The New York Times Mini Crossword may be small, but it’s designed to catch you off guard.
Unlike its full-sized cousin, the Mini forces you to think quickly. It packs a sharp mental workout into a compact 5x5 grid, ideal for short breaks.
A tiny puzzle doesn't mean it’s always easy.
When you’re stuck on a clue, our daily hints and answers will help keep the momentum going.
Where to Play
You can play the Mini Crossword on the New York Times website, the NYT Games app, or within the Play tab of the main News app.
Past puzzles are available to Games and All Access subscribers.
When the Puzzle Drops
- Weekdays + Saturdays: Available at 10 p.m. EST the night before.
- Sundays: Drops earlier at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday.
How It Works
Fill the grid by solving Across and Down clues. You’ll know you’ve solved it correctly when music plays and a congratulatory message appears.
There’s no streak feature like Wordle, but you can track your solve time and compete with friends on the Mini leaderboard.
Game Features and Shortcuts
- Timer: See how quickly you can complete the puzzle.
- Reveal and Check tools: If you’re stuck, reveal a letter, word, or check your answers.
- Keyboard shortcuts: Use arrow keys, spacebar, tab, and more (on desktop).
- Pen and Pencil Mode: Toggle between confident solves and tentative guesses.
Across
Moves (over) in one's seat
The answer is SCOOTS
Capital of Taiwan
The answer is TAIPEI
___ Bee
The answer is SPELLING
___ Bee
The answer is SAMANTHA
"Family Guy" baby
The answer is STEWIE
Sings in the Alps
The answer is YODELS
Down
Like some clams and freshly cleaned shirts
The answer is STEAMED
What an online meeting invite gets added to, for short
The answer is CAL
Vinegar's counterpart
The answer is OIL
Morphine and codeine, for two
The answer is OPIATES
First inning in extra innings
The answer is TENTH
Greek "S"
The answer is SIGMA
Full of back talk
The answer is SASSY
"Allegory of the Cave" philosopher
The answer is PLATO
In the style of
The answer is ALA
Device with a keypad that's typed on discreetly, for short
The answer is ATM
Wonderstruck feeling
The answer is AWE
Nothin'
The answer is NIL
Looking for quick crosswords to sharpen your mind? Check out our NYT Mini Crossword hub for daily grids, hints, and answers.
See Also
Explore more daily puzzles and NYT game solutions.
- Tomorrow's NYT Mini Crossword: Clues and answers
- Yesterday's NYT Mini Crossword: Clues and answers
- Today's NYT Strands: Hints and answers
- Today's NYT Connections: Hints and answers
- Today's NYT Wordle: Hints and answers
- Today's NYT Spelling Bee: Hints and answers
- Try another mind-bending puzzle on our Quizzes page

