Home/Archive/Feb 22, 2026

NYT Crossword — February 22, 2026

Sunday’s 21 × 21 puzzle, 140 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 140 revealed

1A

2B

3A

4T

5E

6C

7A

8N

9V

10A

11S

12A

13C

14I

15D

16I

17C

18L

O

C

A

T

19E

20A

T

B

E

S

T

21F

O

R

E

M

E

22N

23P

R

E

T

A

X

24D

E

A

T

H

O

25N

T

H

E

N

I

L

E

26H

A

L

T

27T

28I

E

29B

A

A

30E

D

I

T

E

D

31A

T

A

L

32E

O

F

T

33W

34O

35C

I

T

I

36E

S

37M

A

B

38I

L

L

S

39A

N

O

N

40F

R

I

41T

R

42A

43F

44A

N

S

45P

I

E

S

46D

O

47A

48I

A

N

49D

A

N

G

E

50R

51O

U

S

L

I

52A

53I

54S

O

N

S

55O

T

T

56R

I

G

57A

P

P

T

58R

B

I

S

59S

60I

N

E

S

61A

T

L

62A

63N

T

A

64M

O

E

T

65O

I

L

66W

H

E

R

E

T

H

67E

68W

69I

L

D

T

H

70I

N

G

S

71A

72R

73E

74L

A

Y

75L

I

C

K

76R

E

N

A

M

E

D

77D

78E

79C

O

R

80P

L

I

E

81M

82O

O

N

83I

I

I

84A

D

O

85T

86H

E

A

G

E

87O

88F

I

N

N

O

89C

90E

N

C

E

91M

M

M

92O

A

R

93M

E

M

O

94A

L

O

E

95P

C

P

96T

C

97M

98I

N

R

I

99E

100A

R

S

101M

A

102R

103T

H

E

104P

R

I

N

C

105E

O

F

T

I

106D

107E

108S

109C

A

R

E

110E

R

111A

L

I

112P

S

I

113N

O

N

O

114T

H

E

G

R

E

115A

T

E

S

116C

117A

118P

E

119R

120H

O

N

D

A

121R

O

T

A

T

E

D

122B

E

A

N

I

E

123E

A

R

N

E

R

124N

O

L

E

S

S

125E

S

T

O

P

S

126H

E

E

D

S

Across

63 clues

6Setting for a landscape

12Like pickles, but not cucumbers

20If all goes perfectly

21Certain head jurors

23Like some 401(k) contributions

24The Ten Plagues

29Farmyard call

31Sodom and Gomorrah

37Literary fairy queen

38Outpouring of Pandora's box

40Part of T.G.I.F.: Abbr.

41Singsong syllable

43Season ticket holders, presumably

45Shoofly desserts

46Hopeless from the start, for short

48Janis ___, "At Seventeen" singer

49Samson and Delilah

55Baseball Hall-of-Famer Mel

57Calendar notation: Abbr.

58Diamond stats

59Certain trig functions

61So-called "Hollywood of the South"

64Big name in bubbly

65Painter's medium

75Get the better of

76Like Constantinople, in 1930

77Interior style

81Europa, Ganymede or Callisto vis-à-vis Jupiter

85Garden of Eden

91"Scrumdiddlyumptious!"

93Get the ___ (finally become aware)

94Ingredient in some gels

95Designated H.M.O. doctor, in brief

96Vintage film channel

98Letters on a crucifix

99Word with rabbit or all

103Moses Parting the Red Sea

109Rush uncontrolledly

111Most common last name in Somalia

112Pressure meas.

113It's verboten

114Jonah and the Whale

119Title woman in a 1965 Beach Boys hit

122Brimless topper

123One bringing home the bacon

124Surprisingly enough

125Bars, legally

Down

77 clues

1Leader of the pack

22006 mockumentary about a Kazakh journalist

3High-speed travel option

4Squealer's activity

7Thoroughly enjoyed, with "up"

8Org. with the Nuggets and Nets

10Rubbish receptacle

11Weasel with a black-tipped tail

12Where the coxswain sits

15Blue material

22___ Stark, "Game of Thrones" patriarch

25Gullible sort

28Hypotheticals

33Part of a trunk

34First-year law student, informally

35"___ Fan Tutte"

36Mathematician Paul

42___ on a log (celery-stick snack studded with raisins)

44What may be right but not left?

45New Yorkie, say

52Yankees nickname until 2016

54Wielder of a red lightsaber

60"Casablanca" role

62Folk singer Guthrie

641964's Nobel Peace laureate, for short

65Common bridge bid, informally

67Spanish "she"

68Kristen of "Bridesmaids"

71Protein-building acid, informally

72Treat again, as a sprain

73Actress Falco

78"Heeere's Johnny!" announcer

79Measure against

80Tree branch or power line, for a bird

81One making an impression?

82Woman honored in John Lennon's "Woman"

86Where boaters hang with bowlers

87Hyatt alternative

88Spore-producing plant

89Transport (around)

90Castle in "Hamlet"

97Heart of the matter

98Subject for van Gogh

99Aurora's counterpart in Greek mythology

100Lit

102Big name in movie theaters

104First-year West Pointer

105Olympic blades

106"No man is an island" writer

109Middle: Abbr.

110Noted Art Deco designer

115Sponsored spots

116Persian or Abyssinian

117Enero a diciembre

120"Yeah, right!"

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Feb 22, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

82/359

Black / letter cells

5.1

Avg entry length

21 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedFeb 22, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeBooks of the Bible

ConstructorJill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split63 across · 77 down

Longest entries

66ANoah's Ark21 ltrs 49ASamson and Delilah17 ltrs 85AGarden of Eden17 ltrs 31ASodom and Gomorrah16 ltrs 103AMoses Parting the Red Sea16 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 82 black squares and averages 5.1 letters per entry.