NYT Crossword February 16, 2026 Answers

Across

1A Necklace fastener 5 6A Physique, slangily 3 9A "___ to that!" 4 13A Textile city NNE of Paris 5 14A New wave band with the hit "Whip It" 4 15A Improvise, in jazz 4 16A Stared rudely 5 17A Late-night kitchen visit, e.g. 4 18A Stench 4 19A Longtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom 13 22A Home for pigs 3 23A Teen wearing heavy eyeliner, maybe 4 24A Really, really cool 6 27A "My dude!" 3 28A Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs 4 30A ___-Hulk 3 31A Charge for airing a commercial 5 34A Fictional lab assistant with a hunchback 4 35A Stylish 4 36A Capital of the Gem State, in a mailing address 7 38A Possible cybercrime, informally 7 40A M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition) 4 41A Close by 4 43A Corrosion signs 5 44A Stadium cheer 3 45A Glance through 4 46A Reader's Digest or Golf Digest, in brief 3 47A Where clams are served 6 49A Knotted (up) 4 51A Rep.'s counterpart 3 54A "Makes no difference to me" 13 57A Actress Kendrick 4 59A Hourly pay rate 4 60A Flock that honks 5 61A Follow directions 4 62A Conga, for one 4 63A Chicago's ___ Planetarium 5 64A Scottish girl 4 65A Place to get a rubdown 3 66A Voting spots 5

Down

1D Thickens, as cream 5 2D Not heavy 5 3D Narrow way between city buildings 5 4D Whole bunch 4 5D Horse's ancestral line 8 6D Hearty embrace 7 7D Roman poet who wrote "Metamorphoses" 4 8D Dull-witted sort 8 9D Eschew 5 10D Frantic scrambles 9 11D Rock subgenre with confessional lyrics 3 12D "All Things Considered" airer 3 14D "Fiddlesticks!" 4 20D D.C.'s National ___ 3 21D Kind of number on an old business card 3 25D Change gears 5 26D Religious offshoots 5 27D Top-tier 4 29D Pinot ___ 4 31D Give 0 stars in a review, say 5 32D One giving support during childbirth 5 33D High-quality reds and whites 9 34D Something to noodle on 4 35D Drink very quickly 4 37D Glitterati 8 39D Shortfall of exports vis-à-vis imports 8 42D One of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean 7 45D Droop 3 46D "It's just OK" 3 48D Occasions for blowing out candles on cakes, informally 5 50D Agenda bullet point 4 51D Linger (on), as a topic 5 52D Art supporter 5 53D Mike who voiced Shrek in "Shrek" 5 55D Wyatt at the O.K. Corral 4 56D Make over 4 57D Early leader in instant messaging 3 58D Org. for the Raptors, but not the Blue Jays 3