In case you missed Thursday’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here:
It’s not only the last day of the work week, it’s the first day of August. Happy August, Crosswordlers! The last full month of summer is here, so make the most of it. It’s also pretty much the weekend, or very nearly. We really should consider moving to a 4-day work week and a 3-day weekend, not that it matters to me much anymore. I work every day! But when you love your job, that’s not such a bad thing. In any case, it’s time to solve this Mini Crossword. I’m off the rotation for a couple weeks, but I’ll see you mid-August!
The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword, and unlike its larger sibling, it’s free-to-play without a subscription to The New York Times. You can play it on the web or the app, though you’ll need the app to tackle the archive.
Spoilers ahead!
How To Solve Today’s Mini Crossword
Before we get to the answers, here’s the first letter for each word in today’s Mini.
Across
1A. Arm-y greeting – H
4A. Undiluted … or a country with its vowels swapped – P
5A. Ballroom dance … or a country with its vowels swapped – T
6A. Played a role – A
7A. Eisenberg of “The Social Network” – J
Down
1D. Ketchup brand – H
2D. Eggs on – U
3D. Crystal-lined rock – G
4D. Marathoner’s concern – E
5D. ___ Mahal – T
Okay, onto the answers! Remember, spoilers ahead!
Across
1A. Arm-y greeting – HUG
4A. Undiluted … or a country with its vowels swapped – PURE
5A. Ballroom dance … or a country with its vowels swapped – TANGO
6A. Played a role – ACTED
7A. Eisenberg of “The Social Network” – JESSE
Down
1D. Ketchup brand – HEINZ
2D. Eggs on – URGES
3D. Crystal-lined rock – GEODE
4D. Marathoner’s concern – EXERTION
5D. ___ Mahal – TAJ
This one threw me off. Or, rather, my brain just turned upside down. I read 4 and 5 Across backwards, basically, and entered PERU and TONGA instead of PURE and TANGO. Silly me. It’s late, I’m tired. What can I say? Once I’d fixed that, however, I was able to get the rest fairly easily. This one took me 1:38.
How did you do? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog. Thanks for reading!
