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NYT Crossword — February 8, 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

2R

3T

4I

5S

6A

7N

8L

9E

10E

11K

12S

13G

14A

15U

16C

17H

18O

19B

E

R

N

I

N

I

20E

N

R

I

C

21H

22A

N

T

E

U

P

23E

L

A

S

T

I

C

24H

A

I

R

T

I

E

25P

O

O

R

M

E

26T

Y

P

O

27K

I

N

D

28T

E

A

29M

S

30P

E

A

R

31M

32O

33R

E

S

34M

E

N

L

O

35T

I

A

N

A

36C

37H

38A

N

N

E

L

39P

40R

I

N

C

E

O

41F

W

A

L

E

S

42A

E

R

I

E

S

43S

E

E

N

44E

D

D

I

E

45T

H

E

A

D

C

46O

U

N

C

I

47L

48S

T

E

49L

50M

51O

52S

E

W

53G

U

A

R

D

54Y

55O

56M

57S

N

O

O

P

58S

59E

60P

E

E

S

61E

62A

S

E

U

63P

64S

N

O

R

E

65D

66A

D

A

67D

I

68R

69E

C

T

O

R

D

E

70R

71E

N

Y

A

72S

T

O

R

73K

74S

H

R

I

L

L

75T

E

76A

R

S

77T

I

N

M

E

78N

79O

M

G

80S

81O

R

E

N

82H

83O

84E

85T

E

A

B

A

86G

87S

88H

89O

C

K

I

N

G

90P

I

N

K

91A

P

A

92R

93T

94A

L

A

S

95T

O

O

N

I

E

96L

97I

98F

99E

B

E

F

O

R

100E

M

A

N

101F

E

R

R

E

T

S

102A

T

O

M

S

103F

L

A

G

S

104C

A

R

A

T

105D

O

R

A

106S

E

L

I

G

107P

108A

I

N

109A

110C

111A

112I

113I

N

C

I

114T

E

115U

N

D

116E

R

C

O

V

117E

118R

B

O

S

S

119E

Y

E

L

E

T

120P

E

Y

T

O

N

121I

M

A

L

L

I

N

122S

A

S

S

E

S

123R

E

E

S

E

124D

I

N

E

D

A

T

Across

61 clues

8Vegetables that should typically be sliced lengthwise before washing

13Cowboy on the pampas

19"Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" sculptor

22Get in on the game

23Scrunchie, e.g.

25"Oh, cruel fate!"

26Autocorrect target

27Classification

28Sports franchises, e.g.

30Fine-grained wood in some woodwind instruments

34Wizard of ___ Park (Thomas Edison nickname)

35Disney heroine based on New Orleans chef Leah Chase

39Title for William beginning in 2022

44Money in rock ’n' roll

45Nonprofit group behind Smokey Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog

48Patron of sailors

52Work with a needle

53Position in basketball

57Looks through someone's phone, say

59Pointers for a fencer?

64[Bo-o-oring!]

65Pop, to a tot

67Explicit command

71One-named singer with four Grammys

72Relative of a heron

75What a sad person might break into

771987 Dreyfuss/DeVito comedy

80Philosopher Kierkegaard

85It typically has a string attached

87Bright shade similar to magenta

91"Things Fall ___" (Chinua Achebe novel)

94"Oh, cruel fate!"

95Canadian coin featuring a polar bear, informally

96Margaret Atwood novel with a love triangle involving a paleontologist

101Weasel relatives

102A water molecule contains three of these

103Vexillologist's subject

104Stone measure

105Explorer with her monkey friend Boots

106Bud of baseball

107What Excedrin relieves

109Strawberry ___ Refresher (Starbucks drink)

115Hit reality TV series suggested by this puzzle's groups of circled letters

119Place for a shoelace

120Manning with two Super Bowl rings

121"You can count on me!"

122Talks back to

123Witherspoon of "Legally Blonde"

124Patronized, as a restaurant

Down

79 clues

1Words on either side of "___ is ___"

3Sting operation

4Trouble with Z's?

5Take a load off

6Singer DiFranco who created Righteous Babe Records

9Werewolf on TV's "Wednesday"

12Prestigious academic journal since 1880

13Résumé problems, at times

18Performances at Paris's Palais Garnier

33What many a shelter animal hopes to be

34BMW offering since 2000

35Many boy band fans

362019 film that one reviewer called "purr-fectly dreadful"

37Villainous chortle

38"Can I go now?"

39Await settlement, as a payment

40Partner of Parks, informally

41Goes well with

43California's Big ___

46Band with the 1995 hit "Wonderwall"

47Clorox competitor

49Individualist

50Drink from a tub?

51Concert broadcast that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, with "the"

55The Who's "Love, Reign ___ Me"

56Makeup of some face masks

60Italian city known for its cheese

62Georgia airport, for short

65Annual reason for lost sleep: Abbr.

69"Uhh …," to Brits

73Alternatives to gyro platters

76Variety of rabbit or goat

78What a tall collar covers

81Gives the green light

83"I've got this"

84Barely scrapes (by)

86Social blunder

88Amateur radio devotees

89Greeting in Brazil

92Arrive by car

93Gym staff member

96Set of nine dancing in "The 12 Days of Christmas"

972017 figure skating biopic

99Things that typically build up during vacation

100Easter purchase

101Social media tribute to a celeb, say

104Tech company exec

106Hollywood workplaces

107Major-leaguers

108Something hard to face?

112Stevie Wonder's "___ She Lovely"

114Vex, with "off"

116Summer on the Riviera

117Onetime parent co. of Virgin Records

118Led

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

Stats & info

Sunday, Feb 8, 2026

21×21

Grid size

140

Total entries

72/369

Black / letter cells

5.3

Avg entry length

14 ltrs

Longest entry

Themed

Sunday difficulty

PuzzleThe Crossword

PublishedFeb 8, 2026

DaySunday

ThemeWho's In Charge Here?

ConstructorChloe Revery

EditorWill Shortz

Clue split61 across · 79 down

Longest entries

23AScrunchie, e.g.14 ltrs 115AHit reality TV series suggested by this puzzle's groups of circled letters14 ltrs 39ATitle for William beginning in 202213 ltrs 96AMargaret Atwood novel with a love triangle involving a paleontologist13 ltrs 45ANonprofit group behind Smokey Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog12 ltrs

Sunday is the big one, a 21 by 21 grid built around a named theme rather than raw difficulty. This grid has 72 black squares and averages 5.3 letters per entry.