In case you missed Friday’s NYT Mini, you can find the answers here:
The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper’s larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.
Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you’ll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.
The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can’t quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer.
To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course):
NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers
ACROSS
1) Gross thing to find stuck under a desk – GUM
4) New ___ (browser button) – TAB
7) Common lunch hour – ONE
8) Ex-QB Manning – ELI
9) The dad in the “That’s my dad!” moment from the 2024 Democratic National Convention – TIMWALZ
11) Nail polish layers – COATS
12) Many top 10 Billboard songs – POPHITS
14) 401(k) alternative, in brief – IRA
15) One may read “You Are Here” – MAP
16) Conclude – END
17) What each of Taylor Swift’s albums represents, to Swifties – ERA
DOWN
1) Acquired – GOT
2) Mythical creature that’s a national symbol of Scotland – UNICORN
3) Accessory for notes and doodles – MEMOPAD
4) Afternoon break for a cuppa – TEATIME
5) Top-flight athlete – ALLSTAR
6) Slang for the entertainment industry, with “the” – BIZ
10) Baby’s cry – WAH
12) Circular kind of chart – PIE
13) “Me day” destination – SPA
What a puzzle today. That’s probably the most total words I’ve ever seen in one of these, given that there are so many three letter ones all over the place. We got a bit of politics in there with TIM WALZ, so you need to have some basic election knowledge for that. I learned that Scotland really treasures the UNICORN here, and I messed up one letter for about three minutes because I thought POPHITS was TOPHITS and that was not ideal. How did you do?
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
