NYT Crossword Answers — August 19, 2026
The NYT-style Mini for August 19, 2026 packs a full puzzle into a tiny grid, and today's solution set spans everyday vocabulary from DRUM, BRINE, LIFTS, ALTOS. Today's mini crossword features music, sports, and wordplay, with a slight tie between drums and drills as sound-related tools. 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, MLS, is the kind of gimme that gives you crossing letters for the trickier fill, while the longest entry, BRINE, 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 music, sports, and wordplay, with a slight tie between drums and drills as sound-related tools.
Across
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Instrument with an iconic solo in Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" | DRUM | A drum provides the iconic solo in Phil Collins's song, fitting the instrument clue. |
| 5. It's in a pickle | BRINE | BRINE is the salty solution used to pickle foods, matching 'It's in a pickle'. |
| 6. Elevators, in British English | LIFTS | In British English, elevators are called lifts, hence the answer LIFTS. |
| 7. Certain choir voices | ALTOS | ALTOS are a type of choir voice, filling the clue 'Certain choir voices'. |
| 8. Sports org. for the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls: Abbr. | MLS | MLS is the abbreviation for Major League Soccer, which includes the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls. |
Down
| Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carpentry tool | DRILL | A drill is a carpentry tool, fitting the clue directly. |
| 2. Personal fallouts | RIFTS | RIFTS are personal fallouts or disagreements, matching the clue. |
| 3. "Do ___ others ..." (start of the Golden Rule) | UNTO | UNTO completes the Golden Rule phrase 'Do unto others...'. |
| 4. Pickle | MESS | MESS means pickle as in a difficult situation, so 'Pickle' = MESS. |
| 5. "Kapow!" | BLAM | BLAM is an onomatopoeia for a punch or explosion, matching 'Kapow!'. |
Every answer explained
DRUM
Clue: Instrument with an iconic solo in Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight"
A drum provides the iconic solo in Phil Collins's song, fitting the instrument clue. With 1 vowel across 4 letters, DRUM is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
BRINE
Clue: It's in a pickle
BRINE is the salty solution used to pickle foods, matching 'It's in a pickle'. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, BRINE is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
LIFTS
Clue: Elevators, in British English
In British English, elevators are called lifts, hence the answer LIFTS. As a 5-letter word with 1 vowel, LIFTS interlocks easily with crossing entries — one reason it turns up in grids so often.
ALTOS
Clue: Certain choir voices
ALTOS are a type of choir voice, filling the clue 'Certain choir voices'. With 2 vowels across 5 letters, ALTOS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
MLS
Clue: Sports org. for the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls: Abbr.
MLS is the abbreviation for Major League Soccer, which includes the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls. With 0 vowels across 3 letters, MLS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
DRILL
Clue: Carpentry tool
A drill is a carpentry tool, fitting the clue directly. With 1 vowel across 5 letters, DRILL is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
RIFTS
Clue: Personal fallouts
RIFTS are personal fallouts or disagreements, matching the clue. With 1 vowel across 5 letters, RIFTS is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
UNTO
Clue: "Do ___ others ..." (start of the Golden Rule)
UNTO completes the Golden Rule phrase 'Do unto others...'. With 2 vowels across 4 letters, UNTO is exactly the kind of crossword-friendly answer worth recognizing on sight.
MESS
Clue: Pickle
MESS means pickle as in a difficult situation, so 'Pickle' = MESS. MESS is a tidy 4-letter fill (1 vowel); constructors like it because it plays well in both directions.
BLAM
Clue: "Kapow!"
BLAM is an onomatopoeia for a punch or explosion, matching 'Kapow!'. With 1 vowel across 4 letters, BLAM 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.