NYT Crossword Answers — August 15, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 15, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from COOPS, OHWOW, RINSE, DOGTAGS. Today's mini has no shared theme, just everyday words and phrases, including a few NYT favorites like OHWOW and OWNGOAL. 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, CORD, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, DOGTAGS, 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 no shared theme, just everyday words and phrases, including a few NYT favorites like OHWOW and OWNGOAL.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stores owned and run by their workers | COOPS | Worker-owned businesses are commonly called co-ops. |
| 6. "Huh, wasn't expecting that!" | OHWOW | "OH WOW" expresses surprise, here stylized as OHWOW. |
| 7. Run under a faucet | RINSE | To rinse is to wash quickly under running water. |
| 8. Metal identifiers in the military | DOGTAGS | Military personnel wear dog tags for identification. |
| 11. Bit of music that plays as a podcast ends | OUTRO | An outro is the closing music segment of a podcast. |
| 12. Font similar to Helvetica | ARIAL | Arial is a widely used sans-serif font similar to Helvetica. |
| 13. Leave alone | LETBE | "Let be" means to leave alone or not interfere. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cut the ___ (cancel cable) | CORD | Cut the cord means to cancel cable TV service. |
| 2. Dayton's state | OHIO | Dayton is a city in Ohio, whose state abbreviation is OH. |
| 3. Game-changing mistake for a World Cup defender | OWNGOAL | An own goal is when a player accidentally scores for the opponent. |
| 4. Slouching is a bad form of this | POSTURE | Posture refers to the position of your body when sitting or standing. |
| 5. Worry about the small stuff | SWEATIT | To sweat it means to worry or stress over something. |
| 9. Snatch | GRAB | Grab means to snatch or seize quickly. |
| 10. ___ Survivor, title for each winner of "Survivor" | SOLE | Sole survivor is the title for the last remaining contestant. |
Every answer explained
COOPS
Clue: Stores owned and run by their workers
Worker-owned businesses are commonly called co-ops. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, COOPS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
OHWOW
Clue: "Huh, wasn't expecting that!"
"OH WOW" expresses surprise, here stylized as OHWOW. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, OHWOW interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
RINSE
Clue: Run under a faucet
To rinse is to wash quickly under running water. RINSE is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
DOGTAGS
Clue: Metal identifiers in the military
Military personnel wear dog tags for identification. As a 7-letter word with 2 vowels, DOGTAGS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
OUTRO
Clue: Bit of music that plays as a podcast ends
An outro is the closing music segment of a podcast. OUTRO is a tidy 5-letter fill (3 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
ARIAL
Clue: Font similar to Helvetica
Arial is a widely used sans-serif font similar to Helvetica. ARIAL is a tidy 5-letter fill (3 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
LETBE
Clue: Leave alone
"Let be" means to leave alone or not interfere. LETBE is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
CORD
Clue: Cut the ___ (cancel cable)
Cut the cord means to cancel cable TV service. CORD is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
OHIO
Clue: Dayton's state
Dayton is a city in Ohio, whose state abbreviation is OH. With 3 vowels across 4 letters, OHIO is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
OWNGOAL
Clue: Game-changing mistake for a World Cup defender
An own goal is when a player accidentally scores for the opponent. OWNGOAL is a tidy 7-letter fill (3 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.