NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers & Hints

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!

All Past NYT Mini Puzzles

Today’s NYT Mini Highlights with Answers Explained

This Wednesday puzzle by Tracy Bennett cleverly rocks the grid with a playful nod to a classic hand game! It’s a sharp, lighthearted midweek challenge. Let's break it down:

Target of the Clean Air Act

The answer is SMOG.
This clue references legislation aimed at reducing air pollution. SMOG, a mix of smoke and fog, is one of the most visible forms of air pollution. When solving, I immediately thought of related terms like "emissions" or "haze," but SMOG fits the brevity of crossword answers. It's a straightforward clue with a clear environmental angle, so if you missed it, don’t feel bad—it might just not have clicked right away.

It beats 6-Down, but not scissors

The answer is PAPER.
This clue instantly brought Rock-Paper-Scissors to mind. The clue is part of a pair with 6-Down and depends on your familiarity with the classic game.

___ acids

The answer is AMINO.
This is a classic fill-in-the-blank clue that narrows down your options. AMINO acids are the building blocks of proteins and a common biology term.

Over-the-top excited

The answer is MANIC.
This clue describes someone who’s excessively or uncontrollably energetic. While “hyper” or “ecstatic” might come to mind, MANIC carries a slightly more intense connotation, often tied to emotional or mental states.

Try to find

The answer is SEEK.
A short, simple clue that’s wonderfully to the point. SEEK means to search for something, making it a perfect synonym for "try to find."

Messages that might be automatically deleted after 30 days

The answer is SPAM.
SPAM is the bane of every inbox—those unsolicited, often irrelevant, emails that sometimes self-delete if left ignored.

Some parents, to their little ones

The answer is MAMAS.
This clue refers to how children often call their mothers. MAMAS is a sweet, informal term of endearment that’s easy to solve if you focus on the familial tone of the clue. If you were thinking of "dads" or "papas," the word “some” and the letter count should guide you here. A heartwarming, family-friendly moment in the grid.

Conjecture out loud

The answer is OPINE.
To OPINE is to express an opinion, often publicly or audibly. The word "conjecture" points toward speculation or stating thoughts, and the addition of “out loud” emphasizes the verbal nature of OPINE. A slightly more formal word for everyday speech, but perfect for crosswords.

"Your wish is my command" speaker

The answer is GENIE.
This one is pure fun! The phrase “Your wish is my command” is iconic and immediately evokes images of a magical GENIE granting wishes. A whimsical addition to the grid.

It beats scissors, but not 5-Across

The answer is ROCK.
Another Rock-Paper-Scissors reference! ROCK beats scissors but loses to PAPER (5-Across). If you caught the pattern earlier, this one should feel like solving a puzzle within the puzzle. The symmetry between 5-Across and 6-Down is clever, and it’s a fun way to add continuity to the grid. If you missed it, it might be a good reminder to look for connections between clues.

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.

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

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.

NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints

Across

Down