Turns on the waterworks

The answer to “Turns on the waterworks” in the New York Times crossword is CRIES — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on August 30, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 68-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.

“Turns on the waterworks” answer

CRIES (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 CRIES.

What does CRIES mean?

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

When else has “Turns on the waterworks” 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.

August 30, 2026 (most recent) → CRIES. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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