The Independent Crossword February 21 2026 Answers
Saturday puzzle · 120 clues · ✓ All answers verified
Below are all the The Independent Crossword February 21 2026 answers. The Saturday puzzle has 120 clues; every answer has been verified. Click any clue to see every answer it has ever had, across every publisher in our database.
Also solved on February 21
Across
Click a clue for every answer it has ever hadClueAnswerLettersDirection#
Henry discovered fortune-telling method, making moneyENRICHING9Across1
Was dressed inWORE4Across1
Scottish lakeLOCH4Across3
Did live broadcast generate buzz?WHIRR5Across6
Building designARCHITECTURE12Across7
ConjectureGUESS5Across8
Do OK as internCONFINE7Across9
DestructiveRUINOUS7Across9
In league with French, one provided bombUNIFIED7Across10
The 16th president of the United States of AmericaABRAHAMLINCOLN14Across11
EvaluateASSESS6Across11
Slow-burning biomass ultimately crumbling to dustSMOULDERING11Across11
Raincoats reportedly greatest valueMAX3Across12
Bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb to be used in warENOLAGAY8Across13
MendicantBEGGAR6Across13
I mark zero incorrect in pile of papersINBOX5Across13
Element of the halogen group whose atomic number is 53IODINE6Across14
Plantation area run well by corporationARBORETUM9Across15
Actor best known for playing Neil in the TV series The Young OnesNIGELPLANER11Across15
The plant Verbascum thapsus, that has woolly leaves and tall erect spikes of yellow flowersAARONSROD9Across16
Feel contempt forDESPISE7Across16
Roman general and governor of Britain who advanced Roman rule north to the Firth of ForthAGRICOLA8Across17
ScentAROMA5Across18
Part of biome in Spain with warm springECOSYSTEM9Across18
Artist's toolPALETTEKNIFE12Across19
Target of left-leaning clubs, periodicallyFOCUS5Across20
SI derived unit of magnetic flux densityTESLA5Across20
ObsceneLEWD4Across20
Italian adventurer famous for his autobiography, Histoire de ma vieCASANOVA8Across21
News agency attached to Echo and MirrorAPE3Across21
DependRELY4Across21
Celestial body with hot, turbulent weatherCOMETHROUGH11Across22
Mexican tortilla containing cheese and other ingredients, folded in half to form a half-moon shapeQUESADILLA10Across23
Wine company accepts credit cardsPLASTIC7Across25
BBC sitcom written by Carla Lane that starred Felicity Kendal as Gemma PalmerSOLO4Across25
Ring with lithium-infused glass resembling a gemOPALINE7Across26
Old Iberians regularly rise lateLIEIN5Across27
See 15NIGELPLANER11Across27
Cat catching beam displays assertive behaviourPUSHINESS9Across28
Michael Jackson's first solo album on Epic Records, produced by Quincy JonesOFFTHEWALL10Across30
1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of YonkersHELLODOLLY10Across32
First season observed in the Western Christian church yearADVENT6Across34
Nickname of the first US presidential aircraftSACREDCOW9Across36
French drink made from barley or almonds, and orange flower waterORGEAT6Across38
The capital of SlovakiaBRATISLAVA10Across39
French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973LIBERATION10Across40
River on which Shrewsbury standsSEVERN6Across42
The former name of ThailandSIAM4Across44
Greek-born economist convicted of perverting the course of justice with her former husband, MP Chris Huhne, in 2013VICKYPRYCE10Across46
Technical name for the collarboneCLAVICLE8Across49
1884 opera by Jules Massenet based on a 1731 novel by the Abbé PrévostMANON5Across51
Town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, that grew up round an abbey founded in 666CHERTSEY8Across52
A recurring movement in Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest MussorgskyPROMENADE9Across54
African country whose capital is CairoEGYPT5Across56
1985 Ron Howard film whose stars include Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn and Jessica TandyCOCOON6Across57
Creature who lived at the centre of the Cretan Labyrinth until killed by TheseusMINOTAUR8Across59
Oscar-winning 2001 film based on the life of John Forbes NashABEAUTIFULMIND14Across60
Down
ClueAnswerLettersDirection#
Dismissals in cricketWICKETS7Down1
Over-the-top misrepresentation of exes' vicesEXCESSIVE9Down1
Spanish river which flows into the Mediterranean Sea at TarragonaEBRO4Down1
Means of controlREINS5Down2
Rocker to start playing party pieceRONDO5Down2
Largest island of French PolynesiaTAHITI6Down2
Open frameworkLATTICE7Down3
Solitary leporid mammal that lives in a formHARE4Down3
Be cool kid, endlessly undisciplinedCHILLAX7Down3
Wild eglantine not cultivatedINELEGANT9Down4
FreightCARGO5Down4
The youngest member of England's 1966 World Cup winning teamALANBALL8Down4
Spanish architect inspired by oblong auditoriumGAUDI5Down5
ForefrontVANGUARD8Down5
Gastropods, bivalves and cephalopodsMOLLUSCS8Down5
Mangle radio version of Spitting ImageWRINGER7Down6
The capital of TurkeyANKARA6Down6
Facial hairBEARD5Down6
"Keeping mum" is silly vernacularIDIOMATIC9Down7
A wart, especially one growing on the hand or footVERRUCA7Down7
Brought back king to protect knight, sacrificing bishopREDUX5Down8
Welsh actor best known for playing the title role in the TV series HornblowerIOANGRUFFUDD12Down8
Any elementary particle capable of taking part in a strong nuclear interactionHADRON6Down9
Long flagSTREAMER8Down10
A clear, colourless fruit brandy produced by fermentation and double distillationEAUDEVIE8Down10
1936 documentary film featuring a poem by W H Auden and music by Benjamin BrittenNIGHTMAIL9Down12
Regular paymentSTIPEND7Down12
ExaltGLORIFY7Down14
Financial business ruined by latest trendBROKERAGE9Down14
Bunk on a shipBERTH5Down15
Snooty arse sanctimonious about "end of art"BUMPTIOUS9Down16
Pranks fail to entertain bossMISCHIEFS9Down17
Sudden floodSPATE5Down17
See 8IOANGRUFFUDD12Down18
Leg jointANKLE5Down18
Feline inhabiting China's green peninsulaYUCATAN7Down19
The ___, monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard IngramsOLDIE5Down19
Dread overtaking Rolls-Royce with current carFERRARI7Down20
Drink father upset in dismayAPPAL5Down21
Japanese city that hosted the first Winter Olympics held in AsiaSAPPORO7Down22
Animation technique about to crack messy hairMOCAP5Down23
Take courses at university somewhere in FriuliUDINE5Down24
1965 Top 10 hit for The Kinks whose B-side was I Need YouSETMEFREE9Down24
Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus SyringaLILAC5Down26
Large crocodilian of the southern US with powerful jaws and sharp teethALLIGATOR9Down28
A fairy servant to Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William ShakespeareCOBWEB6Down29
Town in Umbria that was the birthplace of St Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order there in 1208ASSISI6Down31
A long-legged carnivorous doglike mammal of Africa and South AsiaHYENA5Down32
A four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, popular in the 19th century, with a retractable hood over the rear halfBAROUCHE8Down33
1997 James Cameron film that won 11 Academy AwardsTITANIC7Down35
Omnivorous mammal of the genera Nasua and Nasuella, of Central and South AmericaCOATI5Down37
1957 film that gave Elvis Presley his first starring role, as singing delivery man Deke RiversLOVINGYOU9Down40
Joe ___, former England footballer who managed Oldham Athletic, Everton, Manchester City and Ipswich TownROYLE5Down41
The great circle on the celestial sphere representing the apparent annual path of the sun relative to the starsECLIPTIC8Down43
City in California that was the capital of Spain's Pacific empire from 1774 to 1825MONTEREY8Down45
1988 film starring Tom Cruise as a business student who takes up bartendingCOCKTAIL8Down47
French port city whose name means "the harbour"LEHAVRE7Down48
Religious cult associated with HaitiVOODOO6Down50
In classical mythology, a woman participant in the orgiastic rites of DionysusMAENAD6Down51
An industrial port in Washington, on Puget SoundTACOMA6Down53
Town in North Holland on the IJsselmeer noted for its cheeseEDAM4Down55
The common European freshwater fish Squalius cephalusCHUB4Down57
1980s British comic whose contributors included Marc "Lard" Riley and Charlie BrookerOINK4Down58
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All datesAbout this puzzle
This page lists every clue and answer from the The Independent crossword published on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Answers are checked against the completed grid before publishing. If a clue looks familiar, open it — the same wording often runs in other puzzles with a different answer, and the clue page shows every version we have on record.