SUNDAY · 13 x 13 GRID · 67 CLUES · 34 ACROSS · 33 DOWN
Daily Themed Crossword February 22 2026 Answers
Below is the full clue list for the February 22, 2026 puzzle with the solution beside every clue, followed by the completed grid. Tap a clue to see its letter count and every other puzzle it has appeared in.
1A
Add ___ to the fire (make it worse)
FUEL
4
5A
DJ's stacks: Abbr.
CDS
3
8A
"Isn't ___ a lovely woman?"
SHE
3
11A
Hendrix's hairdo
AFRO
4
12A
Alley-___ (looping pass in a basketball play)
OOP
3
13A
"Shop ___ You Drop" (game show)
TIL
3
14A
Nickelodeon's "___ the Explorer"
DORA
4
15A
Extinct flightless bird that used to roam the island of Mauritius
DODO
4
16A
Pacino and Gore, for two
ALS
3
17A
Narcotics-fighting organization: Abbr.
DEA
3
19A
Who are you? (1/6) "Whenever I find a tricky clue, I use ___ (search engine)." If that's your style, we title you the "Curious Researcher!"
GOOGLE
6
21A
"This round ___ me" ("I'll pay for it"): 2 wds.
ISON
4
22A
Letter after "emm," phonetically
ENN
3
23A
Vina del ___ (city in Chile)
MAR
3
25A
Nintendo's Super ___ (game console): Abbr.
NES
3
27A
Smack a fly, say
SWAT
4
31A
(2/6) "I love returning to old ___ from the archive to play them again." If that's your style, we title you the "True Replayer!"
GRIDS
5
33A
Revenue sources for newspapers, for short
ADS
3
36A
Pizza ___ (Domino's rival)
HUT
3
37A
Flat-topped hill
MESA
4
38A
Zero, in soccer
NIL
3
39A
"Uzumaki" manga creator Junji ___
ITO
3
40A
Music genre for Bob Marley
REGGAE
6
43A
(3/6) "I solve clues in any order I like ... ___, bottom, middle, I'll start anywhere." If that's your style, we title you the "Free Spirit!"
TOP
3
44A
Submarine-detection system: Abbr.
SONAR
5
46A
Sleep phase letters
REM
3
48A
(4/6) "I solve at my own pace, winding down with a puzzle and a ___ of coffee." If that's your style, we title you the "Relaxed Solver!"
CUP
3
49A
Diamond set by itself in a piece of jewelry
SOLITAIRE
9
54A
Reba McEntire's "___ Survivor": 2 wds.
IMA
3
55A
___ log (Christmas dessert)
YULE
4
56A
Takes small mouthfuls of tea, say
SIPS
4
57A
Instant messaging pioneer: Abbr.
AOL
3
58A
Acer products: Abbr.
PCS
3
59A
Jazzman Zoot
SIMS
4
1D
Short-lived trend (rhymes with "bad")
FAD
3
2D
Flying saucer in a sci-fi movie, perhaps: Abbr.
UFO
3
3D
"___ on the side of caution"
ERR
3
4D
(5/6) "Once the puzzle ___, I race against the clock to finish as soon as I can." If that's your style, we title you the "Speedy Solver!"
LOADS
5
5D
Sound of a dove
COO
3
6D
___ a bullet (narrowly avoid something dangerous)
DODGE
5
7D
Fork's partner, on the dining table
SPOON
5
8D
Male deer
STAG
4
9D
What Jack and Jill climbed to fetch water
HILL
4
10D
"Can we go somewhere ___?"
ELSE
4
15D
"Great" dog?
DANE
4
18D
Extremely long spans of time
EONS
4
20D
Slip-___ (like some shoes)
ONS
3
21D
Showy spring flower
IRIS
4
23D
Palindromic film studio: Abbr.
MGM
3
24D
"You ___ here" (words on a mall map, perhaps)
ARE
3
26D
Auditioned for "American Idol," say
SANG
4
28D
Teensiest amount and an apt rhyme for "bit"
WHIT
4
29D
"Grand Theft ___," popular video game series
AUTO
4
30D
Removable roof panel on a car: Hyph.
TTOP
4
32D
"Gosh ___ it!" (angry exclamation)
DARN
4
34D
"The Princess ___," 2001 Anne Hathaway film
DIARIES
7
35D
Rain with ice (rhymes with "fleet")
SLEET
5
41D
Like a piece of cake, metaphorically
EASY
4
42D
(6/6) "When I get stuck, I hit up my friends or ___ chat for help." If that's your style, we title you the "Community Player!"
GROUP
5
44D
Japanese wrestling style
SUMO
4
45D
___ Fruits (original name of Starburst candy)
OPAL
4
47D
"M" of BMI
MASS
4
48D
"Homeland" organization: Abbr.
CIA
3
50D
Inc. alternative: Abbr.
LLC
3
51D
"Three," on some clocks
III
3
52D
Tachometer stat in a car: Abbr.
RPM
3
53D
Sound of the letter seen on Superman's chest
ESS
3
No clue on this page matches that text.
1F
2U
3E
4L
5C
6D
7S
8S
9H
10E
11A
F
R
O
12O
O
P
13T
I
L
14D
O
R
A
15D
O
D
O
16A
L
S
17D
18E
A
19G
O
20O
G
L
E
21I
S
O
N
22E
N
N
23M
24A
R
25N
E
26S
27S
28W
29A
30T
31G
R
I
32D
S
33A
34D
35S
36H
U
T
37M
E
S
A
38N
I
L
39I
T
O
40R
41E
42G
G
A
E
43T
O
P
44S
45O
N
A
R
46R
E
47M
48C
U
P
49S
O
50L
I
T
A
51I
52R
53E
54I
M
A
55Y
U
L
E
56S
I
P
S
57A
O
L
58P
C
S
59S
I
M
S
The completed 13 x 13 grid for February 22, 2026. Numbers mark where each across and down answer begins.
About the February 22, 2026 puzzle
The February 22, 2026 Daily Themed Crossword is a 13 x 13 grid with 67 clues — 34 across and 33 down. Puzzles tend to get harder as the week progresses, so a Sunday grid sits where you would expect it in that run.
There is also a small 5x5 Mini published the same day — its answers are on the February 22 2026 Mini page. If a clue reappears in a later puzzle its own answer page is updated, so bookmarking the clue is more reliable than bookmarking the date. Older puzzles live in the archive. We are in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers that created the game.