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Newsday Crossword

SATURDAY STUMPER

Saturday, February 21, 2026 Constructed by Rafael Musa 72 clues
The Grid Click “Reveal grid” to fill in every answer
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Across

  1. Crowds to the max 8 ℓ
  2. Corn holders 5 ℓ
  3. Was cyclical 8 ℓ
  4. Exploit self-servingly 6 ℓ
  5. Spot-checked? 6 ℓ
  6. '90s inaugural speaker before Billy's benediction 4 ℓ
  7. Determination 4 ℓ
  8. Backing 3 ℓ
  9. Pedestrian 5 ℓ
  10. Amazon ecosystem 5 ℓ
  11. Largest-mass terrestrial carnivore 9 ℓ
  12. Dwelt 5 ℓ
  13. What Shuttle-Mir effectively ended 9 ℓ
  14. Hairy situation 5 ℓ
  15. Certain sleep aids 8 ℓ
  16. Cross-sectional side piece 9 ℓ
  17. Frost and Eliot contemporary 5 ℓ
  18. Infomercial order 9 ℓ
  19. Stain 5 ℓ
  20. Farm measure 4 ℓ
  21. Gospel truth 5 ℓ
  22. Stain source 3 ℓ
  23. Liability limitation 4 ℓ
  24. Specificity starter 6 ℓ
  25. PC magazine software coinage of '90 6 ℓ
  26. Word from the French for "cure in brine" 8 ℓ
  27. Quick flight 3 ℓ
  28. Con front 5 ℓ
  29. They're on the tip of some tongues 5 ℓ
  30. Second try of a sort 5 ℓ
  31. 1812 US invasion destination 3 ℓ
  32. With a key 5 ℓ
  33. Battle of Hastings participant 5 ℓ
  34. Drainage system elements 5 ℓ
  35. __ way 3 ℓ
↓

Down

  1. She's related to Joey 4 ℓ
  2. Alternate ocular inconvenience 4 ℓ
  3. Performance with finger cymbals 10 ℓ
  4. Out of it 10 ℓ
  5. Jacob's eldest 6 ℓ
  6. Paramount "sister" since 2019 3 ℓ
  7. Hairy situation 4 ℓ
  8. British pounds 5 ℓ
  9. Acknowledgment 6 ℓ
  10. A top-10 written English word 3 ℓ
  11. It may be melting 3 ℓ
  12. Polecat relative 4 ℓ
  13. Notation after "A new broom sweeps clean" 4 ℓ
  14. Much less well-behaved 6 ℓ
  15. What many an ornate auditorium is called 6 ℓ
  16. Official language of Brunei and Singapore 5 ℓ
  17. Collection from some claims 4 ℓ
  18. What might take your thyme 4 ℓ
  19. Identicality metaphor 4 ℓ
  20. "Try again" 4 ℓ
  21. Hairy situations 4 ℓ
  22. Electrooculogram readout 3 ℓ
  23. Cardiology concern 3 ℓ
  24. Jaguar bonnet cover 3 ℓ
  25. Performers with horses 8 ℓ
  26. Site reviewing Movies for Grownups 4 ℓ
  27. Bistecca __ fiorentina 4 ℓ
  28. Exchange figures 7 ℓ
  29. Err 7 ℓ
  30. Didn't try very hard 10 ℓ
  31. "The sound of the voice...sets thoughts __": Helen Keller 5 ℓ
  32. Malibu Sunrise kin 10 ℓ
  33. Got value from 5 ℓ
  34. Metaphor for fading feelings 5 ℓ
  35. More than one soft touch 8 ℓ
  36. Smallville teen 4 ℓ
  37. Any Aladdin adversary 4 ℓ

About this puzzle

The Newsday Crossword for Saturday, February 21, 2026 is titled “SATURDAY STUMPER” and was constructed by Rafael Musa. The puzzle features 72 clues arranged in a 21×21 grid — the standard format for Sunday-size puzzles.

Click any clue above to view its dedicated answer page, which includes letter-by-letter analysis, the puzzle context, and a history of every other Newsday puzzle the same clue or answer has appeared in. To see the complete grid filled in with every answer, use the “Reveal grid” button at the top of the grid.

The Newsday Crossword is published daily by Newsday on Long Island and edited by Stan Newman. Difficulty builds across the week from a gentle Monday introduction up to Saturday’s legendary themeless Stumper. The official puzzle is available on the Newsday Games site. For other days, browse the complete Newsday Crossword archive indexed by date.

Newsday SATURDAY STUMPER Crossword February 21 2026 Answers