NYT Mini Crossword Answer Yesterday — Sunday, June 28, 2026
Puzzle #24217 • Difficulty 6/10
Yesterday's NYT Mini Crossword Answer
Clues & Answers for Yesterday's NYT Mini
Click a square to reveal its letter. Get hints below.
Across
Down
Deep Dive
Word Analysis
Longest word: BEACH (5 letters)
Shortest word: AHH (3 letters)
Average length: 4.2 letters
Total words: 10 (5 across, 5 down)
Grid Stats
Fill percentage: 84% (21/25 cells)
Unique letters used: 13
Grid dimensions: 5×5
Blocked cells: 4
Most Common Letters
Puzzle Analysis
The NYT Mini Crossword presented a moderate challenge, with 6/10 difficulty in my estimation. The grid featured a clever play on words with the answer HADER intersecting with SADLY in the clue "Arab leader, 1969" and "Sadly, he died". The HADER entry itself proved tricky, with many solvers potentially stuck on the less familiar name. The hardest entry was likely the 5-letter word REUP in the clue "Renew a lease or contract", which requires a bit of specialized knowledge. The rest of the puzzle flowed smoothly, with some clever uses of wordplay and misdirection. Overall, the difficulty level feels about right, with a good balance of straightforward and challenging clues that should appeal to solvers looking for a fun, but not overwhelming, challenge.
How to Play NYT Mini Crossword
The NYT Mini Crossword is a quick 5×5 grid puzzle published daily by The New York Times. Your goal is to fill every square by solving the Across and Down clues.
Tap or click a square to start typing your answer. The active direction switches between Across and Down when you tap the same square again.
Unlike the full NYT Crossword, the Mini has no theme. It is designed to be solvable in under a minute. Clues range from straightforward definitions to playful wordplay.
A new Mini Crossword is released at 10:00 PM ET every day. You can also play the archive of past Mini puzzles on the NYT Games app.
Play at nytimes.com/crosswords/game/mini. A new puzzle is available every day.
Tips & Strategy
- Start with the clues you are most confident about. Filling in a few answers first gives you crossing letters that make harder clues much easier.
- Pay attention to clue phrasing. A question mark at the end of a clue usually signals wordplay or a pun rather than a literal definition.
- Short words (3-4 letters) in crosswords repeat often. Learn common fill like ERA, ORE, ATE, and IRE. They appear in most Minis.
- If you are stuck on a clue, read the crossing clues instead. Sometimes solving the perpendicular word reveals enough letters to crack the difficult clue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does NYT Mini Crossword repeat past grids?
Where can I find all past NYT Mini Crossword solutions?
How many words are in each NYT Mini Crossword grid?
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