NYT Crossword Answers — September 6, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for September 6, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from RAW, JOULE, ARGUE, WEBMD. Today's mini has no unifying theme, mixing food prep, physics, debate, health sites, Spanish, sports, education, film, and cookies. 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, RAW, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, JOULE, 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 has no unifying theme, mixing food prep, physics, debate, health sites, Spanish, sports, education, film, and cookies.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Like sashimi and steak tartare | RAW | Sashimi and steak tartare are served uncooked, so raw fits. |
| 4. Unit of energy symbolized by a "J" | JOULE | The joule, symbolized J, is the SI unit of energy. |
| 6. Debate back and forth | ARGUE | To argue is to engage in back-and-forth debate. |
| 7. Online source for health diagnoses | WEBMD | WebMD is a popular website for looking up health symptoms and diagnoses. |
| 8. Yo ___ (Spanish "I am") | SOY | In Spanish, 'soy' means 'I am'. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. National sport of New Zealand | RUGBY | Rugby is recognized as New Zealand's national sport. |
| 2. Graduate, for short | ALUM | Alum is short for alumnus or alumna, a graduate. |
| 3. Garden intruder | WEED | A weed is an unwanted plant commonly found in gardens. |
| 4. Hit 1975 film shot largely on location in Martha's Vineyard | JAWS | Jaws, released in 1975, was famously filmed partly on Martha's Vineyard. |
| 5. Black-and-white cookie | OREO | An Oreo is a black-and-white sandwich cookie. |
Every answer explained
RAW
Clue: Like sashimi and steak tartare
Sashimi and steak tartare are served uncooked, so raw fits. With 1 vowel across 3 letters, RAW is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
JOULE
Clue: Unit of energy symbolized by a "J"
The joule, symbolized J, is the SI unit of energy. As a 5-letter word with 3 vowels, JOULE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
ARGUE
Clue: Debate back and forth
To argue is to engage in back-and-forth debate. With 3 vowels across 5 letters, ARGUE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
WEBMD
Clue: Online source for health diagnoses
WebMD is a popular website for looking up health symptoms and diagnoses. With 1 vowel across 5 letters, WEBMD is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
SOY
Clue: Yo ___ (Spanish "I am")
In Spanish, 'soy' means 'I am'. SOY is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
RUGBY
Clue: National sport of New Zealand
Rugby is recognized as New Zealand's national sport. With 1 vowel across 5 letters, RUGBY is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ALUM
Clue: Graduate, for short
Alum is short for alumnus or alumna, a graduate. As a 4-letter word with 2 vowels, ALUM interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
WEED
Clue: Garden intruder
A weed is an unwanted plant commonly found in gardens. As a 4-letter word with 2 vowels, WEED interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
JAWS
Clue: Hit 1975 film shot largely on location in Martha's Vineyard
Jaws, released in 1975, was famously filmed partly on Martha's Vineyard. JAWS is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
OREO
Clue: Black-and-white cookie
An Oreo is a black-and-white sandwich cookie. OREO is a tidy 4-letter fill (3 vowels); 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.