NYT Mini Crossword: Tips and tricks to solve this quick, fun puzzle
My late mother-in-law, Grace, loved crossword puzzles. I firmly believe it kept her mind active well into her 80s. I don’t have the patience to do it all. New York Times Crossword Puzzle most days, but I always have time for the Mini Crossword Puzzle. It’s super satisfying to finish a puzzle and hear the little triumphant tune, and see how long it took you to complete it. (Top solvers do it in about 30 seconds — I can’t even type all the answers that fast!)
If you get stuck, you can always find the answers to Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword on the CNET homepage. Scroll down and look for the heading “Daily Puzzle Answers” to see the answers.
Here are some tips and tricks for solving The New York Times Mini Crossword.
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Solve in a different order
Look at the clues and go straight to the ones you know for sure. As with any crossword puzzle, once you have filled in a few answers, you will have letters to help you solve the more difficult ones.
Look for repeated or related clues
The New York Times Mini Crossword loves related clues, just like the big crossword puzzle. For example, a recent Mini Crossword had two clues that were both “Apple product.” But one was about apples you eat (CIDER) and the other about computer products (MAC). When you see a repeated clue, keep an open mind about all meanings.
Read more: Everything I Learned from Playing Wordle for 1 Year
Desktop over mobile
I do almost everything on my phone, but I’ll say it anyway: it’s a lot easier to do The New York Times Mini Crossword on a large laptop or desktop screen than on a small phone screen.
Read more: Learn from the 5 most difficult connection puzzles so far
Clues with only one answer are your friend
Some crosswords are real bunglers. They’re vague enough that more than one word can fit in. (“Best of the best” recently turned out to be “elite,” but it could have been “champ” or something like that.) But others have only one possible answer — look for clues like this. For example, “Author of The Shining” can only be STEPHEN or KING.
Read more: Tips to win at Strands
Don’t be afraid of wrong answers
While I recommend trying the easy clues first, if you’re not sure about an answer, fill in your guess. Always be aware that it’s a guess. Once the other answers start filling in around it, it’s easy enough to change it — no eraser needed online.
Not all answers are one word
You’ll quickly notice a few of the Mini Crossword’s own little quirks. For example, not all of the answers are one word. In a recent puzzle, the clue was “am not!” and of course the answer was two words. And don’t get hung up on one answer. I assumed the answer to “am not!” was “are to!” but instead it was “are so!”
Google if you must
Yes, you can Google the answers if you are stuck. Maybe you can’t remember the title of the third Game of Thrones book, because let’s be honest, most readers know the titles, but not in the exact order. There is no code of honor in puzzles, except the one you set yourself.
