NYT Crosswords February 26 hints and answers

NYT Crosswords

The New York Times crossword for February 26 features a theme centered around elongated words, using a rebus format. The puzzle, constructed by Dan Caprera, requires solvers to recognize a pattern where certain letters in the themed entries are doubled to visually represent a “long” word.

The theme includes four entries in the Down clues: 4-, 9-, 15-, and 17-Down. One of the key clues, [What a stereotypical bartender asks after a horse walks into a bar] (15D), leads to the well-known phrase “Why the long face?” In the puzzle, it is written as “WHY THE FFAACCEE?” with the word “face” elongated. Another example is 4D, [Inspiration for a seafood chain], which refers to Long John Silver but appears as “JJOOHHNN SILVER.”

Several clues in the puzzle may require extra thought.

• 14A [Contents of some shots] – The answer is SERA, the plural of serum.

• 39A [Numismatic rating] – The answer is FINE, a grading term for coins.

• 44A [1/13 or 2/13] – The answer is IDES, referring to the Ides of January and February.

• 62A [Competitive poker?] – The answer is ÉPÉE, a fencing weapon.

• 5D [Tune] – The answer is AIR, a classical music term.

• 60D [One who looks at slides?] – The answer is UMP, referring to an umpire in baseball.