NYT Mini Crossword Trivia Week 4 September 22, 2026 - Daily Answers

20 clues today. If you're stuck on any of them, scroll down — hints first, answers hidden underneath.

About Today's Puzzle

NYT Mini Crossword solutions for September 22, 2026 — NYT Mini Crossword Grid - Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Puzzle Statistics
Detail	Information
Date	September 22, 2026
Grid Size	5 x 5 squares
Total Clues	20 clues
Across Clues	10 clues
Down Clues	10 clues
Average Solve Time	Under 1 minute

Today's Trivia Week 4 NYT Mini Crossword Grid Layout

Today's layout is the usual 5x5: five columns, five rows.

5x5 Crossword Grid Pattern
	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
Row 1
Row 2
Row 3
Row 4
Row 5

How to Solve This One Fast

Read through all the clues before filling in a single square.
Start with anything three letters or shorter.
Crossing letters are your best friend for the trickier answers.
Question mark clues (?) almost always mean wordplay, not a literal answer.
Watch for the usual suspects: THE, AND, ARE, FOR, NOT.

Quick Facts

Total squares: 25 (5 × 5)
Typical solve time: well under a minute for most regulars
Good time to play: on a coffee break
Difficulty: built to be approachable

Across Clues - 10 Total

These run left to right across the grid.

Across Clues List
Number	Clue
1 Across	63. Doughnut quantities
2 Across	14. Was overprotective, in a way
3 Across	19. 50/52-Across musician
4 Across	26. Billionaires' boats
5 Across	24. Like a scratchy voice
6 Across	37. #1 hit from 50/52-Across ("Why did those days ever have to go?")
7 Across	50. With 52-Across, double album released on September 28, 1976, that spent 13 straight weeks at #1
8 Across	64. Work ___
9 Across	40. Perched
10 Across	12. Sudden and unexpected

Hints and Answers for Across Clues

Stuck on one? Hints and answers for each clue are below. A few other guides worth a look:

1 Across: "63. Doughnut quantities"

Hints:

Think of it this way — a large number or amount.
Starts with 'D', ends with 'S'.
Count on 6 letters here.

Answer:

Click to reveal

DOZENS

2 Across: "14. Was overprotective, in a way"

Hints:

You're looking for 7 letters.
You could also think of it as "linger."
Starts with 'H', ends with 'D'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

HOVERED

3 Across: "19. 50/52-Across musician"

Hints:

Count on 12 letters here.
Starts with 'S', ends with 'R'.
Blank it out and you get: S__________R

Answer:

Click to reveal

STEVIEWONDER

4 Across: "26. Billionaires' boats"

Hints:

Kicks off with 'Y' and wraps up with 'S'.
Close enough in meaning: yacht.
It's a 6-letter word.

Answer:

Click to reveal

YACHTS

5 Across: "24. Like a scratchy voice"

Hints:

Pattern-wise it looks like: R___Y
It's a 5-letter word.
Kicks off with 'R' and wraps up with 'Y'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

RASPY

6 Across: "37. #1 hit from 50/52-Across ("Why did those days ever have to go?")"

Hints:

This one runs 5 letters long.
Pattern-wise it looks like: I___H
First letter's a 'I', last letter's a 'H'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

IWISH

7 Across: "50. With 52-Across, double album released on September 28, 1976, that spent 13 straight weeks at #1"

Hints:

Count on 7 letters here.
Kicks off with 'S' and wraps up with 'N'.
Blank it out and you get: S_____N

Answer:

Click to reveal

SONGSIN

8 Across: "64. Work ___"

Hints:

First letter's a 'E', last letter's a 'C'.
Pattern-wise it looks like: E___C
This one runs 5 letters long.

Answer:

Click to reveal

ETHIC

9 Across: "40. Perched"

Hints:

Short form / acronym territory here.
This one runs 3 letters long.
Close enough in meaning: posture.

Answer:

Click to reveal

SAT

10 Across: "12. Sudden and unexpected"

Hints:

It's a 6-letter word.
You could also think of it as "sharp."
Starts with 'A', ends with 'T'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

ABRUPT

Down Clues - 10 Total

These run top to bottom in the grid.

Down Clues List
Number	Clue
1 Down	44. Start liking
2 Down	29. "lol"
3 Down	43. Celebratory hoopla
4 Down	18. Like some humor and runs
5 Down	23. Argue against
6 Down	11. Road curves
7 Down	22. Broadway star Menzel
8 Down	4. Popular times for tacos
9 Down	48. "I see"
10 Down	53. Ivy League school in New Haven

Hints and Answers for Down Clues

Same deal here — hints then answers. You might also like:

1 Down: "44. Start liking"

Hints:

It's a 6-letter word.
Pattern-wise it looks like: T____O
Starts with 'T', ends with 'O'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

TAKETO

2 Down: "29. "lol""

Hints:

If that helps, the shape is: H__A
First letter's a 'H', last letter's a 'A'.
This is more of an abbreviation than a regular word.

Answer:

Click to reveal

HAHA

3 Down: "43. Celebratory hoopla"

Hints:

Pattern-wise it looks like: F_____E
This one runs 7 letters long.
Starts with 'F', ends with 'E'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

FANFARE

4 Down: "18. Like some humor and runs"

Hints:

Kicks off with 'D' and wraps up with 'Y'.
'ironic' points in the same direction.
Short form / acronym territory here.

Answer:

Click to reveal

DRY

5 Down: "23. Argue against"

Hints:

This one runs 5 letters long.
Basically, overthrow by argument.
First letter's a 'R', last letter's a 'T'.

Answer:

Click to reveal

REBUT

6 Down: "11. Road curves"

Hints:

Close enough in meaning: crook.
You're looking for 5 letters.
In plain terms: pain resulting from rapid change in pressure.

Answer:

Click to reveal

BENDS

7 Down: "22. Broadway star Menzel"

Hints:

First letter's a 'I', last letter's a 'A'.
It's a 5-letter word.
Pattern-wise it looks like: I___A

Answer:

Click to reveal

IDINA

8 Down: "4. Popular times for tacos"

Hints:

Basically, the third day of the week; the second working day.
Kicks off with 'T' and wraps up with 'S'.
If that helps, the shape is: T______S

Answer:

Click to reveal

TUESDAYS

9 Down: "48. "I see""

Hints:

Count on 4 letters here.
First letter's a 'O', last letter's a 'K'.
Short form / acronym territory here.

Answer:

Click to reveal

OHOK

10 Down: "53. Ivy League school in New Haven"

Hints:

Think of it this way — a university in Connecticut.
Pattern-wise it looks like: Y__E
Short form / acronym territory here.

Answer:

Click to reveal

YALE

How to Solve the NYT Mini Crossword Faster

A few things that actually help once you've been doing these a while:

Step-by-Step Strategy

Scan before you solve: One quick read-through of all the clues before you commit to anything usually pays off.
Short words first: The 2-3 letter answers are almost always the low-hanging fruit.
Let crossings guide you: Harder answers get much easier once a couple of crossing letters are locked in.
Puns hide behind question marks: If a clue ends in "?", expect wordplay, not a straight answer.
A few words repeat a lot: ERA, ORE, ATE, ICE show up more than you'd expect — keep them in mind.

Letter Tips That Really Help

E is the most common letter in English, so it's worth guessing early.
Words ending in S are usually plurals.
Blanks ("___") in a clue mean the answer fits exactly into those spaces.
An abbreviation in the clue is a signal the answer's abbreviated too.

Time Goals to Aim For

Your Time	Skill Level	What It Means
Under 30 seconds	Expert	You've clearly got the puzzle's patterns down.
30-60 seconds	Advanced	Solid pace — you're solving quickly.
1-2 minutes	Good	Right where most regular solvers land.
Over 2 minutes	Learning	Totally fine — speed comes with reps.

Puzzle Numbers and Facts

Today's Puzzle by the Numbers
Total Clues:	20
Grid Size:	5 boxes across, 5 boxes down
Total Squares:	25
Average Time:	45 seconds
Difficulty:	Easy

Common Questions About Trivia Week 4

When does the Trivia Week 4 Mini go live?

It usually goes live around 10 PM Eastern the night before.

How long should Trivia Week 4 take me?

Most people land somewhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. Slower than that is completely normal too — it gets faster with practice.

Is Trivia Week 4 free to play?

It's free to play, unlike the main NYT Crossword which sits behind a paywall.

What actually makes someone good at Trivia Week 4?

Knowing the common short words, spotting wordplay quickly, and reading crossing letters well — that combination gets you most of the way there.

Does Trivia Week 4 get harder as the week goes on?

It varies day to day — Saturdays tend to be the toughest, Mondays the easiest.

Search Clues

Tuesday, September 22, 2026