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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
Across
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The clue "Thanks, I ___ you one!" mimics casual speech, where someone expresses gratitude for a favor owed. The blank fits the word "OWE," completing the phrase "I owe you one," a common way of acknowledging a debt or favor in return.
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The answer "HEN" fits the clue "Egg-laying mother" because a hen is a female chicken, known for laying eggs. The term "mother" reinforces the hen's role in reproduction, while "egg-laying" directly describes its biological function. This makes HEN the perfect solution for the clue.
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RHUBARB is the solution because it is a plant known for its tart, red stalks, which are commonly used in desserts, especially pie fillings. Its distinct flavor makes it a classic ingredient in rhubarb pie. The clue directly describes this unique characteristic of the plant.
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The answer "GIRLDAD" refers to a father who is particularly proud of having daughters. This term has gained popularity in modern lingo, especially on social media, to celebrate dads who embrace and cherish raising daughters. It's a casual, affectionate phrase fitting the "lingo" part of the clue.
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SOURS is the solution because it refers to a category of beers known for their tart or acidic taste, achieved through specific brewing processes like fermentation with wild yeast or bacteria. The clue directly describes the distinctive flavor profile of these beers, making SOURS a perfect fit.
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The solution is STCROIX because St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands by land area. The clue directly refers to size, and St. Croix measures approximately 84 square miles, making it larger than the other islands in the territory, such as St. Thomas or St. John.
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The clue "Wedding companion" refers to a guest you invite as your date to a wedding. The term commonly used for such a guest is a "plus one," as invitations often allow bringing an additional guest, written as "plus one." Hence, the solution is PLUSONE.
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The clue "Mm-hmm" is enclosed in quotes, indicating it's a spoken expression. "Mm-hmm" is a casual, affirmative response, and "YEP" is an informal way to say "yes," matching the tone and meaning of the clue. Both expressions are colloquial affirmations.
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The answer "MGS" refers to the band "Booker T. and the MG's," a highly influential instrumental soul group formed in the 1960s. The clue prompts recognition of the group’s full name, with "MG's" completing the phrase.
Down
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The answer is ORG because Wikipedia is a nonprofit organization, and its website uses a ".org" domain extension, which is commonly associated with nonprofit groups. "URL ender" in the clue specifically points to the final part of Wikipedia's web address, making ORG the correct answer.
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The clue “It might be blown in the fourth quarter” references a whistle, which is often blown by referees in sports during crucial moments, such as to signal the end of a game or to stop play, often occurring in the fourth quarter of timed sports like football or basketball.
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The EUROCUP is an informal term for the UEFA European Football Championship, a continent-wide soccer tournament held among European national teams. "Informally" hints at the casual abbreviation, and "continent-wide" refers to it being a Europe-specific competition. Hence, EUROCUP fits perfectly as the solution.
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The clue "Wasn't too full for dessert" hints at the idea of still having space or capacity for dessert. The answer, HADROOM, plays on this by stating they had room — meaning they weren’t too full and could fit in dessert. It's a straightforward phrase reinterpreted cleverly.
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The clue "Wiping, as a hard drive" directly refers to the act of completely removing or deleting data from a hard drive. The word "erasing" is synonymous with wiping in this context, especially in the tech world where "erase" is used for data deletion.
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The clue, "Texter's 'Don't worry about it,'" is looking for a common texting abbreviation. NBD stands for "No Big Deal," a casual way of saying "Don't worry about it," often used in text conversations. Its simplicity aligns with the clue's conversational tone.
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The clue "Fuzzy photo features" refers to elements in a photo that appear indistinct or unclear. The word "BLURS" accurately describes these fuzzy areas, as blurring is the visual effect that makes parts of a photo lose sharpness and detail, aligning perfectly with the clue's description.
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The answer is SPY because both "Slow Horses" and "Black Doves" are espionage dramas centered on intelligence operatives. Many characters in these shows are spies, engaging in covert operations, a fitting connection to the clue.
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The clue “Crosses (out)” hints at marking something out or eliminating it. The word "Cross" can be represented by the letter "X," and "out" implies multiple marks or crosses. Pluralizing "X" results in "XES," representing the act of crossing out with multiple X marks.
Today’s Game Difficulty
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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!
Today’s NYT Mini Highlights
Today’s Mini is a bit of a milestone: the first paid Saturday version comes in an expanded 7×7 grid, giving solvers more room to stretch out. Sam Ezersky, best known as the editor of Spelling Bee, packs the puzzle with a range of lively topics. You’ll find entries touching on food and drink, some pop culture references, and even a bit of geography tucked in. The larger grid size means we get a mix of short snappy answers alongside some longer, more satisfying fills, closer to the feel of a Daily puzzle but still quick to 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.
For years, the Mini was free to play daily without a subscription. However, starting August 27, 2025, it became subscriber-only. This change has frustrated many fans, especially as the Mini had grown more ambitious, incorporating themes, wordplay tricks, linked clues, and even echoing entries from the Daily Crossword. In hindsight, these evolutions may have been the Times’ way of positioning the Mini closer to its flagship puzzle.
Here on our page, access is still free, and we also feature the most complete Mini archive and solving resources available anywhere.
We also offer a fresh daily game, Word of Fortune, inspired by Mini-style clues and blending features from other favorites: players must guess a single word from a clue, with the option to spin a wheel for letter hints.
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
- Today's Wordle
- Connections Hint Today
- NYT Pips Today - Hints & Solutions
- NYT Crossword Answers Today
- Strands Answers Today
- Spelling Bee Hints
- Connections Sports Edition (The Athletic)
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.