Home/Archive/Feb 16, 2026

NYT Crossword — February 16, 2026

Monday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 78 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 78 revealed

1C

2L

3A

4S

5P

6B

7O

8D

9A

10M

11E

12N

13L

I

L

L

E

14D

E

V

O

15V

A

M

P

16O

G

L

E

D

17R

A

I

D

18O

D

O

R

19T

H

E

W

I

20Z

A

R

D

O

21F

I

D

22S

T

Y

23G

O

T

H

24B

A

D

A

25S

26S

27B

R

O

28U

29N

I

X

30S

H

E

31A

32D

33F

E

E

34I

G

O

R

35C

H

I

C

36B

O

I

S

E

37I

D

38I

D

39T

H

E

F

T

40H

U

N

T

41N

E

42A

R

43R

U

S

T

S

44O

L

E

45S

C

A

N

46M

A

G

47R

A

W

48B

A

R

49T

50I

E

D

51D

52E

53M

54I

D

G

O

55E

I

T

H

E

56R

W

A

Y

57A

58N

N

A

59W

A

G

E

60G

E

E

S

E

61O

B

E

Y

62D

R

U

M

63A

D

L

E

R

64L

A

S

S

65S

P

A

66P

O

L

L

S

Across

40 clues

1Necklace fastener

6Physique, slangily

9"___ to that!"

13Textile city NNE of Paris

14New wave band with the hit "Whip It"

15Improvise, in jazz

16Stared rudely

17Late-night kitchen visit, e.g.

19Longtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom

22Home for pigs

23Teen wearing heavy eyeliner, maybe

24Really, really cool

28Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs

31Charge for airing a commercial

34Fictional lab assistant with a hunchback

36Capital of the Gem State, in a mailing address

38Possible cybercrime, informally

40M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition)

43Corrosion signs

44Stadium cheer

45Glance through

46Reader's Digest or Golf Digest, in brief

47Where clams are served

51Rep.'s counterpart

54"Makes no difference to me"

57Actress Kendrick

59Hourly pay rate

60Flock that honks

61Follow directions

62Conga, for one

63Chicago's ___ Planetarium

64Scottish girl

65Place to get a rubdown

Down

38 clues

1Thickens, as cream

3Narrow way between city buildings

5Horse's ancestral line

6Hearty embrace

7Roman poet who wrote "Metamorphoses"

8Dull-witted sort

10Frantic scrambles

11Rock subgenre with confessional lyrics

12"All Things Considered" airer

14"Fiddlesticks!"

20D.C.'s National ___

21Kind of number on an old business card

26Religious offshoots

31Give 0 stars in a review, say

32One giving support during childbirth

33High-quality reds and whites

34Something to noodle on

35Drink very quickly

39Shortfall of exports vis-à-vis imports

42One of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean

46"It's just OK"

48Occasions for blowing out candles on cakes, informally

50Agenda bullet point

51Linger (on), as a topic

52Art supporter

53Mike who voiced Shrek in "Shrek"

55Wyatt at the O.K. Corral

57Early leader in instant messaging

58Org. for the Raptors, but not the Blue Jays

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

Stats & info

Monday, Feb 16, 2026

15×15

Grid size

78

Total entries

37/188

Black / letter cells

4.8

Avg entry length

13 ltrs

Longest entry

Easiest

Monday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedFeb 16, 2026

DayMonday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorIan Livengood

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split40 across · 38 down

Longest entries

19ALongtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom13 ltrs 54A"Makes no difference to me"13 ltrs 10DFrantic scrambles9 ltrs 33DHigh-quality reds and whites9 ltrs 5DHorse's ancestral line8 ltrs

Monday grids are the gentlest of the week: straightforward definitions, familiar fill and almost no wordplay. This grid has 37 black squares and averages 4.8 letters per entry.