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"Yeah, that bothers me" - NYT The Mini Clue

Across

  • The clue uses wordplay. A "gold ring" refers to a piece of jewelry, while an "onion ring" is a food item. Both share the common feature of being circular, or a "ring," making RING the fitting answer.

  • The answer "EMIR" fits the clue because an Emir is a traditional title for rulers or high-ranking officials in the Middle East, particularly in countries like Qatar and the UAE. It refers to a leader, often hereditary, governing a region or nation in Islamic cultures.

  • In "Jeopardy!," the last round is called the "Final Jeopardy!" round. The clue references this with wordplay, as having just one clue mirrors the format of the game's final round. Therefore, the answer is FINAL.

  • The answer "NEPO" refers to the term "nepo baby," short for "nepotism baby." It describes someone, often in entertainment or media, who benefits from familial connections to achieve success. The blank in the clue represents the common modern phrase "nepo baby," making NEPO the correct solution.

  • The answer "DREW" fits the clue "Competed in Pictionary" because Pictionary is a drawing-based game where players sketch clues for teammates to guess. "Competed" indicates the past tense, aligning with "DREW" as the past tense of "draw," which is the primary activity in the game.

Down

  • The answer "REF" is short for referee, the official responsible for enforcing the rules during a soccer match. As "Soccer official" directly refers to someone overseeing the game, REF fits perfectly as it is the common shorthand for referee.

  • The clue "Yeah, that bothers me" is enclosed in quotes, signaling a spoken or conversational phrase. "I mind" is a natural response to express discomfort or annoyance, matching the sentiment of the clue. It succinctly conveys the idea of being bothered, making IMIND the perfect solution.

  • The San Francisco 49ers are a professional football team. "NINER" is a casual, shortened nickname derived from "49ers," making it an informal way to refer to a player from that team. The clue specifies "informally," aligning perfectly with this abbreviation.

  • The answer is GRAPE because purple Skittles are flavored to mimic the taste of grapes. In the classic Skittles lineup, each color corresponds to a specific fruit flavor, and purple represents grape, a widely recognized pairing in candy.

  • The answer "LOW" refers to Flo Rida's 2007 hit song titled "Low," which features the iconic lyric "Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur." The song is synonymous with these lyrics and became a major pop culture hit, making "Low" the perfect solution to this clue.

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Easy

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Solving today’s NYT Mini Puzzle and stuck on the 5-letter answer to the "Yeah, that bothers me" 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.

"Yeah, that bothers me" Answer Explained

The answer is IMIND.

This is a tricky one because it’s written in quotes, which means we’re looking for a spoken phrase, not a definition. “Yeah, that bothers me” could mean “I care” or “I’m annoyed,” but we need a five-letter phrase that could match the casual tone of the clue. Saying I MIND fits naturally: if something bothers me, I’d say “I mind.” It’s casual, concise, and matches the voice of the clue. A solver might first think of “annoyed” or “irked,” but those are adjectives; this is more conversational, like something you'd say aloud.

Now that you've cracked the 2D "Yeah, that bothers me" 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 smooth and snappy Monday Mini from Joel Fagliano today, great for easing into the week. The puzzle touches on pop music, sports, snack foods, and TV trivia, with a fun mix of classic and current references. As usual with Joel’s Monday grids, it’s accessible but still has a few clever clues to keep you on your toes.

Here’s what caught our attention today:

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.

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