In case you missed Friday’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here:
We’re back, baby! Or, rather, I’m back. It’s been a couple weeks since I last penned a Mini Crossword guide, but here we are, mid-April, and I have returned. Huzzah! Saturday’s Mini is the biggest of the week, so let’s get right down to it . . . .
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!
ACROSS
1- Do, re, mi, fa, ___, la … — SOL
4- Still up in the air, for short — TBD
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7- With 14-Across, “?????” — THATS
9- ___ Grande — RIO
10- Bone connecting the elbow and wrist — ULNA
11- Things issued by the DMV — IDS
12- Elaborate hairstyle — COIF
13-Part of the eye that contains the iris — UVEA
14- See 7-Across — CONFUSING
15- “Sure whatever you say . . .” — OKAY
16- 24 cans of beer — CASE
DOWN
1- Plaster wall coating — STUCCO
2- “Hey, check it out!” — OHLOOK
3- Weather phenomenon that translates to ‘the girl’ — LANINA
4- It’s full of questions — TRIVIA
5- White House family during the 2020s — BIDENS
6- Medicinal amount — DOSAGE
8- Chewy candy — TAFFY
13- Sch. that plays home football games at the LA Coliseum — USC
This was a big Mini even by Saturday standards. I didn’t heed my own advice, and got really hung up on early words instead of just skipping and going back, which is why this took me nearly five minutes to complete. The very first one threw me, because I didn’t think it was SOL in the do re mi song. I thought it was “SO” so I entered SEW since it was three letters. That caused issues down the line. 7 and 14 Across were, indeed, CONFUSING (and a bit annoying, to be honest) and I would never finish the phrase “Sure, whatever you say” with “okay” so I initially entered DUDE. But okay, sure, whatever you say, dude. I also put LENS instead of UVEA for 13-Across. I messed up a bunch before easier stuff like BIDENS and TAFFY and LANINA made me see the error of my ways. But I do love a good challenge, so I can’t complain.
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!
