Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"

Latest answer — March 12, 2026

49 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Thursday, March 12, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Game point?
  2. 7Settings for "Nurse Jackie" and "The Pitt," in brief
  3. 10Mideast's Gulf of ___
  4. 14"Das Lied von der Erde" composer
  5. 15Camper's foldout
  6. 16Natural hairstyle
  7. 17Celebrity supercouple of the 2000s
  8. 18Incredibly committed
  9. 20Slowly, in scores
  10. 21Second-most-populous city in the U.S.
  11. 22100 nanojoules
  12. 23Citrus portmanteau
  13. 25Sticks around for a demo?
  14. 26Doraphobe's fear
  15. 29Bookings for a D.J.
  16. 32Did very well on the final, say
  17. 34Star of a three-time World Cup champion team
  18. 36Classic '60s muscle car
  19. 37Rejoices
  20. 38Sultanate that once controlled Zanzibar
  21. 39Stand for a portrait
  22. 41Snippet
  23. 42Slip-on or slide
  24. 44Hullabaloo
  25. 45Collectible frames
  26. 46Rest period
  27. 47Get right down to business
  28. 49Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"
  29. 50Funny
  30. 52Half a score
  31. 53Work on a picture, perhaps
  32. 56Some double-headed drums
  33. 58Camper's craft
  34. 60Turpitude
  35. 63Setting for "Quincy, M.E.," on 1970s-'80s TV
  36. 64Operating system developed at Bell Labs
  37. 65Toeholds
  38. 66Get positioned
  39. 67Lush hair's quality
  40. 68Caribbean music genre
  41. 69Abundance

Down

  1. 1Saunter
  2. 2Like black opals vis-à-vis diamonds
  3. 3Move to pass, perhaps
  4. 4Touched down
  5. 5Symbolize
  6. 6"Folklore" or "Evermore," for Taylor Swift
  7. 7Guitar pedal effect
  8. 8Comedic takedown
  9. 9Mad scientist in a 1964 Kubrick title
  10. 10Natural fluid containers
  11. 11What a drone might be mistaken for
  12. 12Carry the ball in volleyball, e.g.
  13. 13Actress Kravitz
  14. 19Step in rehab
  15. 21"Whole ___ Red" (2020 Playboi Carti album)
  16. 24Activist/scholar known for her work in the prison abolition movement
  17. 26Heavenly outcast ... or a hint to something found three times in this puzzle
  18. 27Up to
  19. 28Barely speaks
  20. 30Hawks
  21. 31"Such a shame"
  22. 33Stanley of "Conclave"
  23. 34Group surrounding a star
  24. 35Item in a drafts folder
  25. 40Text tweaks
  26. 43Make right
  27. 48Cry for more
  28. 51Hurricane or mudslide
  29. 54Be important
  30. 55Things to bare
  31. 56Hot
  32. 57Disney heroine who builds her own palace
  33. 59Tchaikovsky's "Letter Scene," e.g.
  34. 60Trivia night locale
  35. 61Shout in a card game
  36. 62Purge
  37. 63Do some lawn work

The answer to “Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"” in the New York Times crossword is ELS — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on March 12, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 49-Across. 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.

“Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"” answer

ELS (3 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 ELS.

Why the answer is ELS

ELS is the 3-letter solution that fits "Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"" in the NYT Crossword crossword on March 12, 2026 (49-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does ELS mean?

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

(noun)

  • (in the US) an elevated railway, especially that in Chicago

When else has “Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"” 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.

March 12, 2026 (most recent) → ELS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"”?

The answer is ELS, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on March 12, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"”?

3 letters: ELS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on March 12, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 49-Across.

Can “Sports great Ernie known as "The Big Easy"” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for March 12, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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