Home/Archive/Feb 16, 2025

NYT Crossword — February 16, 2025

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 138 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 138 revealed

1S

2P

3R

4E

5E

6C

7O

8G

9L

10A

11B

12E

13L

14P

15A

16D

17M

18A

19A

I

A

R

T

20H

O

I

21P

O

L

L

O

I

22A

H

E

A

D

23S

Q

U

E

A

24L

O

F

F

O

R

T

U

N

E

25C

O

E

D

S

26S

U

N

27S

A

C

28W

I

S

E

29S

K

Y

P

E

30Y

E

C

31H

32T

U

33B

34A

S

35H

36O

37M

E

S

38F

B

39I

40S

H

U

41T

T

L

E

S

42P

43R

O

W

A

R

44T

R

A

P

45G

R

E

A

T

S

46Q

U

A

L

L

O

F

47C

H

I

N

A

48T

49W

E

E

50S

O

U

R

C

E

S

51L

E

E

K

S

52A

R

A

L

S

53E

54A

55R

I

S

E

S

56B

57R

A

I

D

58H

O

L

Y

S

Q

U

59A

T

T

E

R

60M

O

O

N

R

O

61C

62K

63A

P

R

64U

R

N

S

65O

U

R

S

66R

O

O

67S

E

U

68S

69S

I

A

N

70P

71L

72E

D

G

E

S

73Q

74U

E

A

K

75S

E

E

P

S

76B

U

I

L

D

77D

I

A

B

O

L

O

78M

79A

M

M

A

80A

I

R

N

E

S

81S

82T

O

S

S

83S

Q

U

I

R

84R

85E

L

L

E

D

C

A

P

86I

87T

A

L

88R

U

S

S

89V

I

A

G

R

A

90R

E

V

E

R

T

91E

92D

93P

A

T

94P

E

N

N

E

95D

E

C

O

N

96S

R

I

97S

98T

A

99S

E

R

100P

101R

102A

Y

103R

O

104C

105O

N

E

106T

I

C

K

S

107S

108Q

U

A

W

K

109A

110F

I

N

E

111L

I

N

E

112A

C

H

O

O

113H

U

M

B

L

E

P

I

E

114L

A

C

E

D

115U

S

E

R

S

116H

O

P

E

S

117P

B

S

118S

O

A

R

S

Across

62 clues

1Shopper's thrill

14___ Lakshmi, host of TV's "Taste the Nation"

19Some computer-generated images nowadays

22"Full steam ___!"

23"Omigod, omigod, jackpot!"?

25Some college students, quaintly

26Space heater?

29FaceTime alternative

32Instruments with large bells

35Great Lakes mnemonic

38Org. whose employees wear badges

40Atlantis and others

44Bad thing to be caught in

45Tempest in a teapot?

48Oh-so-precious

50Journalists quote them

51Oniony vegetables

52Body of water that was once the world's fourth-largest lake

55Good signs in stock reports

56Challah bread feature

58Religious gymgoer on leg day?

60Souvenir from the Sea of Tranquillity, say

63Typical Passover mo.

64Many clay relics

65Not just mine

66Kanga's kiddo

67Whimsically imaginative, as writing

70Sound from some freshly cleaned floors?

77Yo-yo-like toy with a devilish-sounding name

80Michael Jordan's nickname, with "His"

83Money under the mattress, e.g.?

88Meyer who directed 1965's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!"

89Cialis alternative

90Backslid, say

93Word before or after down

94Pasta often cut at an angle

95Hazard cleanup, in brief

96Hindu honorifics

98Weapon whose name is an acronym

103Legendary bird

105Number of jurors who originally vote "Not guilty" in "12 Angry Men"

106Mean little suckers?

107Repeat something clever, as parrots might?

112"Gesundheit!" prompter

113"Diet" for the defeated

115Facebook has more than three billion of them

117"Downton Abbey" network

118Flies out of sight

Down

76 clues

2Excites … or annoys

4Poet's palindromic preposition

5Midflight announcements, for short

6Count seen in the breakfast aisle

8Animated file type

9Actress Singer of "Footloose"

11Deep, dark ocean caverns

12Equivalent of a billion years, in geology

13Bad thing to be caught in

14Cigarette purchases

15Nautical greeting

16Scrumptious but not-so-healthful carnival snacks

17Brought in big bucks

18Elements of pay-per-click campaigns

21Punching sounds in the comics

24Coffee shop order

29Feudal worker

37Great Leap Forward leader

39Bitter brews, for short

42Something strapped for cash?

43Go-kart, e.g.

44Beaten at ___ own game

46Command+Q, on a Mac

48Writing cliché

49Style sported by Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain

52Forehead-slapping shouts

54Mysterious qualities

57Hollywood's Portia de ___

59"Raggedy" doll

60Make faces for a camera

61Barbecue bits

62Gorilla who famously learned sign language

65"If I had to guess …"

68They're around for the long haul

71Loma ___, Calif.

72Monthly util. bill

73Host of the 2022 World Cup

74Horseshoe-shaped pipe fasteners

76Boat equipment for removing water on board

78Car sticker no.

79Parasailing, water polo, etc.

80"Watchmen" writer Moore

81What many freelancers work on

84Many a road tripper, informally

85"Ich bin ___ Berliner"

86They make sounds when they're tickled

87Wood joint piece

91Beethoven's Third

92What Sidney Poitier's character famously came to, in a 1967 film

94Currency in seven American countries (and one Asian)

95Van ___ (beard type)

99Toffee candy bar

101Broccoli ___

102Leatherworking tools

104Cartoon collector's collection, maybe

106Greek letter that's the symbol for torque

107[I'm trying to watch the movie!]

108Status follower

109Slack or Zoom

110Fudge the facts

111Language mutually intelligible with Thai

Click a clue for its own page with the answer and a short explanation.

Stats & info

Sunday, Feb 16, 2025

21×21

Grid size

138

Total entries

71/370

Black / letter cells

5.4

Avg entry length

18 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedFeb 16, 2025

DaySunday

ThemeSquare to Begin

ConstructorJohn Kugelman

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split62 across · 76 down

Longest entries

45ATempest in a teapot?18 ltrs 83AMoney under the mattress, e.g.?18 ltrs 23A"Omigod, omigod, jackpot!"?15 ltrs 107ARepeat something clever, as parrots might?15 ltrs 16DScrumptious but not-so-healthful carnival snacks14 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 71 black squares and averages 5.4 letters per entry.