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Yesterday's NYT Mini Crossword Answers and Hints
Across
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The clue "Clean with elbow grease" directly suggests a cleaning method requiring physical effort. "Elbow grease" is a common idiom for hard work or vigorous scrubbing. SCRUB fits perfectly as it means to clean a surface by rubbing it forcefully, aligning with the clue's intent.
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The answer is PRUNE because wrinkly fingers, such as those seen after soaking in water, resemble the deeply wrinkled surface of this dried fruit. The clue uses a visual pun—comparing the texture of prunes to water-wrinkled skin. Thus, the wordplay connects the fruit (prune) to its wrinkled appearance.
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The clue "Meenie miney" preceder refers to the famous counting rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe." The word that comes before "meenie" in this sequence is "eenie," making it the correct solution. The quotes signal it's a phrase or spoken reference.
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The clue "Light bulb units" refers to the measurement of electrical power used by light bulbs, which is measured in WATTS. A watt is the standard unit of power, quantifying the energy consumed by the bulb. This precisely fits the clue as it relates to the technical measure for bulbs.
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The clue "Meenie miney" follower refers to the well-known rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." In this sequence, "Moe" directly comes after "Meenie miney," making it the correct answer. The quotation marks indicate the clue is referencing something verbal or familiar like this rhyme.
Down
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The word "SPEW" means to eject or expel something forcefully, often in large amounts, such as liquid, gas, or words. This matches the clue "Erupt with force," as it describes a powerful, uncontrolled release, making SPEW the fitting answer.
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The clue "Doughnut filling" directly references common ingredients found inside doughnuts. CREAM is a classic and popular filling, such as in Boston cream or cream-filled doughnuts, making it the correct and logical solution. It's a straightforward association with no wordplay involved.
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The phrase "Total, as expenses" refers to calculating the overall amount of costs. "Run to" is often used idiomatically to mean "add up to" or "amount to" a specific total. Therefore, the total expenses can "run to" a certain sum, making RUNTO the correct answer for this clue.
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The clue "Come together as one" directly implies merging, joining, or forming a single entity. The word UNITE perfectly captures this meaning, as to "unite" means to combine or join together into a unified whole, aligning clearly with the clue's request.
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The clue "They're often abuzz about coneflowers" contains wordplay. "Abuzz" refers to the buzzing sound bees make. Coneflowers are known for attracting pollinators, especially bees, which are often found around them. Therefore, BEES is the fitting answer connecting the buzz and the flowers.
Yesterday’s Game Difficulty
Easy
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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.
- Clean with elbow grease
- Fruit to which wrinkly fingers are compared
- "Meenie miney" preceder
- Total, as expenses
- They're often abuzz about coneflowers
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.