This clue appeared in the NYT Crossword on Saturday, February 28, 2026 (8 Down). The answer is hidden below until you want it. Saturday puzzles are the hardest of the week and themeless, so clues are often deliberately misleading.
How to read this clue
The question mark warns of wordplay. Expect a pun or a second meaning rather than a straight definition.
Answer length: 5 squares
First letter
R _ _ _ _
First and last letters
R _ _ _ S
Show the answer
About the answer
REEFS as a word: a novel by Kevin O'Donnell Jr. published in 1981.
REEFS has been an answer 2 times in the NYT Crossword and Mini since February 28, 2026.
Other clues with the same answer
More clues from this puzzle
- Drink often sipped (4 Down)
- Rap pioneers, slangily (5 Down)
- Space to develop as a person? (6 Down)
- In brief, to whom Grover Cleveland once said "I am making a strange wish for you ... that you may never be president of the United States" (7 Down)
- Dialect that is responsible for a large majority of Gen Z slang (9 Down)
- Put one's foot down (10 Down)
- Decorative items worn at Western galas (11 Down)
- Like defendants at court (12 Down)
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