickname: ANI
8. Darling of literature: WENDY
9. It's between Navarre and Catalonia: ARAGON
10. Co-star of a #1 TV show for four seasons in the 1950s: DESIARNAZ
11. Artery: MAINROUTE
12. "Yes, agreed": IDO
13. X: TEN
15. Attacks medieval-style: TILTSAT
18. Things picked up by the perceptive: VIBES
22. High-five go-withs, maybe: YOS
23. Certain white-collar criminal: KITER
24. Hoist: ELEVATE
25. Pinheads: DODOS
26. Angioplasty device: STENT
29. Like cartoondom's Peter Griffin or Chief Wiggum: OBESE
30. Once-ler's opponent, in children's literature: LORAX
31. Rush hour, on the airwaves: DRIVETIME
32. Their grilles have trident ornaments: MASERATIS
33. Actor Auberjonois and others: RENES
37. Upper class: SENIORS
39. Wickerwork material: OSIER
40. Co. with the longtime slogan "Live well": GNC
42. Waylay: ACCOST
45. Joe Blow: STIFF
46. Broadcasts: EMITS
47. From one's earliest days: NATAL
48. Where the Linear A script was unearthed: CRETE
49. Was immoral: ERRED
52. Lawyer's title: Abbr.: ESQ
53. Beads on petals: DEW
54. Were present?: ARE
55. Spike in direction: LEE
56. Say 12-Down: WED

Hints and full breakdown for Feb 24

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.