Early leader in instant messaging Crossword Clue

We have the 3-letter answer for Early leader in instant messaging crossword clue, last seen in the NYT Crossword February 16, 2026 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

Early leader in instant messaging Crossword Answer

↓57.

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Helpful Hints

Hint 1: Clue Definitions

MESSAGING (noun)
1. the sending and processing of e-mail by computer
INSTANT (noun)
1. a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
2. a particular point in time
INSTANT (adjective)
1. occurring with no delay
2. demanding attention

More NYT Crossword (2/16/2026) Answers

Across

1. Necklace fastener

6. Physique, slangily

9. "___ to that!"

13. Textile city NNE of Paris

14. New wave band with the hit "Whip It"

15. Improvise in jazz

16. Stared rudely

17. Late-night kitchen visit, e.g.

18. Stench

19. Longtime comic strip set in a medieval kingdom

22. Home for pigs

23. Teen wearing heavy eyeliner, maybe

24. Really, really cool

27. 'My dude!'

28. Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs

30. ___-Hulk

31. Charge for airing a commercial

34. Fictional lab assistant with a hunchback

35. Stylish

36. Capital of the Gem State, in a mailing address

38. Possible cybercrime, informally

40. M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition)

41. Close by

43. Corrosion signs

44. Stadium cheer

45. Glance through

46. Reader's Digest or Golf Digest, in brief

47. Where clams are served

49. Knotted up

51. Rep.’s counterpart

54. 'Makes no difference to me'

57. Actress Kendrick

59. Hourly pay rate

60. Flock that honks

61. Follow directions

62. Conga, for one

63. Chicagos __ Planetarium

64. Scottish girl

65. Place to get a rubdown

66. Voting spots

All Answers

Down

1. Thickens, as cream

2. Not heavy

3. Narrow way between city buildings

4. Whole bunch

5. Horse's ancestral line

6. Hearty embrace

7. Roman poet who wrote Metamorphoses

8. Dull-witted sort

9. Eschew

10. Frantic scrambles

11. Rock subgenre with confessional lyrics

12. All Things Considered airer

14. Fiddlesticks!

20. D.C.'s National ___

21. Kind of number on an old business card

25. Change gears

26. Religious offshoots

27. Top-tier

29. Pinot ___

31. Give 0 stars in a review, say

32. One giving support during childbirth

33. High-quality reds and whites

34. Something to noodle on

35. Drink very quickly

37. Glitterati

39. Shortfall of exports vis-à-vis imports

42. One of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean

45. Droop

46. "It's … just OK"

48. Occasions for blowing out candles on cakes, informally

50. Agenda bullet point

51. Linger (on), as a topic

52. Art supporter

53. Mike who voiced Shrek in "Shrek"

55. Wyatt at the O.K. Corral

56. Make over

58. Org. for the Raptors, but not the Blue Jays

All Answers