Home/Archive/Feb 25, 2026

NYT Crossword — February 25, 2026

Wednesday’s 15 × 15 puzzle, 76 clues. The full solution is below — answers stay masked until you reveal them, one clue or all at once.

0 of 76 revealed

1H

2I

3T

4M

5E

6C

7L

8E

9F

10S

11E

12M

13O

14O

N

E

A

L

15T

A

R

O

T

16C

M

D

17C

R

E

D

I

18

S

C

O

R

E

19H

A

D

20K

E

N

O

21I

C

E

S

22P

23O

O

F

S

24N

25A

D

A

26M

I

L

L

I

27V

28I

N

C

E

N

29T

30

A

N

G

O

G

31H

32H

I

H

A

T

33R

E

Z

34A

C

H

E

35U

S

A

36S

37C

38O

O

T

E

39R

40A

T

A

41S

U

D

42S

43U

R

L

44A

45S

T

E

R

46H

A

N

N

47I

B

A

L

48L

49E

T

E

R

50L

O

O

T

S

51I

K

E

A

52W

A

I

T

S

53N

54E

N

E

55N

56A

57Y

58S

59H

I

D

60B

61R

E

A

K

D

62A

N

C

E

S

63A

D

E

64A

B

O

V

E

65R

E

R

U

N

66T

S

A

67D

I

N

E

D

68E

D

E

N

S

Across

37 clues

1[Taps casino table]

6Signs of treble?

11___ hair (edgy 2000s trend)

14Longtime "Inside the NBA" analyst opposite Barkley

15Deck in divination

16Mil. authority

17Failing to pay bills on time may affect this

20Lotto-like casino game

21Summer treats in small cups

22Sounds of sudden vanishing

26Inverse of kilo-

27"Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 1889

32Pair of cymbals in a drum kit

33Tribal home, maybe, informally

34Reason to take a painkiller

35So-called "melting pot," in brief

36E-bike alternative

41Bubbles in a bubble bath

43A QR code might access one

44Purplish perennial

46Villain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains" list

51Retail chain with ready-to-assemble products

52Stays in line, say

53Hawaiian goose

55Thumbs-down votes

60Emulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across?

64On a higher level

65Second-chance show

66Org. with metal detectors

Down

39 clues

3One subject to a curfew, maybe

4So-called "Queen of Pop"

5Former Giant Manning

6Healthy self-image?

8God depicted with a bow

9Word between "word" and "word"

12Combatant in an octagon-shaped cage

13Calculated ratios

18Era competitor

23Gymnast Korbut dubbed the "Sparrow from Minsk"

26Where you might lose your way

27Demo graphics, maybe

28"This is news to me!"

31When repeated, "Preach!"

32When repeated, secret

37Bear's heirs?

39Pulse quickly, as the heart

45Was a fangirl of, say

47"Really awful"

53Like the sign for Radio City Music Hall

54Roof projection

57Actor Steven of "Beef" and "Nope"

61Result of a solo homer, for short

62"There you ___!"

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

Stats & info

Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026

15×15

Grid size

76

Total entries

36/189

Black / letter cells

5.0

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Medium

Wednesday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedFeb 25, 2026

DayWednesday

ThemeUntitled

ConstructorBrad Lively

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split37 across · 39 down

Longest entries

27A"Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear" painter, 188914 ltrs 46AVillain ranked #1 on A.F.I.'s "100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains" list14 ltrs 17AFailing to pay bills on time may affect this11 ltrs 60AEmulates the three figures in this puzzle ... or what the figures do within the answers to 17-, 27- and 46-Across?11 ltrs 11DSound-track?10 ltrs

Wednesday is the midweek pivot, where themes get denser and clues start bending the surface reading. This grid has 36 black squares and averages 5.0 letters per entry.