NYT Crossword Answers — August 6, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 6, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from ZOO, TOUR, WROTE, HUMS. Today's mini crossword features simple, everyday words with playful clues, including a virtual meeting pun and a common phrase. 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, ZOO, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, WROTE, 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 crossword features simple, everyday words with playful clues, including a virtual meeting pun and a common phrase.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Place to see a gnu | ZOO | A zoo is a place where animals like gnus are kept for public viewing. |
| 4. Something a prospective college student might sign up for | TOUR | A tour is a common activity prospective college students sign up for to see campuses. |
| 5. Dropped a note | WROTE | Wrote means to have put words on paper, i.e., dropped a note. |
| 6. Makes sound through one's gums | HUMS | Hums means to make a low continuous sound, often with closed lips (gums). |
| 7. Shout after a big success | YES | YES is an enthusiastic exclamation after a big success. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meetings in virtual "rooms" | ZOOMS | ZOOMS means to have virtual meetings, which are held in virtual rooms. |
| 2. Rarities in baseball routs | OUTS | OUTS are rare in baseball routs because the losing team gets many runs but few outs. |
| 3. Something a gold miner looks for | ORE | ORE is the mineral-bearing rock that gold miners look for. |
| 4. ___ blue | TRUE | TRUE is the color name in 'true blue,' meaning loyal. |
| 5. "___ should I?" | WHY | WHY is the question word used in 'Why should I?' |
Every answer explained
ZOO
Clue: Place to see a gnu
A zoo is a place where animals like gnus are kept for public viewing. As a 3-letter word with 2 vowels, ZOO interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
TOUR
Clue: Something a prospective college student might sign up for
A tour is a common activity prospective college students sign up for to see campuses. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, TOUR is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
WROTE
Clue: Dropped a note
Wrote means to have put words on paper, i.e., dropped a note. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, WROTE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
HUMS
Clue: Makes sound through one's gums
Hums means to make a low continuous sound, often with closed lips (gums). HUMS is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
YES
Clue: Shout after a big success
YES is an enthusiastic exclamation after a big success. YES is a tidy 3-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
ZOOMS
Clue: Meetings in virtual "rooms"
ZOOMS means to have virtual meetings, which are held in virtual rooms. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, ZOOMS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
OUTS
Clue: Rarities in baseball routs
OUTS are rare in baseball routs because the losing team gets many runs but few outs. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, OUTS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ORE
Clue: Something a gold miner looks for
ORE is the mineral-bearing rock that gold miners look for. As a 3-letter word with 2 vowels, ORE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
TRUE
Clue: ___ blue
TRUE is the color name in 'true blue,' meaning loyal. As a 4-letter word with 2 vowels, TRUE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
WHY
Clue: "___ should I?"
WHY is the question word used in 'Why should I?' As a 3-letter word with 0 vowels, WHY 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.