September 17’s NYT Mini Crossword featured a smooth mix of clever clues and direct answers.
Tricky clues like “Could be better, could be worse” tested pattern recognition and wordplay skills.
Today’s puzzle leaned easy, making it perfect for a quick, confidence-boosting midweek solve.
The NYT Mini Crossword for today offered a neat little challenge with cunning clues combined with a sprinkling of pop culture and down-to-earth references. The grid of September 17th was easy, but a couple of clues might have made solvers pause before hitting the right answer. Here's a full rundown of today's puzzle's clues, hints, and solutions.
The NYT Mini Crossword is considered a short version of the New York Times Crossword. While the standard crossword fills a large 15x15 grid, the Mini Crossword uses a smaller size of 5x5 so it can be finished in a few minutes. These short, snappy clues serve as a great mental warm-up to start the day, and the clue-writing style usually involves a witty pun or a timely pop culture reference.
1 Across: Could be better; could be worse-SO-SO
5 Across: Attractive, muscular guy-HUNK
6 Across: 1/23/45 and 6/7/89-DATES
7 Across: The name of a famous flat-rack furniture-maker, IKEA
8 Across: Job plus one-PERK
1 Down: Ice cream drink-SHAKE
2 Down: Word with space or Banks-OUTER
3 Down: Quarterback running play-SNEAK
4 Down: Signs off on-OKS
6 Down: Buy the ___ (investing strategy)-DIP
Today’s puzzle was approachable, but a few clues stood out. “Could be better, could be worse.” Pointing to SO-SO might have stumped some solvers, as the phrasing is casual and open to multiple interpretations.
DATES for “1/23/45 and 6/7/89” were another clever clue that rewarded pattern recognition rather than trivia knowledge. The pop culture nod in OUTER (think Outer Banks on Netflix) gave the grid a modern touch.
The Mini of September 17 was an easy puzzle for midweek solving. Most clues were direct and came quickly once a few letters had been placed. The puzzle was a good mixture of general knowledge, sports, and everyday language, so solvers could enter from various points. Those with confidence were likely rewarded with a smooth and satisfying solve.
The NYT Mini Crossword on September 17 presented an excellent quick-solving experience, with a few clever twists. For anyone who got stuck on SO-SO or DATES, this was the puzzle that reminded us that even small grids can take you by surprise. Do keep returning daily for hints and solutions so your solving flair stays sharp while bringing you up to speed on the day's wordplay.