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Yesterday's NYT Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
Across
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LAMB is the solution because shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern dish, traditionally uses spiced and marinated meats, with lamb being one of the most common and traditional choices due to its flavor and availability in the region. It's often grilled or roasted on a vertical spit.
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The clue “Brainstorm outputs” refers to the results or products of a brainstorming session. During brainstorming, people generate creative thoughts or solutions, which are commonly called “ideas.” Thus, the plural “IDEAS” perfectly aligns with the clue's wording as its logical answer.
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The clue "Cunningly sidestep, as a difficult question" suggests avoiding or evading something tricky. To "dodge" means to skillfully avoid or sidestep, perfectly aligning with the idea of evading a challenging question. The word "cunningly" emphasizes the clever, evasive nature of this action, matching the definition of DODGE.
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The clue "Marketing pitch" refers to a persuasive or promotional speech designed to sell something. "SPIEL" is a synonym for such a speech, often implying a practiced or enthusiastic delivery, making it the perfect fit for this clue.
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At Starbucks, the term "Tall" represents their smallest serving size of hot or cold beverages, which is 12 ounces. While "Tall" may imply a larger size, it’s part of Starbucks’ unique naming system, where sizes include Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz), and Venti (20 oz).
Down
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The clue "Pot heads?" with a question mark signals a pun or wordplay. Here, "heads" refers to the top part of a pot, which is its lid. Thus, LIDS cleverly fits as the answer, creatively interpreting "Pot heads" as the covers or tops of pots.
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The answer "ADOPT" fits because "bringing home from a shelter" often refers to adopting a pet, such as a dog or cat. The word "maybe" suggests a potential action, not a certainty, aligning with the process of choosing to adopt an animal from a shelter.
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The answer is MEDIA because "media darling" is a common phrase referring to someone who consistently receives positive or favorable attention from the press and news outlets. The blank before "darling" completes this well-known term.
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The answer is BAGEL because it’s a classic breakfast food often paired with cream cheese. The clue directly describes this popular combination, as bagels are commonly sliced and spread with cream cheese as a topping. No wordplay or misdirection here—it's a straightforward description of a familiar breakfast item.
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The clue involves wordplay linked to finance. In a bear market (a declining stock market), "bears" are pessimistic investors who expect prices to fall. As a strategy, they sell stocks to prevent losses or profit from the decline. Thus, the answer "SELL" fits both the pun and market context.
Yesterday’s Game Difficulty
Normal
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Rate This Solver
Missed solving yesterday's NYT The Mini or playing in a different timezone? We've got you covered. Meet Lady Puzzle, our charming avatar ready to assist! Click her for hints, reveal the entire puzzle, uncover squares one by one, or explore clue answers. No matter your solving style, this is your ultimate tool for completing NYT's The Mini.
Top Clues from Yesterday’s Mini
Below is a selection of the most intriguing clues from yesterday’s NYT Mini Puzzle. These stood out for their clever wordplay, the things they taught us, or just the fun challenge they brought. Whether you missed them or only want to see why they caught our attention, here are our favorite clues that made solving yesterday’s puzzle fun and rewarding.
- Traditional meat for shawarma
- Cunningly sidestep, as a difficult question
- Marketing pitch
- 12-ounce size at Starbucks
- Pot heads?
- ___ darling (one getting favorable news coverage)
- Breakfast item with cream cheese
- What bears do in a bear market
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.
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 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.