This clue appeared in the NYT Crossword on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 (2 Down). The answer is hidden below until you want it. Wednesday sits mid-week in difficulty, with more wordplay than Monday or Tuesday.
Answer length: 4 squares
First letter
O _ _ _
First and last letters
O _ _ E
Show the answer
About the answer
OBOE as a word: (music) A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It ...; (World War II era, joint US/RAF) radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter O.
OBOE has been an answer 12 times in the NYT Crossword and Mini since December 7, 2025.
Other clues with the same answer
- Instrument also called the "sprightly companion"
- Light wind?
- Instrument usually pitched in C
- Thin woodwind
- Orchestral woodwind
- Musical instrument whose second syllable sounds like a part of other musical instruments
- Woodwind related to the cor anglais
- Orchestra-tuning instrument
- The duck in "Peter and the Wolf"
- Most common instrument in New York Times crosswords, with over 800 appearances
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