How to Play the NYT Mini Crossword

Open the official New York Times Mini Crossword, pick an Across or Down clue, and type the answer into the highlighted entry. Each letter you place also helps another crossing clue.

Most Mini grids are small enough to solve in a few minutes, but abbreviations, wordplay, and proper nouns can still slow you down. The best method is to fill the obvious short answers first, then use crossings to test the trickier entries.

TECHi keeps three permanent Mini pages: today for the current answer set, yesterday for the previous grid, and this how-to page for rules and solving strategy.

The NYT Mini Crossword is the bite-size daily crossword from The New York Times: a compact grid — usually 5×5 — with a handful of Across and Down clues you can often finish in a minute or two. It's the friendliest entry point in the NYT Games lineup, and it's free. For today's answers and clue help, see the Mini Crossword hints and answer page; this guide covers how it works and how to solve it quickly.

What is the Mini Crossword?

The Mini is a scaled-down crossword: where the full NYT crossword is a 15×15 (or larger) weekend marathon, the Mini packs a complete puzzle into a small grid with short, punchy clues. There's one new Mini each day, it's built to be solved fast, and the timer running in the corner is part of the appeal for streak-keepers.

How it works

• Across and Down clues. Every white square belongs to one Across answer and one Down answer; the number in a square marks where a clue's answer begins.
• Crossing letters. Because each square is shared, solving one answer hands you letters for the words that cross it — the crossings are how you break open the clues you don't know.
• No penalty for trying. You can type freely, and the puzzle lets you check or reveal a square, a word, or the whole grid if you get stuck.

Strategy for a fast solve

• Start with the fill-in-the-blank and short clues. Three- and four-letter answers and "_"-style clues are usually the quickest wins, and they seed crossing letters for the harder ones.
• Work the crossings, not one clue in isolation. If an Across answer won't come, solve the Down words that cross it; a couple of confirmed letters often make the answer obvious.
• Mind the question mark. A clue ending in "?" signals wordplay or a pun rather than a literal definition — don't take it at face value.
• Re-read clues after you have letters. A clue that meant nothing cold often clicks once two or three crossing squares are filled.
• Learn the common short words. Crossword grids lean on frequent vowel-heavy short answers (ERA, OREO, ALOE, ARIA); recognizing the usual suspects speeds up the corners.

A few quick facts

The Mini Crossword is free on the NYT site and app, refreshes daily, and is built to be solved in a minute or two. The crossings are your best tool — every letter you confirm makes the intersecting clue easier — so when you're stuck on one answer, solve the words that cross it.

For today's complete grid and clue-by-clue help, visit the Mini Crossword hints and answer page, updated daily.