Anesthetic of the past

Latest answer — July 31, 2026

15 Down

This old-fashioned operating-room vapor once sent patients gently to sleep. 💤

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WSJ Crossword

This clue's Friday, July 31, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Hacker’s goal
  2. 7“1,000 songs in your pocket” advertiser
  3. 11Hurried flight
  4. 14Coal stratum
  5. 18“Roamin’ in the ___” (1912 Harry Lauder song)
  6. 19Longest river entirely within Switzerland
  7. 20Bonobo, e.g.
  8. 215 for B or 6 for C, e.g.
  9. 22Home of Velázquez’s “Las Meninas”
  10. 23Grumpy or Happy on wash day, maybe?
  11. 26Away from home
  12. 27Hero helped by the divine monkey Hanuman
  13. 29Road trip stops
  14. 30GI thumbing a ride from Fort Bragg to Fort Benning?
  15. 34Capital on the Missouri River
  16. 35The Chariot or the Tower, e.g.
  17. 362013 Joaquin Phoenix movie about an AI crush
  18. 37Take a load off
  19. 38Olympic paddler
  20. 42Inexperienced educator?
  21. 48From the start
  22. 49“___ would like to play” (2006 ad slogan)
  23. 50Frozen Wasser
  24. 51Cheeky, say
  25. 52Boccie-loving Doberman?
  26. 59“Girl, Interrupted” Oscar winner
  27. 60Bygone jet
  28. 61Colleague of Cleese and Idle
  29. 62Tailless amphibian
  30. 63Stared stupidly
  31. 64Musket attachment
  32. 66Chicago’s largest newspaper
  33. 68Impressively tough
  34. 71Part of QED
  35. 73Harden (to)
  36. 74Business with sweaters
  37. 77Wrong
  38. 78“I’ll take whatever beef or pork is available, thanks”?
  39. 81Shankar with a sitar
  40. 82Closely monitored hosp. section
  41. 83Fraction of a joule
  42. 84Kate, to Archie and Lilibet
  43. 85Roy Campanella or Charles Johnson, e.g.?
  44. 89Unspecified
  45. 93___ Lingus
  46. 94Paris accord?
  47. 95Valentine’s gift
  48. 96Evaluate
  49. 100Praise for a former British prime minister?
  50. 106Mobile home?
  51. 108“Very funny!”
  52. 109Still in the game
  53. 110Central American plotting a coup?
  54. 113Took a road trip
  55. 115___ II (Gillette brand)
  56. 116Word after bachelor or mouse
  57. 117Salt or smoke, say
  58. 118Gridiron squads
  59. 119Spanish painter with murals in 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s lobby
  60. 120“___ Beso” (Paul Anka song)
  61. 121“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” singer seen as the last part of this puzzle’s theme answers
  62. 122Parched place

Down

  1. 1Permit
  2. 2Acknowledge
  3. 3Indigenous West Indian people
  4. 4Flow forth
  5. 5Caesar of comedy
  6. 6Bothersome bunkmates
  7. 7Confession starter
  8. 8Play with, kitten-style
  9. 9Singer Rita
  10. 10German article
  11. 11Focused beam
  12. 12Bldg. divisions
  13. 13Mrs. Lovett’s wares, in “Sweeney Todd”
  14. 14Paris’s ___-Coeur
  15. 15Anesthetic of the past
  16. 16Lend ___ (listen)
  17. 17Code creator
  18. 18Polite fellow
  19. 24Brest brother
  20. 25Indian yogurt-and-cucumber dip
  21. 28Cuts like ___ knife through butter
  22. 31Three-prong Japanese weapon
  23. 32Resurrection figure
  24. 33Tee follower
  25. 37Commotion
  26. 38Line at LaGuardia
  27. 39Yucatán years
  28. 40Semiaquatic salamander
  29. 41Athena’s symbol
  30. 42Bar supply
  31. 43Calling for
  32. 44“Jerry Maguire” director Cameron
  33. 45Skeletal ship
  34. 46Falco of “The Sopranos”
  35. 47Sax piece
  36. 49Aging facility
  37. 53“Count me out”
  38. 54Opposition answers
  39. 55Day-___ paint
  40. 56Pesto bit
  41. 57Bed in a barracks
  42. 58Painter/AIDS activist Keith
  43. 59Singer Jackson
  44. 63Spiritual guide
  45. 64No-frills
  46. 65Pic on a pec
  47. 67Condescending address for a man
  48. 68Fishhook feature
  49. 69Human rights activist Clooney
  50. 70Met headliner
  51. 72“The heavens speed ___ thine enterprise!”: Portia
  52. 74Elisabeth of “Leaving Las Vegas”
  53. 75Slammers
  54. 76Critic’s concern
  55. 78Rent-___
  56. 79Clearance tag abbr.
  57. 80Hall of Famer Ripken
  58. 82Antarctic expanse
  59. 86Casey with a countdown
  60. 87Sky streaker
  61. 88Shade
  62. 89Chris of “Law & Order”
  63. 90Hanging one’s head
  64. 91___ culpa
  65. 92Mount Vernon and Monticello, e.g.
  66. 95Lion, at times
  67. 96Dr. visits
  68. 97Market unit
  69. 98Sub system
  70. 99Put into practice
  71. 100South American barbecue
  72. 101Pointer’s word
  73. 102Garlic unit
  74. 103Personnel head, at times
  75. 104Happening
  76. 105Cincinnati team
  77. 107Cries of insight
  78. 111Roman 300
  79. 112Bewildered response
  80. 114Bullring cry

The answer to “Anesthetic of the past” in the Wall Street Journal crossword is ETHER — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on July 31, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 15-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.

“Anesthetic of the past” answer

ETHER (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 ETHER.

Why the answer is ETHER

This old-fashioned operating-room vapor once sent patients gently to sleep. 💤

What does ETHER mean?

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

(noun)

  • a pleasant-smelling colourless volatile liquid that is highly flammable. It is used as an anaesthetic and as a solvent or intermediate in industrial processes
  • the clear sky; the upper regions of air beyond the clouds
  • a very rarefied and highly elastic substance formerly believed to permeate all space, including the interstices between the particles of matter, and to be the medium whose vibrations constituted light and other electromagnetic radiation

When else has “Anesthetic of the past” appeared?

Wall Street Journal 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.

July 31, 2026 (most recent) → ETHER. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Anesthetic of the past”?

The answer is ETHER, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on July 31, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Anesthetic of the past”?

5 letters: ETHER.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the Wall Street Journal crossword on July 31, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 15-Down.

Can “Anesthetic of the past” have a different answer?

Yes — Wall Street Journal 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 WSJ answers?

The full grid for July 31, 2026 is on the WSJ answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

Wall Street Journal Crossword is published by The Wall Street Journal; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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