NYT Crossword hints and answer for February 16, 2025
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues138
Across62
Down76
TitleSquare to Begin
Today’s NYT Crossword clues, hints & answers
Every clue from this puzzle with a hint and the answer behind separate buttons, so you only see what you need. Click a clue for its own page.
Across
1A
Shopper's thrill (5)
Starts with S, ends with ESPREE→
6A
Clock part (3)
Starts with C, ends with GCOG→
14A
___ Lakshmi, host of TV's "Taste the Nation" (5)
Starts with P, ends with APADMA→
19A
Some computer-generated images nowadays (5)
Starts with A, ends with TAIART→
20A
The masses (9)
Starts with H, ends with IHOIPOLLOI→
22A
"Full steam ___!" (5)
Starts with A, ends with DAHEAD→
23A
"Omigod, omigod, jackpot!"? (15)
Starts with S, ends with ESQUEALOFFORTUNE→
25A
Some college students, quaintly (5)
Starts with C, ends with SCOEDS→
26A
Space heater? (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSUN→
27A
___ fly (3)
Starts with S, ends with CSAC→
28A
Smart-alecky (4)
Starts with W, ends with EWISE→
29A
FaceTime alternative (5)
Starts with S, ends with ESKYPE→
30A
"Eww!" (4)
Starts with Y, ends with HYECH→
32A
Instruments with large bells (5)
Starts with T, ends with STUBAS→
35A
Great Lakes mnemonic (5)
Starts with H, ends with SHOMES→
38A
Org. whose employees wear badges (3)
Starts with F, ends with IFBI→
40A
Atlantis and others (8)
Starts with S, ends with SSHUTTLES→
42A
Hawkish (6)
Starts with P, ends with RPROWAR→
44A
Bad thing to be caught in (4)
Starts with T, ends with PTRAP→
45A
Tempest in a teapot? (18)
Starts with G, ends with AGREATSQUALLOFCHINA→
48A
Oh-so-precious (4)
Starts with T, ends with ETWEE→
50A
Journalists quote them (7)
Starts with S, ends with SSOURCES→
51A
Oniony vegetables (5)
Starts with L, ends with SLEEKS→
52A
Body of water that was once the world's fourth-largest lake (7)
Starts with A, ends with AARALSEA→
55A
Good signs in stock reports (5)
Starts with R, ends with SRISES→
56A
Challah bread feature (5)
Starts with B, ends with DBRAID→
58A
Religious gymgoer on leg day? (12)
Starts with H, ends with RHOLYSQUATTER→
60A
Souvenir from the Sea of Tranquillity, say (8)
Starts with M, ends with KMOONROCK→
63A
Typical Passover mo. (3)
Starts with A, ends with RAPR→
64A
Many clay relics (4)
Starts with U, ends with SURNS→
65A
Not just mine (4)
Starts with O, ends with SOURS→
66A
Kanga's kiddo (3)
Starts with R, ends with OROO→
67A
Whimsically imaginative, as writing (8)
Starts with S, ends with NSEUSSIAN→
70A
Sound from some freshly cleaned floors? (12)
Starts with P, ends with KPLEDGESQUEAK→
76A
Heighten (5)
Starts with B, ends with DBUILD→
77A
Yo-yo-like toy with a devilish-sounding name (7)
Starts with D, ends with ODIABOLO→
78A
"___ mia!" (5)
Starts with M, ends with AMAMMA→
80A
Michael Jordan's nickname, with "His" (7)
Starts with A, ends with SAIRNESS→
83A
Money under the mattress, e.g.? (18)
Starts with S, ends with LSQUIRRELLEDCAPITAL→
88A
Meyer who directed 1965's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (4)
Starts with R, ends with SRUSS→
89A
Cialis alternative (6)
Starts with V, ends with AVIAGRA→
90A
Backslid, say (8)
Starts with R, ends with DREVERTED→
93A
Word before or after down (3)
Starts with P, ends with TPAT→
94A
Pasta often cut at an angle (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPENNE→
95A
Hazard cleanup, in brief (5)
Starts with D, ends with NDECON→
96A
Hindu honorifics (4)
Starts with S, ends with SSRIS→
98A
Weapon whose name is an acronym (5)
Starts with T, ends with RTASER→
100A
"___ tell" (4)
Starts with P, ends with YPRAY→
103A
Legendary bird (3)
Starts with R, ends with CROC→
105A
Number of jurors who originally vote "Not guilty" in "12 Angry Men" (3)
Starts with O, ends with EONE→
106A
Mean little suckers? (5)
Starts with T, ends with STICKS→
107A
Repeat something clever, as parrots might? (15)
Starts with S, ends with ESQUAWKAFINELINE→
112A
"Gesundheit!" prompter (5)
Starts with A, ends with OACHOO→
113A
"Diet" for the defeated (9)
Starts with H, ends with EHUMBLEPIE→
114A
Tied up (5)
Starts with L, ends with DLACED→
115A
Facebook has more than three billion of them (5)
Starts with U, ends with SUSERS→
116A
Aspirations (5)
Starts with H, ends with SHOPES→
117A
"Downton Abbey" network (3)
Starts with P, ends with SPBS→
118A
Flies out of sight (5)
Starts with S, ends with SSOARS→
Down
2D
Excites … or annoys (6)
Starts with P, ends with SPIQUES→
3D
Vulgarity (6)
Starts with R, ends with HRAUNCH→
4D
Poet's palindromic preposition (3)
Starts with E, ends with EERE→
5D
Midflight announcements, for short (4)
Starts with E, ends with SETAS→
6D
Count seen in the breakfast aisle (7)
Starts with C, ends with ACHOCULA→
7D
Cry of cringe (3)
Starts with O, ends with FOOF→
8D
Animated file type (3)
Starts with G, ends with FGIF→
9D
Actress Singer of "Footloose" (4)
Starts with L, ends with ILORI→
10D
Elevs. (4)
Starts with A, ends with SALTS→
11D
Deep, dark ocean caverns (9)
Starts with B, ends with SBLUEHOLES→
12D
Equivalent of a billion years, in geology (3)
Starts with E, ends with NEON→
13D
Bad thing to be caught in (3)
Starts with L, ends with ELIE→
14D
Cigarette purchases (5)
Starts with P, ends with SPACKS→
15D
Nautical greeting (4)
Starts with A, ends with YAHOY→
16D
Scrumptious but not-so-healthful carnival snacks (14)
Starts with D, ends with SDEEPFRIEDOREOS→
17D
Brought in big bucks (8)
Starts with M, ends with KMADEBANK→
18D
Elements of pay-per-click campaigns (3)
Starts with A, ends with SADS→
21D
Punching sounds in the comics (4)
Starts with P, ends with SPOWS→
24D
Coffee shop order (5)
Starts with L, ends with ELATTE→
29D
Feudal worker (4)
Starts with S, ends with FSERF→
31D
In a big way (6)
Starts with H, ends with YHUGELY→
33D
Pot growers? (4)
Starts with B, ends with SBETS→
34D
Classifies (7)
Starts with A, ends with SASSORTS→
36D
Mice hunters (4)
Starts with O, ends with SOWLS→
37D
Great Leap Forward leader (3)
Starts with M, ends with OMAO→
39D
Bitter brews, for short (4)
Starts with I, ends with SIPAS→
41D
Lock of hair (5)
Starts with T, ends with STRESS→
42D
Something strapped for cash? (5)
Starts with P, ends with EPURSE→
43D
Go-kart, e.g. (5)
Starts with R, ends with RRACER→
44D
Beaten at ___ own game (5)
Starts with T, ends with RTHEIR→
46D
Command+Q, on a Mac (4)
Starts with Q, ends with TQUIT→
47D
Family group (4)
Starts with C, ends with NCLAN→
48D
Writing cliché (5)
Starts with T, ends with ETROPE→
49D
Style sported by Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain (14)
Starts with W, ends with EWALRUSMUSTACHE→
52D
Forehead-slapping shouts (4)
Starts with A, ends with SAHAS→
53D
Outfit (5)
Starts with E, ends with PEQUIP→
54D
Mysterious qualities (5)
Starts with A, ends with SAURAS→
56D
Yawning, say (5)
Starts with B, ends with DBORED→
57D
Hollywood's Portia de ___ (5)
Starts with R, ends with IROSSI→
59D
"Raggedy" doll (3)
Starts with A, ends with NANN→
60D
Make faces for a camera (3)
Starts with M, ends with GMUG→
61D
Barbecue bits (5)
Starts with C, ends with SCOALS→
62D
Gorilla who famously learned sign language (4)
Starts with K, ends with OKOKO→
65D
"If I had to guess …" (7)
Starts with O, ends with EODDSARE→
68D
They're around for the long haul (5)
Starts with S, ends with SSEMIS→
69D
Scorch (4)
Starts with S, ends with RSEAR→
70D
More refined (5)
Starts with P, ends with RPURER→
71D
Loma ___, Calif. (5)
Starts with L, ends with ALINDA→
72D
Monthly util. bill (4)
Starts with E, ends with CELEC→
73D
Host of the 2022 World Cup (5)
Starts with Q, ends with RQATAR→
74D
Horseshoe-shaped pipe fasteners (6)
Starts with U, ends with SUBOLTS→
76D
Boat equipment for removing water on board (9)
Starts with B, ends with PBILGEPUMP→
78D
Car sticker no. (4)
Starts with M, ends with PMSRP→
79D
Parasailing, water polo, etc. (8)
Starts with A, ends with SAQUATICS→
80D
"Watchmen" writer Moore (4)
Starts with A, ends with NALAN→
81D
What many freelancers work on (4)
Starts with S, ends with CSPEC→
84D
Many a road tripper, informally (4)
Starts with R, ends with RRVER→
85D
"Ich bin ___ Berliner" (3)
Starts with E, ends with NEIN→
86D
They make sounds when they're tickled (7)
Starts with I, ends with SIVORIES→
87D
Wood joint piece (5)
Starts with T, ends with NTENON→
91D
Beethoven's Third (6)
Starts with E, ends with AEROICA→
92D
What Sidney Poitier's character famously came to, in a 1967 film (6)
Starts with D, ends with RDINNER→
94D
Currency in seven American countries (and one Asian) (5)
Starts with P, ends with SPESOS→
95D
Van ___ (beard type) (4)
Starts with D, ends with EDYKE→
99D
Toffee candy bar (4)
Starts with S, ends with RSKOR→
101D
Broccoli ___ (4)
Starts with R, ends with ERABE→
102D
Leatherworking tools (4)
Starts with A, ends with SAWLS→
104D
Cartoon collector's collection, maybe (4)
Starts with C, ends with SCELS→
106D
Greek letter that's the symbol for torque (3)
Starts with T, ends with UTAU→
107D
[I'm trying to watch the movie!] (3)
Starts with S, ends with HSHH→
108D
Status follower (3)
Starts with Q, ends with OQUO→
109D
Slack or Zoom (3)
Starts with A, ends with PAPP→
110D
Fudge the facts (3)
Starts with F, ends with BFIB→
111D
Language mutually intelligible with Thai (3)
Starts with L, ends with OLAO→
How to solve the NYT Crossword
Fill the grid so that every Across and Down answer matches its clue. Numbered squares mark where answers begin. Theme answers, usually the longest entries, share a twist that the puzzle's title or a revealer clue explains. Thursday puzzles are known for rebus squares and other tricks that bend the normal rules.
Want the full method? Read our NYT Crossword strategy and tips, or check how to play the NYT Crossword on the hub.
NYT Crossword tips for tomorrow
- Start with Monday-level clues. Even on a Saturday, a handful of clues are straightforward. Find them and build outward from the crossings.
- Hunt for the revealer. A clue that references other entries or ends in "?" often explains the theme. Solving it first unlocks the long answers.
- Respect the day of the week. Thursday means tricks like rebus squares; Friday and Saturday mean long, clever fill with misleading clues.
Done for today? Try The Mini, The Midi, LA Times Crossword, all with hints first and answers behind a reveal.
Previous NYT Crossword puzzles
NYT Crossword FAQ
How many clues are in the NYT Crossword for February 16, 2025?+
138 clues: 62 Across and 76 Down. The puzzle was constructed by John Kugelman and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: Shopper's thrill (SPREE); Clock part (COG); Brand (LABEL).
What time does the NYT Crossword come out?+
The next day's puzzle is released at 10:00 pm Eastern Time Monday to Friday and at 6:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Where can I find past NYT Crossword answers?+
Every puzzle in our archive has its own page with all Across and Down answers, plus a page for each clue. Click any date above.
