{"id":2160,"date":"2026-02-01T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/?p=2160"},"modified":"2026-02-01T07:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:00:17","slug":"nyt-crossword-analysis-feb-1-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/nyt-crossword-analysis-feb-1-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NYT Crossword Analysis (Feb 1, 2026): Mutated Puns!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sunday Funday! After a challenging wrestle with Saturday\u2019s NYT Crossword<\/a>, I\u2019m now very happy with today\u2019s puzzle; it contains some of the best clues I have seen throughout the week and its theme once more proves why I love crosswords! Without any hesitation, let\u2019s get to the NYT Crossword analysis of Feb 1!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of today\u2019s crossword is really complex (wait a minute, it is Sunday, isn\u2019t it?!) Let me give you a hint before even stating the analysis of the theme: the answers of all italicized questions (23, 37, 40, 65, 88, 94 and 113-Across) are \u201cmutated\u201d. You got more confused? So I will explain to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at my favorite clue, 113-Across: \u201cFrozen treat for Bruins fans?<\/a>\u201d somehow, this entry was a revealer for me. It shed light on the main theme of the puzzle. The answer is POPSICLEBOSTON<\/strong>. For one minute, I was wondering how the answer is related to the question, but then everything clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before revealing the whole thing, let\u2019s check some similar clues first (this analysis is like a maze!): 43-Across (Atomic bond, essentially?<\/a>) solves to TWOPARTICLEHARMONY<\/strong> and 94-Across (Shark\u2019s singing rival in \u201cWest Side Story\u201d?) read as LYRICALJET<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is common element among these clues? Nice catch! I knew you’d see the pattern. It is the -ickle or -ical item which is added to every answer of italic questions, a sound-add indeed. Now everything is clear. In fact, you should find a common pair of words and add an “-ickle” sound to one. TADA, you create a silly new phrase!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you may also like: NYT Crossword Analysis (Jan 29, 2026): Everything in a Row!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

113-Across is a play on Pops Boston<\/strong>, a symphony group of the city. 43-Across should read as Two Party Harmony<\/strong> and 94-Across must be Lyric Jet<\/strong> (watch West Side Story!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it is time for the big reveal, the title of the grid is \u201cComical Mutation\u201d. Do you remember I told you all the answers are mutated? The title itself originates from the word \u201cCommutation\u201d which means substitute one thing for another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncovering the rest of the clues are up to you! With the help of this analysis, you can find the logic behind the other riddles. Let me know in the comments if you solve the other clues and also post your finish time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need the answers for daily crossword puzzles like the\u00a0NYT Crossword<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0NYT Mini<\/a>, make sure to check\u00a0Daze Puzzle<\/a>\u00a0every day to find the solutions you need in record time.<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday Funday! After a challenging wrestle with Saturday\u2019s NYT Crossword, I\u2019m now very happy with today\u2019s puzzle; it contains some of the best clues I have seen throughout the week and its theme once more proves why I love crosswords! Without any hesitation, let\u2019s get to the NYT Crossword analysis of Feb 1! The theme …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crossword-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2160"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2165,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions\/2165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazepuzzle.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}