NYT Crossword Answers — August 22, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 22, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from DIVESIN, ORIGAMI, HANGMAN, YUM. Today's mini crossword covers a mix of pop culture, food, games, and everyday phrases, with a playful tone. 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, YUM, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, DIVESIN, 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 covers a mix of pop culture, food, games, and everyday phrases, with a playful tone.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gets right down to business | DIVESIN | To dive in is to start something energetically and without hesitation. |
| 8. Japanese for "folding paper" | ORIGAMI | Origami is the Japanese art and word for paper folding. |
| 9. _a_er and _encil game | HANGMAN | Hangman is a word-guessing game with blanks for each letter. |
| 10. "Dee-lish!" | YUM | Yum is an informal exclamation of deliciousness. |
| 11. Specialized (in), as in college | MAJORED | To major in something means to specialize in that subject at college. |
| 15. Small hair on which mascara is applied | EYELASH | Mascara is applied to eyelashes, which are small hairs on the eyelid. |
| 16. Sloppy smooch | WETKISS | A wet kiss is a sloppy, moist kiss. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Homer Simpson's shout | DOH | Doh is Homer Simpson's famous exclamation of frustration. |
| 2. Roth ___ | IRA | Roth IRA is a type of retirement account named after Senator Roth. |
| 3. Actor Diesel of the "Fast & Furious" films | VIN | Vin Diesel is an actor known for starring in the Fast & Furious films. |
| 4. "Sunny" part of a breakfast order | EGGYOLK | Egg yolk is the yellow part of an egg, often featured sunny-side up breakfasts. |
| 5. Warrior with a katana | SAMURAI | A samurai is a Japanese warrior traditionally armed with a katana. |
| 6. "Sorry, my life is all over the place right now" | IMAMESS | IMAMESS means 'I am a mess', expressing a chaotic life. |
| 7. Trent Reznor's rock band, to fans | NIN | Nine Inch Nails is Trent Reznor's rock band, commonly abbreviated NIN. |
| 11. Call from a kitten | MEW | Mew is a kitten's typical high-pitched cry. |
| 12. Sailor's assent | AYE | Aye is a sailor's way of saying yes. |
| 13. F-16 Fighting Falcon, e.g. | JET | The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a type of fighter jet. |
| 14. Nonfielding baseball players, for short | DHS | DH stands for designated hitter, a non-fielding player in baseball. |
Every answer explained
DIVESIN
Clue: Gets right down to business
To dive in is to start something energetically and without hesitation. DIVESIN is a tidy 7-letter fill (3 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
ORIGAMI
Clue: Japanese for "folding paper"
Origami is the Japanese art and word for paper folding. As a 7-letter word with 4 vowels, ORIGAMI interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
HANGMAN
Clue: _a_er and _encil game
Hangman is a word-guessing game with blanks for each letter. HANGMAN is a tidy 7-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
YUM
Clue: "Dee-lish!"
Yum is an informal exclamation of deliciousness. With 1 vowel across 3 letters, YUM is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
MAJORED
Clue: Specialized (in), as in college
To major in something means to specialize in that subject at college. MAJORED is a tidy 7-letter fill (3 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
EYELASH
Clue: Small hair on which mascara is applied
Mascara is applied to eyelashes, which are small hairs on the eyelid. As a 7-letter word with 3 vowels, EYELASH interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
WETKISS
Clue: Sloppy smooch
A wet kiss is a sloppy, moist kiss. As a 7-letter word with 2 vowels, WETKISS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
DOH
Clue: Homer Simpson's shout
Doh is Homer Simpson's famous exclamation of frustration. DOH is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
IRA
Clue: Roth ___
Roth IRA is a type of retirement account named after Senator Roth. As a 3-letter word with 2 vowels, IRA interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
VIN
Clue: Actor Diesel of the "Fast & Furious" films
Vin Diesel is an actor known for starring in the Fast & Furious films. VIN is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
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.