NYT Crossword Answers — June 20, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for June 20, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from POT, LISBON, ESS, WHEAT. Saturday pairs a Portuguese capital with a grainy 7-Across. Because the Mini is so compact, every square does double duty — each letter belongs to both an across answer and a down answer — so a single confident entry can unlock the whole board. Today the shortest answer, POT, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, LISBON, anchors the grid and often takes a crossing or two to confirm. If you're checking your work or you got stuck on one stubborn square, the complete answer key below lists every across and down clue with its solution and a short explanation. We publish these Mini answers every day, so bookmark the archive and come back whenever a clue has you second-guessing. And if reading the answers gives you the itch to solve one yourself, our free Mini Crossword plays the same way — no subscription and no account required.
NYT Mini Crossword Answers
Saturday pairs a Portuguese capital with a grainy 7-Across.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cooking vessel | POT | A pot is a vessel used for cooking. |
| 4. Capital of Portugal | LISBON | Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. |
| 6. Curved letter | ESS | Ess is the spelled-out name of the letter S. |
| 7. Grain used to make beer | WHEAT | Wheat is a grain used in brewing. |
| 8. Owned by us | OUR | Our indicates something belonging to us. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Applesauce fruit | PLUM | A plum is a soft, sweet stone fruit. |
| 2. Consumes | OASIS | An oasis is a fertile spot in a desert. |
| 3. Curved bone | TON | A ton is a unit of weight. |
| 4. Not truth | LIE | A lie is an untruth. |
| 5. Boat paddle | OAR | An oar is a paddle used to row a boat. |
Every answer explained
POT
Clue: Cooking vessel
A pot is a vessel used for cooking. As a 3-letter word with 1 vowel, POT interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
LISBON
Clue: Capital of Portugal
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. With 2 vowels across 6 letters, LISBON is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ESS
Clue: Curved letter
Ess is the spelled-out name of the letter S. ESS is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
WHEAT
Clue: Grain used to make beer
Wheat is a grain used in brewing. WHEAT is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
OUR
Clue: Owned by us
Our indicates something belonging to us. OUR is a tidy 3-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
PLUM
Clue: Applesauce fruit
A plum is a soft, sweet stone fruit. With 1 vowel across 4 letters, PLUM is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
OASIS
Clue: Consumes
An oasis is a fertile spot in a desert. As a 5-letter word with 3 vowels, OASIS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
TON
Clue: Curved bone
A ton is a unit of weight. As a 3-letter word with 1 vowel, TON interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
LIE
Clue: Not truth
A lie is an untruth. LIE is a tidy 3-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
OAR
Clue: Boat paddle
An oar is a paddle used to row a boat. With 2 vowels across 3 letters, OAR is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
Explore clues from this puzzle
Tips for solving
- 1Start with the fill-in-the-blank and short (3-letter) clues — they're usually the fastest points and hand you crossing letters for everything else.
- 2Work outward from your most confident answer instead of top-to-bottom; in a Mini, one solid entry unlocks four or five neighbors.
- 3If a clue ends in a question mark, expect wordplay or a pun rather than a literal definition.
- 4Plural clues almost always mean the answer ends in S — pencil that last letter in early.
- 5When two answers seem possible, let the crossing clue break the tie rather than guessing.