NYT Crossword Answers — July 31, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for July 31, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from LIVE, LEVEL, PAIRS, GREY. Today's mini features a phrase split across 1A, 8A, and 1D: LIVE AND LEARN, meaning to grow from mistakes. Other clues cover sports, food, and wordplay. 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, AND, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, LEVEL, 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 features a phrase split across 1A, 8A, and 1D: LIVE AND LEARN, meaning to grow from mistakes. Other clues cover sports, food, and wordplay.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. With 8-Across and 1-Down, grow from your own mistakes | LIVE | LIVE is the first word of the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, fitting the clue's 'grow from your own mistakes'. |
| 5. Video game section | LEVEL | A LEVEL is a section or stage in a video game. |
| 6. Figure skating duos | PAIRS | In figure skating, two skaters performing together are a pair, so multiple are pairs. |
| 7. ___ Poupon (mustard brand) | GREY | GREY Poupon is a well-known mustard brand, with 'Grey' as its first word. |
| 8. See 1-Across | AND | AND is the second word in the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, as indicated by 'See 1-Across'. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. See 1-Across | LEARN | LEARN completes the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, meaning to gain knowledge from errors. |
| 2. Like the outfield walls of Wrigley Field | IVIED | Wrigley Field's outfield walls are covered in ivy, so they are described as IVIED. |
| 3. Extremely | VERY | VERY is a synonym for extremely, meaning to a high degree. |
| 4. Letters capitaLized in this cLue | ELS | The capitalized letters in 'cLue' are L and S, which spell ELS when read together. |
| 5. Sports org. for Nelly Korda | LPGA | LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the organization for golfer Nelly Korda. |
Every answer explained
LIVE
Clue: With 8-Across and 1-Down, grow from your own mistakes
LIVE is the first word of the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, fitting the clue's 'grow from your own mistakes'. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, LIVE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
LEVEL
Clue: Video game section
A LEVEL is a section or stage in a video game. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, LEVEL interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
PAIRS
Clue: Figure skating duos
In figure skating, two skaters performing together are a pair, so multiple are pairs. PAIRS is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
GREY
Clue: ___ Poupon (mustard brand)
GREY Poupon is a well-known mustard brand, with 'Grey' as its first word. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, GREY interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
AND
Clue: See 1-Across
AND is the second word in the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, as indicated by 'See 1-Across'. With 1 vowel across 3 letters, AND is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
LEARN
Clue: See 1-Across
LEARN completes the phrase LIVE AND LEARN, meaning to gain knowledge from errors. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, LEARN interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
IVIED
Clue: Like the outfield walls of Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field's outfield walls are covered in ivy, so they are described as IVIED. With 3 vowels across 5 letters, IVIED is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
VERY
Clue: Extremely
VERY is a synonym for extremely, meaning to a high degree. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, VERY interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
ELS
Clue: Letters capitaLized in this cLue
The capitalized letters in 'cLue' are L and S, which spell ELS when read together. As a 3-letter word with 1 vowel, ELS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
LPGA
Clue: Sports org. for Nelly Korda
LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the organization for golfer Nelly Korda. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, LPGA 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.