NYT Crossword Answers — June 21, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for June 21, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from READ, ROME, TOM, CHESS. A European capital and a chess clue make Sunday feel a touch tougher. 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, TOM, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, RARING, 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
A European capital and a chess clue make Sunday feel a touch tougher.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enjoy a book | READ | To read is to enjoy or interpret a book. |
| 4. Capital of Italy | ROME | Rome is the capital of Italy. |
| 6. Male turkey | TOM | A male turkey is called a tom. |
| 7. Board game with kings and pawns | CHESS | Chess is played with kings, queens, and pawns. |
| 8. Deep affection | LOVE | Love is a feeling of deep affection. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ready and eager | RARING | To be raring is to be eager and ready. |
| 2. Curved edge | EDGE | An edge is the border of a surface. |
| 3. Frozen drip | DROP | A drop is a small rounded bit of liquid. |
| 4. Sound of a cow | MOO | Moo is the sound a cow makes. |
| 5. Winter month, briefly | ICES | To ice something is to cover it with frost. |
Every answer explained
READ
Clue: Enjoy a book
To read is to enjoy or interpret a book. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, READ is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ROME
Clue: Capital of Italy
Rome is the capital of Italy. ROME is a tidy 4-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
TOM
Clue: Male turkey
A male turkey is called a tom. TOM is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
CHESS
Clue: Board game with kings and pawns
Chess is played with kings, queens, and pawns. CHESS is a tidy 5-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
LOVE
Clue: Deep affection
Love is a feeling of deep affection. As a 4-letter word with 2 vowels, LOVE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
RARING
Clue: Ready and eager
To be raring is to be eager and ready. As a 6-letter word with 2 vowels, RARING interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
EDGE
Clue: Curved edge
An edge is the border of a surface. EDGE is a tidy 4-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
DROP
Clue: Frozen drip
A drop is a small rounded bit of liquid. DROP is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
MOO
Clue: Sound of a cow
Moo is the sound a cow makes. MOO is a tidy 3-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
ICES
Clue: Winter month, briefly
To ice something is to cover it with frost. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, ICES is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
Explore clues from this puzzle
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.