NYT Crossword Answers — August 5, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 5, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from WHET, WHERE, WEIRD, WADED. Today's mini crossword features straightforward clues, with no overarching theme, covering common words and cultural references. 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, WWW, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, WHERE, 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
Today's mini crossword features straightforward clues, with no overarching theme, covering common words and cultural references.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stimulate, as the appetite | WHET | To whet means to sharpen or stimulate, as in whetting the appetite. |
| 5. "___ did the time go?" | WHERE | The word 'where' asks about place or time, fitting the question '___ did the time go?' |
| 6. "Hmm, strange ..." | WEIRD | 'Weird' is an exclamation used when something seems strange or unusual. |
| 7. Walked through water | WADED | To wade is to walk through water or another substance, hence 'waded' is the past tense. |
| 8. Neat and orderly | TIDY | 'Tidy' means neat and orderly, describing a well-kept state. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crop on the South Dakota state quarter | WHEAT | The South Dakota state quarter features wheat, a major crop of the state. |
| 2. "Saturday Night Live" alum Gardner | HEIDI | Heidi Gardner is a comedian and actress known for her work on Saturday Night Live. |
| 3. Made a mistake | ERRED | To err is to make a mistake, so 'erred' means made a mistake. |
| 4. Child's bear | TEDDY | A child's bear is often called a teddy bear, from Teddy Roosevelt's nickname. |
| 5. Repeated letters in a U.R.L. address | WWW | WWW stands for World Wide Web, commonly repeated in URL addresses. |
Every answer explained
WHET
Clue: Stimulate, as the appetite
To whet means to sharpen or stimulate, as in whetting the appetite. WHET is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
WHERE
Clue: "___ did the time go?"
The word 'where' asks about place or time, fitting the question '___ did the time go?' WHERE is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
WEIRD
Clue: "Hmm, strange ..."
'Weird' is an exclamation used when something seems strange or unusual. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, WEIRD is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
WADED
Clue: Walked through water
To wade is to walk through water or another substance, hence 'waded' is the past tense. WADED is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
TIDY
Clue: Neat and orderly
'Tidy' means neat and orderly, describing a well-kept state. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, TIDY interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
WHEAT
Clue: Crop on the South Dakota state quarter
The South Dakota state quarter features wheat, a major crop of the state. WHEAT is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
HEIDI
Clue: "Saturday Night Live" alum Gardner
Heidi Gardner is a comedian and actress known for her work on Saturday Night Live. With 3 vowels across 5 letters, HEIDI is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ERRED
Clue: Made a mistake
To err is to make a mistake, so 'erred' means made a mistake. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, ERRED interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
TEDDY
Clue: Child's bear
A child's bear is often called a teddy bear, from Teddy Roosevelt's nickname. With 1 vowel across 5 letters, TEDDY is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
WWW
Clue: Repeated letters in a U.R.L. address
WWW stands for World Wide Web, commonly repeated in URL addresses. With 0 vowels across 3 letters, WWW is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
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.