NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for February 15, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, February 15, 2018. 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
- 15
- 16
- 48
- 66
Down clues & answers
- 2
- 23
- 33
- 52
- 53
- 58
- 63
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
across
- 1. Trio in "Macbeth": HAGS
- 5. Baldwin of "To Rome With Love": ALEC
- 9. Loving, maybe: GERUND
- 11. 435 members, for the House: PLENUM
- 13. Marina facility: BOATYARD
- 15. Sometime babysitters: GRANDPAS
- 17. Actress Petty of "Tank Girl": LORI
- 18. Goes after: PURSUES
- 20. Beginner: Var.: TIRO
- 21. Anxious: ANTSY
- 23. Suitable for sinking one's teeth into: MEATY
- 24. Gymnastics legend Comaneci: NADIA
- 25. Furniture mover?: CASTER
- 27. "There's many a man hath more hair than ___": Shak.: WIT
- 28. Thomas who lent his name to a "choice": HOBSON
- 29. Part of Washington, D.C., known for lobbying firms: KSTREET
- 31. Home for Peter Pan: NEVERLAND
- 33. "Grand Ole" thing: OPRY
- 34. Act as: PORTRAY
- 36. Messes up: ERRS
- 37. Swiss canton where William Tell lived: URI
- 38. Vodka with a Russian name: POPOV
- 39. Citi Field team, on scoreboards: NYM
- 41. Aussie animal: ROO
- 42. Game of "love": TENNIS
- 44. Some univ. instructors: TAS
- 46. How the answer to this clue goes in the grid: ACROSS
- 48. Expressionist Schiele: EGON
- 49. Purple shade: LILAC
- 51. Vise parts: JAWS
- 52. Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, at the starts of their political careers: STATESENATORS
- 55. "Fate would prove otherwise": ITWASNTTOBE
- 56. Hungers: APPETITES
- 57. Stories to be continued: SERIALS
- 58. Dark, dirty shade: DINGE
- 59. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO
down
- 1. Deepest feelings: HEARTSTRINGS
- 2. Brilliant craftsmanship: ARTISTRY
- 3. Bloke: GUY
- 4. Pic: SNAP
- 5. "We need a government, ___, because of the nature of humans": P. J. O'Rourke: ALAS
- 6. Actor Cariou: LEN
- 7. Living room accent piece: ENDTABLE
- 8. They lead to love at first sight: CUPIDSARROWS
- 9. Binge: GOONASPREE
- 10. Beat it!: DRUM
- 11. Game: PREY
- 12. Actress who played Mrs. Cunningham on "Happy Days": MARIONROSS
- 13. Power failure: BLACKOUT
- 14. Attracted: DREW
- 15. Bad place for a bowling ball or the mind: GUTTER
- 16. Bastards: SOANDSOS
- 19. February honoree: SAINTVALENTINE
- 22. Start of a rodeo cry: YEE
- 24. Fish-fowl link: NOR
- 26. Auto takebacks: REPOS
- 28. 2003 #1 hit for OutKast: HEYYA
- 30. Best: TOP
- 32. Furniture mover, maybe: VAN
- 35. Game's turning point?: ROTISSERIE
- 38. One getting smashed at a party?: PINATA
- 40. Unfulfilling work assignments: MCJOBS
- 43. Self-denial?: NOTI
- 45. World capital founded by a conquistador: SANTIAGO
- 47. Steak order: RARE
- 49. Bounded: LEAPED
- 50. Range rovers: CATTLE
- 53. County divisions: Abbr.: TWPS
- 54. Parts of the body that may be wiggled: TOES
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.