In case you missed Friday’s NYT Mini, you can find the answers here:
Wondering what material Frosty’s pipe is made from? Not sure what a GameCube successor might be? Don’t worry, because I’m here to help you with the answers for today’s NYT Mini crossword.
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.
To help you avoid getting stuck and having to reveal missing letters, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for Saturday, January 4 (spoilers lie ahead, of course):
NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers
NYT Mini Across Answers
1 Across: Baby polar bear — CUB
4 Across: Arctic ___, big-eared critters in white winter coats — HARES
6 Across: Material for Frosty’s pipe — CORNCOB
8 Across: “I’m fr-fr-freezing!” — BRR
9 Across: Poem of high praise — ODE
10 Across: Frosty, e.g. — SNOWMAN
12 Across: Pigs’ digs — STIES
13 Across: Someone who might give bro hugs? — SIS
NYT Mini Down Answers
1 Down: Noses for many a 10-Across (but not Frosty’s!) — CARROTS
2 Down: Caterer’s coffee dispenser — URN
3 Down: Turns into — BECOMES
4 Down: Don’t confuse them with antlers — HORNS
5 Down: CRUSH, SPRITE, SQUIRT and STARRY, in a Connections category — SODAS
6 Down: Network that’s aired the Grammy Awards since 1973 — CBS
7 Down: ___ & Jerry’s —BEN
11 Down: GameCube successor — WII
It took me 1:48 to complete today’s NYT Mini.
Not a bad time for a Saturday Mini! I’ll take that.
I initially thought 4 Across was “foxes” and had never heard of a CORNCOB being used as Frosty the SNOWMAN’s pipe, so those slowed me down a bit. But getting CARROTS quickly was a big help in unlocking many of the answers.
The only reason I was able to get 5 Down so quickly despite only being familiar with one of those as SODAS is because that was a group of words in Connections a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, BRR and the Nintendo WII seem very much like filler answers to make the rest of the grid work but now I’ve got a sudden urge to play bowling on Wii Sports.
Make sure to follow my blog for more coverage of the NYT Mini and other word games, as well as video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! It’s fun there.
