Crossword Fiend | Reviewing the best crosswords in newspapers and on the Web

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Eric Hougland

BEQ 11:22 (Eric) 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 1 | 2*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [2.75 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Fireball untimed (Jenni) 5*: 1 | 4*: 3 | 3.5*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.75 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
LAT tk(Gareth) 3*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [2.25 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 12ish (ZDL) 5*: 3 | 4.5*: 13 | 4*: 3 | 2*: 1 [4.38 avg; 20 ratings] rate it
Universal 6:20 (Eric) 4.5*: 1 | 3.5*: 2 | 2*: 1 [3.38 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today 6:15 (Emily) 4*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ untimed (Jim Q) 4*: 3 [4.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Anna Harkins, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Jonathan Raksin, Kareem Ayas, Norman M. Aaronson, Sam Cordes | 26 Comments

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Eric Hougland

AV Club 6:00 (Amy) 5*: 2 | 4.5*: 1 | 4*: 2 | 2*: 1 [4.08 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
LAT 6:44 (Gareth) 3*: 1 | 2*: 1 [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 4:25 (Amy) 4*: 3 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 2 | 2.5*: 4 | 2*: 1 [3.05 avg; 11 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 4:02 (Jim Q) 4.5*: 1 | 4*: 3 | 3*: 1 [3.90 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (pannonica) 3*: 1 | 2*: 1 | 1*: 1 [2.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today 10:12 (Emily) 2.5*: 1 [2.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
WSJ 6:15 (Eric) 3.5*: 2 | 2.5*: 1 [3.17 avg; 3 ratings] rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Adryel W. Robles Ojeda, Jill Singer, Joseph Gangi, Lynn Lempel, Robyn Weintraub | 7 Comments

MGWCC #923

Posted on February 10, 2026 by joon

MGWCC crossword 2:14
meta DNF/0:01 4*: 3 | 3.5*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.50 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
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Posted in Contests | Tagged Matt Gaffney | 9 Comments

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Erin Milligan-Milburn

Jonesin’ 5:11 (Erin) 4.5*: 1 [4.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
LAT tk (Jenni) 3*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [2.25 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 6:04 (Eric) 4*: 2 | 3.5*: 3 | 3*: 2 | 2*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [3.11 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker untimed (pannonica) 4*: 2 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2.5*: 1 [3.40 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
Universal 6:19 (Eric) 5*: 1 | 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.63 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Sophia) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ untimed (Jim Q) 4*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Adrian Johnson, Amie Walker, Jeff Chen, Matt Jones, Sarah Sinclair, Seb Swann, Wyna Liu | 16 Comments

WSJ Contest — Friday, February 6, 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Conrad

WSJ (Contest) Grid: 25 minutes; Meta: an hour or so 5*: 1 | 4.5*: 2 | 4*: 5 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2.5*: 1 | 2*: 2 [3.62 avg; 13 ratings] rate it
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Posted in Contests | Tagged Mike Shenk | 21 Comments

Monday, February 9, 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Sophia Maymudes

BEQ 19:54 (Eric) 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 2 | 1.5*: 1 [3.13 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
LAT 1:51 (Stella) 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 1 | 1.5*: 1 [3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 2:28 (Sophia) 4.5*: 2 | 4*: 3 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 2 | 2*: 2 [3.45 avg; 10 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 5:36 k(Amy) 5*: 1 | 4.5*: 3 | 4*: 4 | 3.5*: 2 [4.15 avg; 10 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (pannonica) 4*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (?) 2.5*: 1 [2.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
WSJ 5:32 (Jim Q) rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Brendan Emmett Quigley, Dan Caprera, Matthew Stock, Mike Shenk, Mollie Cowger | 9 Comments

Muller Monthly Music Meta, February 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Matt Gaffney

Title: “Pete’s Excellent Metas Deliver Ample Surprises” by Pete Muller, Mack Meller, and Andrew White
Prompt: The meta for this puzzle is a famous pop album.
Solution: “1989” by Taylor Swift

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | 4 Comments

Fireball Contest February 4, 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Conrad

Grid: untimed; Meta: 15 minutes

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Posted in Contests | Tagged Paul Coulter | Comments Off

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Eric Hougland

LAT ~8:00 (Kyle) 2.5*: 2 [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 13:24 (Eric) 5*: 1 | 4.5*: 1 | 4*: 5 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2.5*: 2 | 2*: 1 [3.58 avg; 12 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Darby) 2.5*: 1 [2.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Universal (Sunday) 8:55 (Jim P) 4*: 1 | 3*: 1 [3.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (Norah) 4*: 1 | 2.5*: 1 | 1*: 1 [2.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
WaPo 6:03, meta 3 minutes (Matt G) 4.5*: 1 | 3*: 2 | 2.5*: 1 [3.25 avg; 4 ratings] rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Amy Ensz, Chloe Revery, Evan Birnholz, Gary Larson, Jeff Chen, Sam Koperwas | 19 Comments

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Amy Reynaldo

LAT 2:20 (Stella) 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.13 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Newsday untimed (Jenni) 4.5*: 1 | 4*: 1 | 2*: 1 [3.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 10:05 (Amy) 5*: 1 | 4.5*: 2 | 4*: 1 | 3.5*: 1 | 3*: 1 | 2.5*: 2 | 2*: 1 | 1.5*: 2 [3.14 avg; 11 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (Matthew) [2.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Matthew) 3*: 1 [3.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
WSJ 16:10 (Jim Q) 2*: 2 [2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it

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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged Amie Walker, Mark Diehl, Matthew Sewell, Mike Shenk | 19 Comments

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

MGWCC #923

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

WSJ Contest — Friday, February 6, 2026

Monday, February 9, 2026

Muller Monthly Music Meta, February 2026

Fireball Contest February 4, 2026

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Saturday, February 7, 2026

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