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Favorite team of the "Chicago Pope," for short - NYT The Mini Clue
Across
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The answer is MAT because in yoga classes, participants commonly use a mat for comfort, cushioning, and support during exercises, poses, and stretches. It is an essential item in yoga practice, making it a direct and logical fit for the clue "Yoga class need."
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An umlaut (¨) resembles two small horizontal dots. Rotating it 90° transforms it into a colon (:), a punctuation mark with two vertical dots. The visual shift from one symbol to the other explains why the answer is COLON. This is a clever visual wordplay!
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The clue "That is shocking!" in quotation marks signals a spoken reaction. "OHMYGOD" is a common exclamation expressing surprise, disbelief, or shock, matching the intensity and context of the clue perfectly. It mimics how someone might react verbally to something truly shocking.
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The answer "ARE" completes the title of the reality TV show "Are You the One?". The clue uses a blank to represent the missing word in the title, and "Are" fits grammatically and contextually, forming the show's exact name.
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The answer "OVA" fits because it is the biological term for egg cells (singular: ovum). In reproductive biology, ova are the female gametes or eggs found in animals, directly associated with the clue "Egg cells," making it a straightforward match.
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The clue refers to "royal" sleeping options, implying beds named after royalty. The two common options are a Queen Bed and a King Bed. Since the answer is seven letters, "KINGBED" fits perfectly as one of the two "royal" bed sizes.
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The clue "Bar seating" refers to the type of seat typically found at a bar. A "stool" is a common, high chair with no backrest often used at bars for patrons to sit on. The straightforward nature of the clue points directly to this furniture piece.
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“Chicago Pope” refers to Pope Leo, the newly elected pope from Chicago and a known lifelong White Sox fan. The clue asks for his favorite team, “for short,” which points to SOX, the standard abbreviation.
Down
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The clue "Slices of life" uses wordplay to suggest brief or significant pieces of life experiences. The word "MOMENTS" metaphorically captures these "slices" as short, meaningful, or impactful instances of life, perfectly aligning with the clue's phrasing.
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The answer "ALY" refers to Aly Raisman, a celebrated American Olympic gymnast. She competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, earning multiple gold and silver medals. Her first name, "Aly," is commonly used in crossword clues due to its brevity and familiarity.
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The clue, "Request at the end of a restaurant meal," points to a takeaway-related item. A "to-go box" is commonly requested to pack leftover food at the end of a meal. The phrasing matches the context, as it's a practical and frequent request in restaurants.
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The answer "CHRIS" refers to Chris Hayes, a prominent journalist and television host on MSNBC. He is known for hosting the show "All In with Chris Hayes," making his first name a fitting solution to the clue "Hayes of MSNBC."
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Herman Melville and Cormac McCarthy are both celebrated authors known for their written works, primarily novels. The "medium" here refers to the form of their storytelling—books like Moby-Dick (Melville) and The Road (McCarthy). Thus, the answer "NOVEL" fits perfectly.
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The answer "OAK" fits because oak wood is commonly used to make wine barrels. Oak barrels influence the flavor, texture, and aging process of wine, making it the preferred material for winemakers due to its durability, permeability, and ability to impart subtle tannins and flavors to the wine.
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The answer "DAD" refers to Father's Day, which is celebrated in June in many countries. Father's Day honors fathers and their contributions, making "June honoree" a fitting clue. The keyword "honoree" points to someone celebrated, aligning with the recognition of dads in June.
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The clue "Sticky stuff" directly describes a substance that is viscous and adhesive in nature. "GOO" is a simple, informal term for such sticky or messy material, making it the perfect fit for this clue. Its brevity also aligns with the typical crossword structure.
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Solving today’s NYT Mini Puzzle and stuck on the 3-letter answer to the Favorite team of the "Chicago Pope," for short clue? Don’t worry—Lady Puzzle Pro has you covered! Whether you want the answer right away, revealed letter by letter, or this wordplay seems too puzzling, keep reading for the explanation.
Favorite team of the "Chicago Pope," for short Answer Explained
The answer is SOX.
The phrase “Chicago Pope” isn’t just playful, it refers to Pope Leo, the newly elected pope who was actually born in Chicago and has been a lifelong White Sox fan. That nickname has been making the rounds in headlines and social media since his election. So when I see “favorite team” and “for short,” my first instinct is to think sports abbreviations—either CUBS or SOX. But the clue’s got this wink to recent news, and SOX is the only answer that fits both the Chicago connection and the pope’s well-documented fandom.
Now that you've cracked the 13A Favorite team of the "Chicago Pope," for short clue, you're one step closer to completing today’s Mini Puzzle! If you're still stuck on other clues, don't worry—we've got you covered. Explore more NYT Mini crossword answers right here, or check out our tools for solving the NYT Crossword, Connections, or Strands.
Today’s NYT Mini Highlights
A fun and lively Saturday Mini from Joel Fagliano, with a bit more room to play thanks to the expanded grid. There’s standout wordplay in clues like the one that flips punctuation into a visual riddle and another that relies on a clever nickname-meets-sports reference. A couple of names and pop culture nods add some spice, but overall it’s a well-balanced mix of playful and approachable.
Here’s what caught our attention today:
- Umlaut, rotated 90°
- "That is shocking!"
- Egg cells
- One of two "royal" sleeping options
- Request at the end of a restaurant meal
- Medium for Melville or McCarthy
- June honoree
- Sticky stuff
About NYT The Mini
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.
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 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.