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Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for October 27, 2026

Stuck on today's grid? Take a hint at a time, or drop straight to the filled grid. Nothing spoils until you tap.

October 27, 2026 5×5 grid 10 clues By Amit Yadav Updated
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Hints, one at a time

Welcome back, puzzler. The Mini Crossword for Tuesday, October 27, 2026 is live: a 5x5 grid with 10 clues to fill in, 5 Across and 5 Down. If yesterday's Mini broke your sub-minute run, today is a clean slate.

Here's how this page works: the five hints below hand you opening letters before handing you whole answers, so reveal them one at a time and stop the moment the crossings take over. All ten answers sit in the green box further down, locked behind a tap. Nothing here reveals itself on its own, not a starting letter and not a filled answer.

Opening letters first, whole answers last. Stop when the crossings take over.

1 Across starting lettersWhat does each Across answer begin with? 1 S · 6 T · 7 R · 8 U · 9 T.
2 Down starting lettersAnd each Down answer? 1 S · 2 P · 3 E · 4 L · 5 L.
3 The longest answerWhat shape is the longest entry? 1 Across ("Say "C-H-E-E-S-E"?") runs 5 letters, starts with S and ends with L.
4 One answer, freeCan I just have that one? 1 Across is SPELL. On a grid this small, one answer usually finishes two others.
5 The short fillsWhat are the 3-letter answers? 5 Down is LES. These are the entries every other answer leans on.

Drumroll, please…

NYT Mini Crossword Answers for October 27

Spoiler below · tap an answer to reveal

Across

1

Say "C-H-E-E-S-E"?

Hint5 letters, starts with S
6

Number of stripes on many world flags

Hint5 letters, starts with T
7

Places visited on a Clue board

Hint5 letters, starts with R
8

"Go back" command

Hint4 letters, starts with U
9

Follower of six or seven, but not five

Hint4 letters, starts with T

Down

1

Walk with swagger

Hint5 letters, starts with S
2

What gets texts (and also scrolls?)

Hint5 letters, starts with P
3

Wear away slowly

Hint5 letters, starts with E
4

Kind of juice in a French 75 cocktail

Hint5 letters, starts with L
5

"___ Misérables"

Hint3 letters, starts with L

Tap an answer to reveal it, or show the whole grid at once.

Yesterday's longest answer: CRUNCH · full breakdown ›

About today's grid

Answer count

10 answers in total: 5 Across and 5 Down.

Longest and shortest

The longest answer runs 5 letters; the shortest run 3 letters (1 of them).

Letter check

E is today's most common letter, appearing 5 times across the grid.

By the numbers

Published Tuesday, October 27, 2026, edited by and built by Joel Fagliano.

Mini Crossword strategy that actually helps

Proven habits from top solvers, useful today and every day.

Read all ten clues first

There are only ten, and reading them takes seconds. One gift clue in a grid this small usually resolves half the board.

Every square is a crossing

On a 5x5 nothing is isolated. Each letter you place is checked by a second clue immediately, so a confident answer verifies itself.

Watch for question marks

A "?" at the end of a Mini clue almost always signals a pun. On five squares, spotting one saves more time than solving three straight clues.

Use crossings to confirm

Unsure of a letter? Solve its crossing instead, and the letter arrives without you having to commit to a guess.

Think in abbreviations

Clues like "Dr.'s org." or "Suffix with ___" point to short, common abbreviations rather than full words.

Save the longest for last

The longest answer usually needs the most crossing letters, so it's often the last one to click.

How to play NYT Mini Crossword

The rules in full, for anyone arriving without them.

The Mini is The New York Times crossword in miniature, a five by five grid that most solvers finish in under a minute. It is free to play and uses the same clue style as the full crossword, just with far shorter answers.

  1. 1 Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues

    Blanks are the least ambiguous clues on any grid. They give you crossing letters for free.
  2. 2 Let Across and Down check each other

    Every square belongs to two answers. If a letter makes one word work and the other impossible, the answer you are surer of wins.
  3. 3 Watch the clue for tense and number

    A plural clue wants a plural answer, and a past-tense clue usually ends in ED. Those endings are often the letters that unlock a crossing word.
  4. 4 Fill every square

    The Mini has no mistake limit and no penalty for guessing. The timer stops when the last correct letter goes in.
Made by

The New York Times, edited by Joel Fagliano

The board

Usually 5 by 5, larger on Saturdays

Your limit

No limit, but the clock is running

Resets

10pm Eastern the night before (6pm for Sunday)

A question mark at the end of a clue is a promise that the answer is a pun rather than a definition. On a grid this small, spotting one question mark often saves more time than solving three straight clues.

NYT Mini Crossword, answered

Quick answers to the questions we get every day.

What time does the new Mini Crossword come out?

The next day's Mini goes live at 10pm Eastern time on weekdays and 6pm Eastern on Saturdays and Sundays, the same moment for everyone. That is why the grid dated tomorrow is often already waiting in the evening.

How is the Mini different from the full NYT Crossword?

The Mini is built on a small grid, usually 5x5, with far fewer clues than the full daily crossword. Same editorial team, same clue conventions, just a puzzle you can finish in a couple of minutes.

Why do some Minis feel harder than others?

Like the full crossword, difficulty tends to ramp up through the week: puzzles early in the week lean on straightforward definitions, while later ones lean more on wordplay and less common phrasing.

Can I play past Mini Crossword puzzles?

Yes, if you're an NYT Games subscriber, the app and site keep an archive of past Minis. This page focuses on the two most recent puzzles: today's and yesterday's.

Does the Mini count toward my crossword streak?

The Mini keeps its own streak, tracked separately from the daily Crossword. Solving the Mini will not protect a Crossword streak and vice versa. The Mini is also free, so its streak is the one most solvers actually keep alive.

Play on NYT ↗

NYT Mini Crossword guides

Longer reads for getting better, beyond today's puzzle.

Today's hints for every game

Same spoiler-safe format, for each daily puzzle we cover.

Wordle5 letters · hints first NYT Connections4 groups · hints first Connections SportsSports edition groups NYT StrandsSpangram + theme words NYT Midi CrosswordMidi clues & answers NYT CrosswordFull grid help NYT PipsAll 3 difficulties solved NYT SudokuAll 3 grids solved NYT Spelling BeePangram + word list NYT Letter BoxedToday's best solution ContextoClosest words today QuordleAll four answers OctordleAll eight answers WaffleSwaps + solution grid PhrazleBoth daily phrases Daily JumbleAll words unscrambled KeywordToday's missing letters BlossomPangram + best words Minute CrypticDaily cryptic clue BetweenleGuess the word in between Bracket CityNested clues, one fact

Past Mini Crossword answers

The longest answer from each recent Mini from the last two weeks. On a grid this small the longest entry is often the only one anybody remembers. Today's stays blurred until you tap it.

DateAnswer
Oct 27Today SPELL
Oct 26 CRUNCH
Oct 25 LEVEE
Oct 24 PACKRAT
Oct 23 FORUM
Oct 22 DOORS
Oct 21 GENAI
Oct 20 SCORE
Oct 19 GENIE
Oct 18 WALDO
Oct 17 CLASSIC
Oct 16 STOPIT
Oct 15 GRAYS
Oct 14 BATHS