NYT Crossword Answers — September 13, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for September 13, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from CAPRI, ALLIN, BLACK, LONE. Today's mini has no overt theme but features several fill-in-the-blank and paired clues, including a clever 7A/9A crossover about cartoon black eyes. 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, EYE, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, CAPRI, 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 overt theme but features several fill-in-the-blank and paired clues, including a clever 7A/9A crossover about cartoon black eyes.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. ___ Sun (juice drink) | CAPRI | Capri Sun is a popular juice drink brand sold in pouches. |
| 6. Maximum poker bet | ALLIN | An all-in bet pushes all your chips into the pot. |
| 7. With 9-Across, injury treated with a raw steak in old cartoons | BLACK | Paired with 9A, a 'black eye' is the cartoon bruise treated with raw steak. |
| 8. Only | LONE | Lone means being the only one, single or solitary. |
| 9. With 7-Across, application on a football player's face | EYE | Paired with 7A, forms 'black eye,' the facial injury area. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The "C" of CNN | CABLE | CNN stands for Cable News Network, so C is Cable. |
| 2. Metal mixture | ALLOY | An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more elements. |
| 3. What Superman is mistaken for | PLANE | Superman is often mistaken for a plane in his flying guise. |
| 4. "___ is great when you're hungry and you want 2,000 of something": Mitch Hedberg | RICE | Mitch Hedberg joked that rice is great when you want 2,000 of something. |
| 5. Printer's supply | INK | Printers use ink cartridges to apply color or black to paper. |
Every answer explained
CAPRI
Clue: ___ Sun (juice drink)
Capri Sun is a popular juice drink brand sold in pouches. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, CAPRI is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ALLIN
Clue: Maximum poker bet
An all-in bet pushes all your chips into the pot. ALLIN is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
BLACK
Clue: With 9-Across, injury treated with a raw steak in old cartoons
Paired with 9A, a 'black eye' is the cartoon bruise treated with raw steak. As a 5-letter word with 1 vowel, BLACK interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
LONE
Clue: Only
Lone means being the only one, single or solitary. LONE is a tidy 4-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
EYE
Clue: With 7-Across, application on a football player's face
Paired with 7A, forms 'black eye,' the facial injury area. With 2 vowels across 3 letters, EYE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
CABLE
Clue: The "C" of CNN
CNN stands for Cable News Network, so C is Cable. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, CABLE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
ALLOY
Clue: Metal mixture
An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more elements. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, ALLOY interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
PLANE
Clue: What Superman is mistaken for
Superman is often mistaken for a plane in his flying guise. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, PLANE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
RICE
Clue: "___ is great when you're hungry and you want 2,000 of something": Mitch Hedberg
Mitch Hedberg joked that rice is great when you want 2,000 of something. As a 4-letter word with 2 vowels, RICE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
INK
Clue: Printer's supply
Printers use ink cartridges to apply color or black to paper. As a 3-letter word with 1 vowel, INK interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
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.