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Gooey diner sandwiches - NYT The Mini Clue
Across
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This is wordplay! The “heart of summer” means the middle letters—MM. When you say those out loud, you get EMS. It's sneaky because it looks like a regular clue, but the trick is all about how you pronounce the two M’s together.
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The answer "PLEA" fits because it describes an earnest, emotional request, often made with urgency or sincerity. The word perfectly aligns with the clue's tone, as "pleas" are typically heartfelt appeals, whether in personal contexts or legal settings, embodying the emotional aspect indicated by the clue.
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The answer "BELLY" works because it forms common phrases: "belly aching," meaning excessive complaining, and "belly dancing," a well-known dance form. The clue asks for a word that naturally precedes both "aching" and "dancing," and "belly" fits perfectly in both contexts.
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The Premier League is an English football league, and many of its clubs are based in the UK. Fans of these clubs predominantly come from Britain, making "BRITS" a fitting answer. The clue emphasizes a generalized group (many fans), aligning with British supporters.
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The clue specifies a nacho topping and mentions a rhyme with "3-Down." QUESO, the Spanish word for cheese, is a common nacho topping. The rhyme connection works because both QUESO and the 3-Down answer ("sayso") share the "-so" ending. Thus, QUESO is correct.
Down
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The answer is ELLIE because she is one of the main protagonists in the popular video game and HBO series "The Last of Us." Ellie, alongside Joel, is central to the storyline, making her a leading role in this post-apocalyptic narrative.
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The answer "MELTS" fits because it refers to warm sandwiches where cheese or other ingredients are melted, creating a gooey texture. These are commonly served in diners, aligning with the clue’s description of "Gooey diner sandwiches." The word "gooey" directly evokes the melted cheese often found in melts.
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The answer "SAYSO" fits the clue "Authoritative approval" as it refers to having the authority or final word to approve or decide something. When someone has the "say-so," it means they have the power to authorize or approve decisively.
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Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, is located in the Andes on the border between Peru and Bolivia. The clue specifies "Country on one side," so PERU is correct because it borders the western side of Lake Titicaca.
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BBQ is short for "barbecue," a common chip flavor known for its orange-and-brown seasoning that mimics the smoky, tangy taste of grilled barbecue. The clue specifies "for short," indicating an abbreviation, which matches BBQ. The color reference hints at the appearance of barbecue-flavored chips.
Today’s Game Difficulty
Hard
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Solving today’s NYT Mini Puzzle and stuck on the 5-letter answer to the Gooey diner sandwiches 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.
Gooey diner sandwiches Answer Explained
The answer is MELTS.
I read “gooey” and “diner,” and think cheese. “Sandwiches” confirms it’s something warm and comfort-food adjacent. Grilled cheese is too long, and the plural “sandwiches” means we want a plural answer too. MELTS fits nicely, it refers to sandwiches like tuna melts or patty melts, where gooey cheese and a hot filling are the signature combo. This is a clue that works best if you’ve been to a classic American diner menu or know the food vocabulary. It might trip up solvers unfamiliar with the term or looking for something more specific, like Reubens or clubs.
Now that you've cracked the 2D Gooey diner sandwiches 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
Today’s Sunday Mini by Sam Ezersky, the maestro behind Spelling Bee, is a compact delight with some clever touches, especially a pair of cross-referenced clues that rhyme and hint at a playful hidden phrase when read together. If you say them aloud in order, you might catch a familiar food-related catchphrase tucked in there. It’s a small wink to solvers who enjoy wordplay beyond just definitions. The puzzle also blends everyday references with more imaginative clueing (including a classic misdirect involving the “heart” of a season), showing Sam’s knack for making even a 5x5 grid feel packed with character.
Here’s what caught our attention today:
- The heart of summer?
- Emotional request
- Word before aching or dancing
- Many fans of Premier League clubs
- Nacho topping that rhymes with 3-Down
- Leading role on "The Last of Us"
- Authoritative approval
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.
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