NYT Crossword Answers — July 30, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for July 30, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from SOCK, CRUNK, AGREE, RAVEN. The NYT Mini for today features playful word associations and pop culture references, from clothing to hip-hop to Harry Potter. 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, SOCK, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, CRUNK, 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
The NYT Mini for today features playful word associations and pop culture references, from clothing to hip-hop to Harry Potter.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Half of a clothing pair | SOCK | A sock is one item of a pair worn on feet. |
| 5. Early 2000s hip-hop subgenre for songs like "Get Low" and "Yeah!" | CRUNK | Crunk is a high-energy Southern hip-hop style from the early 2000s. |
| 7. Concur | AGREE | Agree means to be in accord or concur with someone. |
| 8. Baltimore N.F.L. player | RAVEN | A raven is a bird and the nickname of Baltimore's NFL team. |
| 9. Tree house, of a sort | NEST | A nest can be a tree house for birds or a child's treehouse. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harry Potter's defining mark | SCAR | Harry Potter's defining mark is the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. |
| 2. Lungs or liver | ORGAN | Lungs and liver are both organs inside the human body. |
| 3. Dangerous stretch of a mountain road | CURVE | A curve is a dangerous bend on a mountain road. |
| 4. Body parts touched after the shoulders, in song | KNEES | Knees are touched after the shoulders in the song 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes'. |
| 6. Clark ___ a.k.a. Superman | KENT | Clark Kent is Superman's mild-mannered alter ego. |
Every answer explained
SOCK
Clue: Half of a clothing pair
A sock is one item of a pair worn on feet. SOCK is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
CRUNK
Clue: Early 2000s hip-hop subgenre for songs like "Get Low" and "Yeah!"
Crunk is a high-energy Southern hip-hop style from the early 2000s. CRUNK is a tidy 5-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
AGREE
Clue: Concur
Agree means to be in accord or concur with someone. As a 5-letter word with 3 vowels, AGREE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
RAVEN
Clue: Baltimore N.F.L. player
A raven is a bird and the nickname of Baltimore's NFL team. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, RAVEN interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
NEST
Clue: Tree house, of a sort
A nest can be a tree house for birds or a child's treehouse. NEST is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
SCAR
Clue: Harry Potter's defining mark
Harry Potter's defining mark is the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. SCAR is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
ORGAN
Clue: Lungs or liver
Lungs and liver are both organs inside the human body. ORGAN is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
CURVE
Clue: Dangerous stretch of a mountain road
A curve is a dangerous bend on a mountain road. CURVE is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
KNEES
Clue: Body parts touched after the shoulders, in song
Knees are touched after the shoulders in the song 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes'. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, KNEES is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
KENT
Clue: Clark ___ a.k.a. Superman
Clark Kent is Superman's mild-mannered alter ego. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, KENT 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.