Stuck? You’re not alone. The June 22 NYT Mini was mostly smooth sailing until 8 Across reared its ugly head. I stared at that box for a minute. Then I filled in the rest of the grid, and like magic, the answer just dropped into place. Happens to the best of us.
If you’re here for the heavy hitters—Wordle, Connections, Strands—this isn’t your stop. Check CNET or our dedicated puzzle hub for those daily dopamine hits. But if you need the Mini cleared out quickly? Read on.
Crossword logic is simple. Fill in what you know, and the stubborn bits often surrender.
Across the Grid
- Jerky? Dried fruit? Think texture. Not crisp, not brittle. It’s CHEWY.
- Marconi sent signals to the Vatican back in ’31. Pope’s blessings gone global via one tech. RADIO. Classic history check.
- Merge into a single entity? UNIFY. Clean and direct.
- Prefix game. Attach to -path? Or -political? Sociology vibes. It’s SOCIO. This one bit me initially. Don’t be me.
- A track that blows up? A smash HIT. No ambiguity here.
Down the Line
- Beat someone senseless. Or just squash it entirely. CRUSH. Violent, but accurate.
- Hanoi. Just say the word. HANOI fits the space.
- Royalty speak, officially. An EDICT. Sounds fancy, means “do this because I said so.”
- You want it. The flight attendants fear it. Incredibly unstable? WIFI. We suffer through it together.
There you go. Grid filled. Coffee cold? Maybe. But the puzzle is done. Onward to the next distraction.
