M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition) Crossword Clue

We have the 4-letter answer for M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition) 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.

M.I.T. Mystery ___ (annual puzzle competition) Crossword Answer

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Helpful Hints

(noun)
1. an association of huntsmen who hunt for sport
2. the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone
(verb)
1. pursue or chase relentlessly
2. pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)

Hint 2: Clue Definitions

COMPETITION (noun)
1. an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants
2. the contestant you hope to defeat
ANNUAL (noun)
1. a reference book that is published regularly once every year
2. (botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year
ANNUAL (adjective)
1. occurring or payable every year
2. completing its life cycle within a year

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

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

57. Early leader in instant messaging

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

All Answers