Think Twice – Thursday, 12 February 2026 • By By Sam Cordes/Edited by Mike Shenk
Navigating the witty twists and turns of the Wall Street Journal Crossword is no small feat. Today’s puzzle, titled “Think Twice – Thursday, 12 February 2026”, brings a fresh set of challenges crafted by By Sam Cordes/Edited by Mike Shenk. If you find yourself stuck on a particular clue or trying to crack the theme without breaking your streak, you are in the right place.
At WordFinder Tips, we analyze the puzzle daily to bring you not just the answers, but the logic behind them. Below, you will find our Interactive Solver which allows you to check specific answers for ‘Across’ and ‘Down’ clues separately.
🧩 Theme Analysis: Think Twice – Thursday, 12 February 2026
In WSJ puzzles, the title is your compass. “Think Twice – Thursday, 12 February 2026” likely hints at a wordplay mechanic involving synonyms, added letters, or perhaps a visual pun hidden in the grid. Look closely at the longest Across answers—they usually hold the key to unlocking the puzzle’s core concept.
Interactive Solver
Use the tabs below to switch between Across and Down clues. The grid will update to focus on your selected direction.
Think Twice – Thursday, 12 February 2026
1T
2A
3T
4A
5Y
6E
7L
8P
9T
10E
11S
12T
13S
14E
L
O
I
15O
R
E
O
16A
S
C
O
T
17C
O
U
R
18T
D
A
T
E
19K
E
I
R
A
20H
O
G
T
I
E
S
21T
22H
E
23F
I
N
24H
A
L
L
25D
R
O
P
26K
I
C
K
27A
28M
E
N
29M
A
Y
T
A
G
30B
A
N
K
31R
32O
L
L
33T
I
B
34I
35A
36S
37E
D
U
38E
H
S
39K
E
N
40T
B
A
41T
D
P
42A
S
S
43S
M
A
S
44H
H
I
T
45P
I
T
46I
E
S
47O
A
T
S
48O
49V
50E
R
D
O
N
E
51N
52O
M
S
53T
I
A
54E
P
S
55L
O
V
E
T
56A
57P
58H
O
G
59A
N
60T
61W
O
F
O
R
O
N
E
62E
L
E
C
T
63E
R
T
E
64U
B
E
R
65R
A
R
E
S
66P
Y
R
E
67N
E
W
T
1“Later!”
TATA
5Sharp cry
YELP
9Battery components
TESTS
14“The Time Machine” people
ELOI
15Sweet treat since 1912
OREO
16Foppish accessory
ASCOT
17*Be romantically involved with
COURTDATE
19Knightley of “Atonement”
KEIRA
20Greatly hinders
HOGTIES
21Start of many band names
THE
23Bass part
FIN
24It’s opposite the ballroom on a Clue board
HALL
25*Get over a bad habit
DROPKICK
27“Hear, hear!”
AMEN
29Whirlpool subsidiary
MAYTAG
30*Tilt, like a plane
BANKROLL
33Skeletal pair
TIBIAS
37End of a dean’s address
EDU
38Unsure utterances
EHS
39He wears very little clothing
KEN
40Sched. placeholder
TBA
41Six-pointer from a QB
TDPASS
43*Wallop
SMASHHIT
45Feels for
PITIES
47Stable particles?
OATS
48*Through, as a relationship
OVERDONE
51Chews, in slang
NOMS
53Woman in la familia
TIA
54Pre-album albums, for short
EPS
55Light punch
LOVETAP
58Colonel in a 1960s sitcom
HOGAN
60Good deal, like the answers to the starred clues
TWOFORONE
62Lawn sign verb
ELECT
63Art Deco artist
ERTE
64Company whose work is picking up
UBER
65Hard-to-find game cards, in collector’s lingo
RARES
66Hindu funeral structure
PYRE
67Terrarium creature
NEWT
1Apple field
TECH
2Potatoes, in Indian cuisine
ALOO
3“Grow a spine!”
TOUGHENUP
4Dive shop buy
AIRTANK
5Tyrolean trill
YODEL
6Times worth naming
ERAS
7Service call
LET
8Burns books, e.g.
POETRY
9Go to great lengths
TAKEPAINS
10Jargon suffix
ESE
11FX-heavy genre
SCIFI
12Like bagels
TORIC
13Played pitifully
STANK
18“___ It Happens to You” (Lady Gaga song)
TIL
22Juicy gossip, slangily
HOTTEA
25Lentil dish
DAL
26“The Americans” org.
KGB
27Look out for, perhaps
ABET
28Anti-DUI org.
MADD
29Org. with Fire and Earthquakes
MLS
31Some hospital workers
RESIDENTS
32“You’re embarrassing me!”
OHSTOP
34“There’s no alternative explanation!”
ITHASTOBE
35Kinda
ABIT
36H.S. exams since 1926
SATS
39Autobahn units: Abbr.
KMS
42Boston Marathon mo.
APR
43Bishop’s base
SEE
44Dinger
HOMERUN
46Like a good marching band
INSTEP
48Different
OTHER
49“Twelfth Night” heroine
VIOLA
50Motivated
EAGER
51Credit card incentive
NOFEE
52Lacto-___ vegetarian
OVO
552000s film trilogy, familiarly
LOTR
56Fresh
ANEW
57Fresh
PERT
59True Value rival
ACE
61Ironic
WRY
How to Play the WSJ Crossword
The Wall Street Journal crossword is widely considered one of the best in the country, right up there with the New York Times. It is edited by Mike Shenk, a legend in the puzzle community.
Weekly Difficulty Curve
Monday & Tuesday: Gentle and welcoming. Perfect for newer solvers. The themes are usually straightforward.
Wednesday & Thursday: The difficulty ramps up. You will see more wordplay and fewer direct definition clues.
Friday: The toughest daily puzzle. Expect tricky themes and obscure vocabulary.
Saturday (The Contest): This is unique to the WSJ. The puzzle includes a ‘meta-challenge’ where you must find a hidden answer (usually a single word or phrase) that is not in the grid but is derived from the answers.
Tips for Solving Faster
Fill the Blanks First: Scan the clues for Fill-in-the-blank style clues (e.g., ‘Salt and ___’). These are usually the easiest to get and provide anchor letters for the surrounding harder words.
Another key strategy is to check the 3 and 4-letter words. Words like ‘ERA’, ‘ORE’, ‘ARIA’, and ‘ETE’ appear frequently in crosswords (known as ‘crosswordese’) because of their helpful vowel structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the WSJ Crossword free?
Yes, the Wall Street Journal offers its daily puzzle for free on its website, unlike many other major publications.
What time is the puzzle released?
The puzzle is usually available online at midnight ET.
Who is the editor?
The puzzle is edited by Mike Shenk, who has been steering the WSJ puzzle section since its inception.
