How to Play the NYT Mini

The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.

Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you’ll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.

The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can't quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer.

To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course):

NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers

ACROSS

1) Slangy greeting - SUP
4) Turn down an offer - SAYNO
6) Banknotes across the Atlantic - EUROS
7) Part of pizza that roughly 20% of people don’t eat, according to YouGov polling - CRUST
8) Interact with a smartphone screen - TAP

DOWN

1) Many a Starbucks flavoring - SYRUP
2) "___, dos, tres, catorce!" (famously inaccurate start to U2’s "Vertigo") - UNOS
3) Tweet, e.g. - POST
4) Religious offshoot - SECT
5) Overall vibe - AURA

I used to get Caramel Macchiatos every day at Starbucks but I ultimately realized they were just making me more tired than anything thanks to all the syrup, so I just switched to black Cold Brew so I have way less sugar and way less of a good tasting drink. The sacrifices we make, I suppose.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.