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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints

Across

  • The phrase "Hit the stores" means to visit or go shopping, which directly aligns with the answer "SHOP."

  • The phrase "Cross one's fingers" is commonly associated with wishing for good luck or desiring a favorable outcome. This aligns with "HOPE," making it the perfect match for this clue.

  • The clue "Here's a thought!" uses wordplay. A thought originates in the brain, so "BRAIN" is a clever response connecting the idea of thinking to its source. The exclamation point adds a playful tone, implying the pun-like association between thinking and the organ responsible for it!

  • The answer "RERUN" fits because an old episode of a TV show is often repeated and referred to as a rerun. "Rerun" directly means to air or broadcast something previously shown, making it synonymous with an old episode.

  • The answer "ADDME" directly responds to the clue "Request for a follow on social media." On platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, users often use phrases like "Add me" to ask others to connect or follow their profiles. It's a common and casual expression for this request.

Down

  • The answer "SHRED" works because it directly means to tear or cut something into small pieces, such as shredding paper or fabric. "Tear to pieces" and "SHRED" are synonymous, both describing the action of breaking something into smaller fragments aggressively.

  • The answer "HOARD" fits the clue "Be bad at throwing things away" because to hoard means to accumulate and keep items, often excessively, rather than discarding them. A hoarder struggles to let go of possessions, perfectly tying to the idea of being "bad at throwing things away."

  • The magic poppy field in "The Wizard of Oz" puts Dorothy and her companions to sleep. This references opium, a drug derived from poppies, historically known for inducing sleep or a dreamlike state. The connection between "poppy" and its narcotic effect points to OPIUM as the answer.

  • The answer is PENNE because penne is a type of pasta that is cylindrical or tubular in shape. It perfectly fits the straightforward description of "Tubular pasta."

  • The solution "BRA" fits the clue because bra sizes are indeed measured in "cups," such as A, B, C, etc., which indicate the volume of the cups in the garment. This ties directly to the clue's reference to "sizes measured in cups."

Today’s Game Difficulty

2 / 5
Easy

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Hit a roadblock solving today's NYT The Mini? Lady Puzzle is happy to lend a hand. Click her for hints, reveal the entire puzzle, uncover squares one by one, or explore clue answers. Whatever solving style you prefer, this is your go-to tool for finishing NYT's The Mini Crossword!

All Past NYT Mini Puzzles

Today’s NYT Mini Highlights

Today’s Wednesday Mini by Joel Fagliano is quick and easy, definitely simpler than yesterday’s puzzle. The clues are pretty direct, with topics like shopping, cooking, classic movies, and social media. A few pop culture references show up, but nothing too tricky. A fun and light midweek solve!

Today's Tricky Wordplay

Here's what caught our attention today:

What is NYT The Mini Crossword?

NYT The Mini Crossword is a compact version of the New York Times Crossword puzzle. Usually 5 x 5, with larger grids on Saturdays, it offers mid-week equivalent difficulty clues with no progression over the week. It is accessible to anyone with or without a New York Times account. You can play it on nytimes.com/crosswords, The New York Times Games app (iOS and Android), and the Play tab of the New York Times News app. Games and All Access Subscribers can solve past Mini Crossword puzzles in the archive.

Daily Availability

Puzzles are accessible the evening before the publish date. Weekday and Saturday puzzles: 10 p.m. EST the previous day. Sunday puzzles: 6 p.m. EST on Saturday.

Today's NYT Puzzle Guides by LadyPuzzle Pro

How to Play - Features and Tips

Fill white squares with letters to form intersecting words or phrases by solving clues in Across and Down columns. Read our guide to NYT Mini Mastery to learn how to read the different types of clues.  Successfully completed puzzle triggers music and a congratulatory message.

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Arrow keys: Change direction within the same square, move in the direction of the arrow, jump back to the first blank in the word, or jump to the next clue.
  • Spacebar: Clear the current square, advance, or toggle between Across and Down.
  • Backspace (Delete on Macs): Remove words or a letter from a word.
  • Tab key: Jump to the next clue.
  • Shift + Tab keys: Jump to the previous clue.
  • Escape: Enter Rebus mode.
  • Pen and Pencil Modes. Switch between pen and pencil modes by selecting the respective icon. Letters in pen mode are black; in pencil mode, gray.

Letter Colors

Black: Default pen mode entries.
Gray: Pencil mode entries.
Blue: Confirmed letters with Check.
Mini Timer

Time your solving with the timer displayed above the puzzle. Pause/resume using the respective buttons. The timer restarts if the entire puzzle is cleared. Option to hide the timer in Puzzle settings.

In-game Help

  • Reveal: Unveil correct letters for a square, answer, or the entire puzzle.
  • Check: Verify correctness. 

The answers you get using help are marked with a red triangle in the upper right-hand corner of the box while those confirmed with a check become blue.

Leaderboards

It’s an additional social resource provided by NYT. You can add friends (up to 100 invitees) to track daily completion and compete.

Daily Challenges Beyond NYT Games

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