NYT Crossword Answers — August 12, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 12, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from WNBA, HORSE, ALOHA, TAKES. Today's mini has a sports, mythology, and animal theme, with straightforward definitions 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, WNBA, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, HORSE, 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 has a sports, mythology, and animal theme, with straightforward definitions and wordplay.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Caitlin Clark's league, for short | WNBA | WNBA is the Women's National Basketball Association, where Caitlin Clark plays. |
| 5. Odysseus's hiding place when entering the city of Troy | HORSE | The Trojan Horse was the wooden structure Odysseus hid in to enter Troy. |
| 7. Hawaiian "hi" | ALOHA | Aloha is a Hawaiian word used as a greeting or farewell. |
| 8. Personal opinions, in modern parlance | TAKES | Takes is modern slang for personal opinions or viewpoints. |
| 9. Where a nuthatch hatches | NEST | A nest is a bird's home, where nuthatches lay eggs and hatch chicks. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. "Come again?" | WHAT | What is a colloquial response when asking someone to repeat themselves. |
| 2. Hall-of-Fame pitcher ___ Ryan | NOLAN | Nolan Ryan is a Hall-of-Fame pitcher known for his strikeouts and no-hitters. |
| 3. Unloaded? | BROKE | Broke can mean having no money, i.e., unloaded or emptied of funds. |
| 4. What a phoenix rises from | ASHES | A phoenix rises from ashes, symbolizing rebirth after destruction. |
| 6. The "E" of NE | EAST | EAST is the direction that the letter E stands for in compass points. |
Every answer explained
WNBA
Clue: Caitlin Clark's league, for short
WNBA is the Women's National Basketball Association, where Caitlin Clark plays. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, WNBA interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
HORSE
Clue: Odysseus's hiding place when entering the city of Troy
The Trojan Horse was the wooden structure Odysseus hid in to enter Troy. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, HORSE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
ALOHA
Clue: Hawaiian "hi"
Aloha is a Hawaiian word used as a greeting or farewell. ALOHA is a tidy 5-letter fill (3 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
TAKES
Clue: Personal opinions, in modern parlance
Takes is modern slang for personal opinions or viewpoints. TAKES is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
NEST
Clue: Where a nuthatch hatches
A nest is a bird's home, where nuthatches lay eggs and hatch chicks. NEST is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
WHAT
Clue: "Come again?"
What is a colloquial response when asking someone to repeat themselves. As a 4-letter word with 1 vowel, WHAT interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
NOLAN
Clue: Hall-of-Fame pitcher ___ Ryan
Nolan Ryan is a Hall-of-Fame pitcher known for his strikeouts and no-hitters. NOLAN is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
BROKE
Clue: Unloaded?
Broke can mean having no money, i.e., unloaded or emptied of funds. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, BROKE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
ASHES
Clue: What a phoenix rises from
A phoenix rises from ashes, symbolizing rebirth after destruction. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, ASHES interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
EAST
Clue: The "E" of NE
EAST is the direction that the letter E stands for in compass points. EAST is a tidy 4-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
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.