NYT Crossword Answers — August 18, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 18, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from SPOON, PLUTO, LATTE, INTEL. Today's mini has a cozy, playful theme with cuddling, pets, drinks, and holiday songs, solved with common words. 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, SPOON, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, SPOON, 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 cozy, playful theme with cuddling, pets, drinks, and holiday songs, solved with common words.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big ___ (cuddling partner) | SPOON | A 'big spoon' is the person who cuddles from behind, hence a cuddling partner. |
| 6. Mickey Mouse's pet dog | PLUTO | Pluto is Mickey Mouse's loyal pet dog in Disney cartoons. |
| 7. Foamy coffee order | LATTE | A latte is a coffee drink with steamed milk, often topped with foam. |
| 8. Inside information, informally | INTEL | Intel is short for intelligence, meaning inside or confidential information. |
| 9. Blue streams down a yellow emoji's face | TEARS | Tears are the blue drops streaming from a yellow crying emoji's eyes. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Divide, as the check | SPLIT | To split the check means to divide the bill among diners. |
| 2. It comes with wings on the side | PLANE | A plane has wings on its sides, and 'on the side' hints at the meal option. |
| 3. "Get ___ town!" | OUTTA | The phrase 'Get outta town!' is a slang way to express disbelief. |
| 4. Furry animal seen swimming around a kelp forest | OTTER | An otter is a furry marine mammal often seen swimming in kelp forests. |
| 5. Christmas carols | NOELS | Noels are Christmas carols, from the French word for Christmas. |
Every answer explained
SPOON
Clue: Big ___ (cuddling partner)
A 'big spoon' is the person who cuddles from behind, hence a cuddling partner. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, SPOON is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
PLUTO
Clue: Mickey Mouse's pet dog
Pluto is Mickey Mouse's loyal pet dog in Disney cartoons. PLUTO is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
LATTE
Clue: Foamy coffee order
A latte is a coffee drink with steamed milk, often topped with foam. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, LATTE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
INTEL
Clue: Inside information, informally
Intel is short for intelligence, meaning inside or confidential information. INTEL is a tidy 5-letter fill (2 vowels); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
TEARS
Clue: Blue streams down a yellow emoji's face
Tears are the blue drops streaming from a yellow crying emoji's eyes. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, TEARS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
SPLIT
Clue: Divide, as the check
To split the check means to divide the bill among diners. SPLIT is a tidy 5-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
PLANE
Clue: It comes with wings on the side
A plane has wings on its sides, and 'on the side' hints at the meal option. As a 5-letter word with 2 vowels, PLANE interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
OUTTA
Clue: "Get ___ town!"
The phrase 'Get outta town!' is a slang way to express disbelief. As a 5-letter word with 3 vowels, OUTTA interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
OTTER
Clue: Furry animal seen swimming around a kelp forest
An otter is a furry marine mammal often seen swimming in kelp forests. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, OTTER is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
NOELS
Clue: Christmas carols
Noels are Christmas carols, from the French word for Christmas. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, NOELS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
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.