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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints

Across

  • The "opposite ends of the earth" refer to the two extreme geographical points on Earth's axis: the North Pole and the South Pole. These are the literal opposites on the globe, making "POLES" the fitting solution to this straightforward geographical clue.

  • The answer is RHINO because it refers to the rhinoceros, which has two main species commonly called "white rhino" and "black rhino." Despite these names, their skin colors are similar—both are gray. The clue humorously clarifies this fact, adding a bit of trivia to the solution.

  • The clue "Plant deeply" refers to firmly placing or fixing something, much like embedding an object into a surface. "EMBED" captures this meaning, as it describes securely planting, inserting, or lodging something, aligning perfectly with the idea of planting deeply.

  • The clue "What's coming to you?" with a question mark indicates wordplay. KARMA refers to the concept of actions having consequences—good or bad—that "come back to you" in the future, aligning with the idea of "what's coming to you." It cleverly plays on karma's cause-and-effect principle.

  • The answer "NAY" fits the clue "No" vote because "nay" is a common term used in formal voting settings, such as parliamentary or legislative procedures, to represent a negative vote or disagreement. The quotation marks in the clue indicate the answer is spoken or verbal, matching "nay" as a vocalized "no."

Down

  • The answer "PREK" is short for "pre-kindergarten," a program for children aged 3-5 before formal schooling begins. The clue says "informally," indicating an abbreviation or casual term. "PREK" is commonly used to refer to this early childhood education stage in a concise, informal way.

  • The clue "That's crazy, dude!" is informal and conversational, indicated by the slangy tone. The phrase "OH MAN" is an exclamation expressing disbelief, surprise, or shock, aligning perfectly with the sentiment of someone reacting to something wild or unbelievable. Hence, OHMAN fits as the answer.

  • LIBRA is the astrological sign that follows Virgo in the zodiac calendar. The zodiac consists of 12 signs, each associated with specific dates. Virgo ends around September 22nd, and LIBRA starts immediately after, typically on September 23rd.

  • The phrase "Sworn ___" refers to someone committed to opposition or hostility. A "sworn enemy" is a person with a deep, declared animosity or hatred towards someone else. The word "enemy" completes the common phrase, making it the correct and logical answer.

  • The clue “Pop bottles, e.g.” uses wordplay. "Pop" refers to the fizzy drink (a synonym for soda), and "bottles" are the containers they come in. Thus, “Pop bottles” describes soda bottles, making SODA the correct answer. The "e.g." confirms it's an example.

Today’s Game Difficulty

2.3 / 5
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!

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Today’s NYT Mini Highlights

A playful and balanced Wednesday Mini by Joel Fagliano. The puzzle blends concepts from astrology, animals, morality, early education, and casual slang, touching on everything from preschool to cosmic justice.

Today's Tricky Wordplay

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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.

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