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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
Across
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The answer is BANFF because Banff National Park, located in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, is Canada’s first national park and one of its most famous. The clue directly refers to its geographic location, making BANFF the correct and well-known answer.
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The clue "Elevator choice" refers to the option you select when using an elevator. When inside, you typically choose a FLOOR number where you want to go. The answer directly connects to the common function of elevators, making FLOOR the clear and logical solution.
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The answer "FERRY" fits because ferries are a common mode of transport in cities with significant waterways like Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. These cities rely on ferries to transport passengers across their respective water bodies, such as Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, and the Hudson River.
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The answer is RAT because the 2007 Pixar film "Ratatouille" features an unlikely chef—Remy, a rat—who dreams of cooking in a French restaurant. The unexpected juxtaposition of a rat, typically associated with filth, as a chef creates the basis for the clever wordplay in the clue.
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The clue "Honor ___ father ..." references the biblical commandment "Honor thy father and thy mother" from the Bible (Exodus 20:12). The word "thy" is used in older English to mean "your," fitting perfectly into the quote.
Down
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The answer "BFF" stands for "Best Friends Forever," a commonly used informal term to describe someone’s closest pal. The clue specifies "informally," so it hints at an abbreviation or casual phrase, aligning perfectly with "BFF" as slang for a very close friend.
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The clue "Text notification, e.g." refers to a signal or prompt that alerts a person to a received text. "ALERT" fits perfectly as it is a general term for notifications or warnings, such as a sound or message, often associated with texts or other communications.
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The answer is NORAH because Norah Jones is a famous Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who released the hit album Come Away With Me in 2002. The title track, also named "Come Away With Me," is one of her most well-known songs, making her the clear answer to this clue.
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The answer is FORTY because in the famous Middle Eastern folk tale from "One Thousand and One Nights," Ali Baba encounters a group of 40 thieves. They are central to the story where he discovers their treasure and learns the magic phrase "Open Sesame" to access it.
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The answer "FRY" works because fries are a common fast-food item that often escape their container and wind up loose at the bottom of the bag. The word "perhaps" in the clue signals this is a plausible, though not definitive, scenario, matching the playful tone.
Today’s Game Difficulty
Normal
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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 Thursday Mini by Joel Fagliano brings a mix of geography, music, literature, and food. You’ll see a national park, a folk tale reference, a Grammy-winning singer, and even a Pixar character.
Today's Tricky Wordplay
Here's what caught our attention today:
- National park in the Canadian Rockies
- Means of transport in Seattle, San Francisco and New York
- Unlikely chef in a 2007 Pixar film
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.