Hit below the belt, in a way

The answer to “Hit below the belt, in a way” in the New York Times crossword is KNEED — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 19, 2025, a Friday puzzle, at 26-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Hit below the belt, in a way” answer

KNEED (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is KNEED.

Why the answer is KNEED

KNEED is the 5-letter solution that fits "Hit below the belt, in a way" in the NYT Crossword crossword on December 19, 2025 (26-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does KNEED mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of KNEED is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “Hit below the belt, in a way” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

December 19, 2025 (most recent) → KNEED. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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