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NYT’s The Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
Across
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The answer is COIN because a classic magic trick often involves the magician "producing" a small object, like a coin, from a seemingly impossible location, such as behind someone's ear. It's a common and iconic illusion in magic performances, making the coin the fitting solution.
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The Floss and the Griddy are both specific dance moves. The clue uses "Do" to hint at performing an action, and no question mark suggests a straightforward answer. Hence, DANCE fits perfectly as it describes the general action of performing these moves.
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The term "Helpful pointer" refers to something that directs or indicates, and an ARROW is a symbol or object commonly used to point or guide (e.g., on signs or maps). The wordplay here ties the literal use of an arrow as a pointing device to the metaphorical "pointer" in the clue.
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The clue “Moody sorts, often” hints that the answer involves a group commonly associated with moodiness. Teenagers (TEENS) are stereotypically known for their emotional changes and mood swings due to hormonal shifts during adolescence, making "TEENS" a fitting, pun-like answer.
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The clue "Sums up" refers to the act of combining or totaling numbers. The word "ADDS" directly aligns with this definition, as it means to combine or total quantities—summing them up. The verb tense matches as well, making ADDS a precise fit for the clue.
Down
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The phrase "Gave a hoot" means to care, pay attention, or show concern. The past tense "gave" aligns with "cared," which is also past tense. Hence, "CARED" is the correct solution, capturing the idea of someone who showed concern or interest.
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The answer is ONRED because the phrase "No Turn On Red" is a common traffic sign found at intersections. It indicates that drivers are prohibited from making a right turn at a red light. The clue references this specific traffic rule, completing the phrase appropriately.
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The clue "App images" refers to the small visual representations used in apps to symbolize functions or features. These are commonly called icons. The plural form, "images," matches the plural answer "ICONS," fitting perfectly as a visual and functional element of apps.
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The "N" in CNN stands for "News," as CNN is short for Cable News Network. This straightforward clue directly references the network's name, where "News" is one of its key components.
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The phrase "Numbers to crunch" refers to analyzing or processing numerical information, often associated with data work like computations or statistics. The crunching of numbers usually involves working with data sets, making "DATA" the fitting answer as it represents the raw information being analyzed.
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
Joel Fagliano’s Thursday Mini brings a fun mix of literal and figurative thinking. There’s a touch of stage magic, a street-sign abbreviation, and even an old idiom hiding in the grid. Those trickier spots push solvers to think beyond straightforward definitions, while the rest of the clues balance things out with direct, familiar answers. It’s a well-paced puzzle—challenging enough to feel lively for a weekday, but still snappy and quick to solve, especially once you crack the clever misdirects.
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.