NYT Crossword hints and answer for February 23, 2026
Hints that get gradually more specific, then the answer if you need it. Nothing is revealed until you tap.
Clues76
Across35
Down41
ConstructorHannah Binney
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
Buffoons (5)
Starts with B, ends with SBOZOS→
6A
Paula of "American Idol" (5)
Starts with A, ends with LABDUL→
11A
Final use for an old T-shirt (3)
Starts with R, ends with GRAG→
14A
Enraged (5)
Starts with I, ends with EIRATE→
15A
What "my guitar gently" does, in a classic George Harrison song (5)
Starts with W, ends with SWEEPS→
16A
Mesozoic or Paleozoic (3)
Starts with E, ends with AERA→
17A
Home for a single guy (11)
Starts with B, ends with DBACHELORPAD→
19A
Animation sheet (3)
Starts with C, ends with LCEL→
20A
Hole for threading a lace (6)
Starts with E, ends with TEYELET→
21A
___ fide (genuine) (4)
Starts with B, ends with ABONA→
22A
"Please like and subscribe" and the like, on YouTube videos (6)
Starts with O, ends with SOUTROS→
25A
28A
___ Today (3)
Starts with U, ends with AUSA→
29A
Kind of computer port (3)
Starts with U, ends with BUSB→
31A
Like the smell of trees (6)
Starts with W, ends with YWOODSY→
32A
Showed again (5)
Starts with R, ends with NRERAN→
34A
Zoom past (6)
Starts with R, ends with YRACEBY→
37A
Psychotherapy switcheroos ... or what are hidden in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across? (13)
Starts with R, ends with SROLEREVERSALS→
41A
Text on a red, white and blue sticker (6)
Starts with I, ends with DIVOTED→
42A
Gender-neutral possessive (5)
Starts with T, ends with RTHEIR→
44A
Ran after (6)
Starts with C, ends with DCHASED→
47A
Opposite of WNW (3)
Starts with E, ends with EESE→
49A
To and ___ (3)
Starts with F, ends with OFRO→
50A
Time machine car in "Back to the Future" (8)
Starts with D, ends with NDELOREAN→
53A
Made a grand speech (6)
Starts with O, ends with DORATED→
55A
Brother of Abel (4)
Starts with C, ends with NCAIN→
56A
Times between dusk and dawn (6)
Starts with N, ends with SNIGHTS→
58A
Had lunch, say (3)
Starts with A, ends with EATE→
59A
Fruit with a "bellybutton" (11)
Starts with N, ends with ENAVELORANGE→
64A
What planets revolve around (3)
Starts with S, ends with NSUN→
65A
How often the time is 12:00 each day (5)
Starts with T, ends with ETWICE→
66A
Decorate (5)
Starts with A, ends with NADORN→
67A
Mini-albums (3)
Starts with E, ends with SEPS→
68A
___ of Troy (5)
Starts with H, ends with NHELEN→
69A
Sat for a portrait (5)
Starts with P, ends with DPOSED→
Down
1D
Accessory for a baby in a highchair (3)
Starts with B, ends with BBIB→
2D
British singer Rita (3)
Starts with O, ends with AORA→
3D
Efron of "The Greatest Showman" (3)
Starts with Z, ends with CZAC→
4D
Last multiple-choice option, often (5)
Starts with O, ends with ROTHER→
5D
Rude goodbye to an enemy (11)
Starts with S, ends with RSEEYOUNEVER→
6D
Soldier who has failed to report (4)
Starts with A, ends with LAWOL→
7D
Military cap (5)
Starts with B, ends with TBERET→
8D
One of the three dimensions (5)
Starts with D, ends with HDEPTH→
9D
Kick ___ fuss (3)
Starts with U, ends with AUPA→
10D
Counterculture drug, in brief (3)
Starts with L, ends with DLSD→
11D
4.75 seconds to assemble a Mr. Potato Head, per Guinness (6)
Starts with R, ends with DRECORD→
12D
Concert venues (6)
Starts with A, ends with SARENAS→
13D
Milky Way, e.g. (6)
Starts with G, ends with YGALAXY→
18D
Not as much (4)
Starts with L, ends with SLESS→
21D
"I crushed it!!!" (6)
Starts with B, ends with HBOOYAH→
22D
Not just my (3)
Starts with O, ends with ROUR→
23D
___-friendly (4)
Starts with U, ends with RUSER→
24D
Root used in making poi (4)
Starts with T, ends with OTARO→
26D
Large jug (4)
Starts with E, ends with REWER→
27D
Cage for crustaceans (11)
Starts with L, ends with PLOBSTERTRAP→
30D
"American Psycho" author ___ Easton Ellis (4)
Starts with B, ends with TBRET→
33D
Cartoonist Bechdel (6)
Starts with A, ends with NALISON→
35D
Mass ___ (Boston thoroughfare) (3)
Starts with A, ends with EAVE→
36D
Give up (4)
Starts with C, ends with ECEDE→
38D
Was a passenger (4)
Starts with R, ends with ERODE→
39D
Democrats and Socialists, with "the" (4)
Starts with L, ends with TLEFT→
40D
Father (4)
Starts with S, ends with ESIRE→
43D
Axle, e.g. (3)
Starts with R, ends with DROD→
44D
Jewel box (6)
Starts with C, ends with ECDCASE→
45D
Start to escalate (6)
Starts with H, ends with PHEATUP→
46D
Extraterrestrials (6)
Starts with A, ends with SALIENS→
48D
London theater district (4)
Starts with S, ends with OSOHO→
51D
Object hitting people's heads in old cartoons (5)
Starts with A, ends with LANVIL→
52D
Sibling's daughter (5)
Starts with N, ends with ENIECE→
54D
South American barbecue (5)
Starts with A, ends with OASADO→
57D
Valley (4)
Starts with G, ends with NGLEN→
59D
High degree (3)
Starts with N, ends with HNTH→
60D
Response to seeing an aurora, maybe (3)
Starts with A, ends with EAWE→
61D
Rejections (3)
Starts with N, ends with SNOS→
62D
College sr.'s test (3)
Starts with G, ends with EGRE→
63D
63-Down, in this puzzle (3)
Starts with E, ends with DEND→
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 23, 2026?+
76 clues: 35 Across and 41 Down. The puzzle was constructed by Hannah Binney and edited by Will Shortz.
What are some answers in today’s NYT Crossword?+
For example: Buffoons (BOZOS); Paula of "American Idol" (ABDUL); Final use for an old T-shirt (RAG).
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.
