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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
NYT Crossplay Solver 
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The clue "Mother chicken" refers directly to a female chicken, which is called a HEN. "Mother" here indicates the adult female of the species, aligning perfectly with the word HEN as the solution. There’s no wordplay—this is a straightforward definition clue.
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The answer is LADY because "leading lady" refers to a prominent female actor in a performance, and "first lady" is a title for the wife of a head of state or someone of prominent status. Both phrases commonly use "lady" as the second word, fitting the clue.
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DANDY means excellent, fine, or just peachy. It's also today's clever theme revealer: D and Y are the two letters that appear most frequently in the grid, showing up together in several answers like LADY, HANDY, EDDY, DRY, and DAD.
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The answer is AIDY because Aidy Bryant is a well-known comedian and actress who was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" (S.N.L.) from 2012 to 2022. Her first name directly matches the clue, making it a straightforward reference to the performer.
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The answer is DRY because overcooked chicken loses its moisture, becoming dry in texture. The clue describes a characteristic of improperly cooked chicken, and “dry” accurately captures the resulting condition. This is a straightforward description without wordplay.
Down
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The clue "Helpful" directly describes someone or something that is convenient, accessible, or useful—qualities associated with the word "HANDY." If you're "handy," you’re resourceful and able to provide assistance, aligning perfectly with the clue’s meaning.
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The answer "EDDY" fits "Swirl of water" because an eddy is a circular movement of water, often occurring when water flows around an obstacle. It naturally describes a small whirlpool or vortex, matching the clue literally.
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The Yankees, on scoreboards, are abbreviated as "NYY," representing their team name, the New York Yankees. Scoreboards often use three-letter abbreviations for team names to save space, so "NYY" succinctly stands for "New York Yankees" in sports contexts.
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The solution is LAIR because a "lair" refers to a secretive or secluded hideout, often associated with villains in stories or fiction. Since the clue specifies "Supervillain's hideout," it aligns perfectly as a common term for where a supervillain might secretly plan their schemes.
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The clue "___ joke" refers to the term "dad joke," which is a punny or overly simple joke often associated with fathers and their humor style. For instance, “Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field.” The answer is DAD.
Today’s Game Difficulty
Easy
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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
Joel Fagliano gave us a fun little surprise today: a themed Wednesday Mini. That's pretty unusual, and I didn't even notice it at first because the puzzle went down so smoothly. As I filled in more entries, though, all those repeated DY endings started to stand out: LADY, HANDY, EDDY, DRY, DAD, and more. The revealer, DANDY, tied it together perfectly. "Just peachy" is a nice definition on its own, but it's also a clever hint that D and Y are the two letters appearing most often in the grid. I always enjoy when a Mini sneaks in an extra layer like that without making the solve any harder. A cute, satisfying theme that made an already quick Wednesday puzzle a little more memorable.
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.