It’s Saturday afternoon, which means we have Sunday’s NYT Mini Crossword to solve. The New York Times has stuffed this fun little game behind the NYT Games App paywall, unfortunately, but you can still play on the desktop site by pressing “escape” a couple times (apparently). That’s the workaround I’m aware of but, of course, subscribing to the Games app is also an option. In any case, let’s solve today’s Mini!
Looking for Saturday’s NYT Mini Crossword? Here are some hints and answers.
The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword. While it used to be free, in August the Mini was placed behind the NYT Games App paywall. This has led to a noticeable decline in people playing the game, unfortunately. You can check out all of the NYT Games, free and paid, right here.
A Mini Crossword is typically just 10 to 20 clues, with only Saturday’s puzzle on the upper end of that spread. Here’s what a basic NYT Mini looks like:
Follow the clues and come up with as many words as possible, and then use the letters from those words to fill in the remaining words you were unsure about. A good rule of thumb is to skip ahead whenever you don’t know something and come back to the clue later. Of course, if you still need help at that point, read on below for hints and answers.
The best way to play the NYT Mini Crossword is to try to beat your previous speed or play competitively with a friend and see who can fill out their Mini the fastest. This is not a long, laborious task like the normal NYT Crossword. It’s a game of speed and agile thinking.
Spoilers ahead!
How To Solve Today’s NYT Mini Crossword
Before we get to the answers, here’s the first letter for each word in today’s Mini.
Across
1A. [Gross!] — G
4A. Finish off, as a tube of toothpaste — U
7A. Argentine dance style — T
8A. Dish : dirt :: ___ : tea — S
9A. The “E” of REM — E
Down
1D. 2023 Olivia Rodrigo album with the hit single “Bad Idea Right?” — G
2D. “Right away!” — A
3D. Disney role for Robin Williams or Will Smith — G
4D. Like a Christmas sweater, perhaps — U
6D. Festivus centerpiece — P
Today’s Mini Crossword Answers
Okay, onto the answers! Remember, spoilers ahead!
Across
1A. [Gross!] — GAG
4A. Finish off, as a tube of toothpaste — USE UP
7A. Argentine dance style — TANGO
8A. Dish : dirt :: ___ : tea — SPILL
9A. The “E” of REM — EYE
Down
1D. 2023 Olivia Rodrigo album with the hit single “Bad Idea Right?” — GUTS
2D. “Right away!” — ASAP
3D. Disney role for Robin Williams or Will Smith — GENIE
4D. Like a Christmas sweater, perhaps — UGLY
6D. Festivus centerpiece — POLE
Here are the filled in answers:
This was a surprisingly tough Mini Crossword! I blame that, in part, on knowing next to nothing about Olivia Rodrigo, let alone the names of her albums (or songs, for that matter). Thankfully, I did know what roll Robin Williams and Will Smith shared: The Genie from Aladdin (and not that Will Smith was bad, but nobody compares to Robin Williams). REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, so that was easy enough, bit by bit I figured out UGLY for sweaters (KNIT did not work) TANGO for the dance (a popular crossword dance) and eventually, 1 minute and 48 seconds later, I had this one. Slow and steady wins the race.
How did you do? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog. Thanks for reading!
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