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___ days (time of summer suggested by the answers to the starred clues) - NYT The Mini Clue
Across
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The answer is LAB because scientists commonly conduct experiments, research, and analyses in a laboratory, often abbreviated as "lab." It directly fits the clue “Workplace for scientists” as labs are central to scientific work in fields like chemistry, biology, and physics.
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The clue "*Grub" refers to food or something to eat. "Chow" is a slang term for food, often used informally or in casual settings. The asterisk suggests this clue is a themer and today's theme is types of dogs.
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The answer "DOXED" fits because "doxing" is the act of maliciously revealing someone's private or personal information, such as their identity, often online. The clue specifies "informally," which aligns with "doxed" being a casual, modern term frequently used in digital contexts.
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The clue specifies "in Spanish," so the answer must be a Spanish word. "But" in Spanish translates to "PERO," which is used to contrast or introduce an opposing idea, similar to how "but" functions in English. Hence, PERO is the correct solution.
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The clue “Gasoline type: Abbr.” asks for a shortened form of a gasoline grade. REG is the abbreviation for "regular," a common type of gasoline offered at fuel stations. The abbreviation matches the clue’s format, making REG the correct solution.
Down
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The clue "TV screen option, for short" refers to types of display technology. LCD stands for "Liquid Crystal Display," a commonly used screen type in TVs and monitors. The key phrase "for short" indicates the answer is an abbreviation, aligning perfectly with "LCD."
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The clue "___, a skip and a jump" refers to the phrase "a hop, a skip, and a jump." The blank represents the first part of this phrase—"a hop"—which aligns with the word "AHOP" as the answer. This fits the idiomatic progression of actions in the phrase.
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The clue ends with a question mark, signaling wordplay. “Jabs” refers to punches in boxing, making a “boxer” someone who constantly throws them. The pun plays on both the literal sport and the figurative “taking jabs” at someone. Since this is a starred clue in today’s puzzle, it also ties into the theme — BOXER is not just a fighter but also a breed of dog, linking it to the “dog days” revealer.
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The clue "Used to be" refers to a past state or existence, making "WERE" the correct answer. "Were" is the past tense of "are," indicating something that existed or occurred in the past. The clue directly describes this grammatical usage.
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The phrase "dog days" refers to the hottest period of summer, historically linked to the rising of the Dog Star, Sirius, in ancient astronomy. In this puzzle, the starred clues are actually breeds of dogs, giving the theme a playful double meaning — both the literal dogs in the grid and the figurative “dog days” of summer.
Today’s Game Difficulty
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Solving today’s NYT Mini Puzzle and stuck on the 3-letter answer to the ___ days (time of summer suggested by the answers to the starred clues) 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.
___ days (time of summer suggested by the answers to the starred clues) Answer Explained
The answer is DOG.
This is the puzzle’s theme revealer. The phrase “dog days” refers to the hottest part of summer, historically tied to Sirius, the Dog Star, in ancient astronomy. Here, the starred clues are all dog breeds — CHOW, BOXER, and LAB. So “dog days” works on two levels: it’s the literal summer phrase and it describes the presence of multiple dog breeds in the puzzle. Theme revealers like this are meant to tie the whole puzzle together and give that satisfying “aha” moment when you realize the connection between unrelated clues.
Now that you've cracked the 7D ___ days (time of summer suggested by the answers to the starred clues) 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 Tuesday Mini by Joel Fagliano is a fun example of a themed Mini, something we’ve been seeing more often lately as the Minis take cues from the full-size Daily. This one even includes a theme revealer at 7-Down, rare for a puzzle this small. The starred clues are the themers, and together they point toward a familiar phrase for a hot stretch of summer. There’s even a bonus hidden themer at 8-Across: Spanish “but” (PERO), which sounds almost like perro, the Spanish word for “dog.” The result is a tight, layered theme where each starred clue works both in its surface meaning and as a nod to a breed, making the grid feel extra cohesive.
Here’s what caught our attention today:
- *Grub
- Maliciously revealed one's private identity, informally
- ___, a skip and a jump
- *Someone who's always taking jabs at you?
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.