The New York Times daily crossword is legendary. But maybe you don’t often have the time to devote to a puzzle of that size. That’s where the Mini Crossword comes in. It only has a few clues and answers. The New York Times Mini Crossword is a 5 x 5 grid Sunday through Friday, and a 7 x 7 grid on Saturdays. (Maybe they figure most players have more time to relax with a puzzle on Saturday?)
The Mini Crossword is much easier than the old-school NYT Crossword, and you probably can complete it in a couple of minutes. But if you’re stuck, we’ve got the answers.
The Mini Crossword is far from alone in the New York Times’ stable of games. Our home page also always has the answers for Wordle, Connections and Strands.
Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini Across Clues and Answers
1A Clue: School org. for moms and dads.
Answer: PTA
4A Clue: Polymath extraordinaire Sir ____ Newton.
Answer: ISAAC
6A Clue: Symbol of the Olympics.
Answer: TORCH
7A Clue: Stale and overused, as a saying.
Answer: TRITE
8A Clue: “Absolutely!”
Answer: YES
Mini Down Clues and Answers
1D Clue: Site of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Answer: PARIS
2D Clue: Good social skill.
Answer: TACT
3D Clue: Really feel a rigorous workout
Answer: ACHE
4D Clue: ____ – bitty.
Answer: ITTY
5D Clue: Really feeling a rigorous workout.
Answer: SORE
How to Play More Mini Crosswords
The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
