NYT Crossword Answers — September 18, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for September 18, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from BART, LMAO, FOAMY, OOZE. Today's mini covers a mix of pop culture, food, and nature clues with no single theme. It includes tech, slang, and animal facts for a quick solve. 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, TOY, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, FOAMY, 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 covers a mix of pop culture, food, and nature clues with no single theme. It includes tech, slang, and animal facts for a quick solve.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Francisco's rail system | BART | BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit, serving San Francisco. |
| 5. Response to a funny text | LMAO | LMAO is texting shorthand for laughing my ass off. |
| 6. Like beer from the tap, often | FOAMY | Draft beer often has a frothy head, making it FOAMY. |
| 7. Move like honey | OOZE | Honey moves slowly and thickly, so it OOZEs. |
| 8. Group of Marvel superheroes | XMEN | XMEN is Marvel's team of mutant superheroes. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Open up, as a flower | BLOOM | Flowers BLOOM when they open up. |
| 2. Wow | AMAZE | AMAZE means to wow or astonish. |
| 3. Noodle dish in a rich broth | RAMEN | RAMEN is a noodle dish served in rich broth. |
| 4. Happy Meal inclusion | TOY | Happy Meals include a TOY for kids. |
| 6. Animal known scientifically as "Vulpes vulpes" | FOX | The red fox is scientifically named Vulpes vulpes. |
Every answer explained
BART
Clue: San Francisco's rail system
BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit, serving San Francisco. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, BART interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
LMAO
Clue: Response to a funny text
LMAO is texting shorthand for laughing my ass off. LMAO is a tidy 4-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
FOAMY
Clue: Like beer from the tap, often
Draft beer often has a frothy head, making it FOAMY. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, FOAMY interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
OOZE
Clue: Move like honey
Honey moves slowly and thickly, so it OOZEs. As a 4-letter word with 3 vowels, OOZE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
XMEN
Clue: Group of Marvel superheroes
XMEN is Marvel's team of mutant superheroes. XMEN is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
BLOOM
Clue: Open up, as a flower
Flowers BLOOM when they open up. BLOOM is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
AMAZE
Clue: Wow
AMAZE means to wow or astonish. As a 5-letter word with 3 vowels, AMAZE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
RAMEN
Clue: Noodle dish in a rich broth
RAMEN is a noodle dish served in rich broth. RAMEN is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
TOY
Clue: Happy Meal inclusion
Happy Meals include a TOY for kids. With 1 vowel across 3 letters, TOY is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
FOX
Clue: Animal known scientifically as "Vulpes vulpes"
The red fox is scientifically named Vulpes vulpes. With 1 vowel across 3 letters, FOX 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.