The New York Times Mini Crossword, a popular word puzzle game within the Times’ Games collection, presents a daily challenge for word enthusiasts. This compact crossword, smaller than the traditional crossword, offers a quick yet satisfying mental workout. While generally manageable, the January 6, 2025 puzzle presented a slight challenge with a Christmas-themed clue (5 Across: “Stocking stuffer?”) that initially misled solvers to consider small objects rather than the correct answer, SANTA. This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of the puzzle, including clues, answers, and helpful tips for tackling future Mini Crosswords.
Navigating the Mini Crossword involves deciphering clues across and down the grid. In the January 6th puzzle, the across clues included: 1A: ___ notification (alert on a phone screen) – PUSH; 5A: Stocking stuffer? – SANTA; 6A: Hunter with a famous “belt” – ORION; 7A: Gas used to infuse some beer and coffee, for short – NITRO; and 8A: 18-wheeler – SEMI. The down clues comprised: 1D: Home of the Notre-Dame cathedral – PARIS; 2D: Join forces – UNITE; 3D: Tempest – STORM; 4D: World capital whose name means “between two rivers” in Vietnamese – HANOI; and 5D: Child with a Roman numeral after his name, maybe – SON. These clues ranged from general knowledge to wordplay, demanding a flexible approach from solvers.
The article emphasizes the deceptive nature of the 5 Across clue, “Stocking stuffer?”. The answer, SANTA, might not immediately come to mind in January, as the festive season has passed. This highlights the importance of considering broader interpretations and not fixating on literal meanings when solving cryptic clues. The remaining clues were relatively straightforward, providing a balanced challenge for players.
Beyond providing the answers, the article offers valuable resources for crossword enthusiasts. It directs readers to CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page for assistance with other daily puzzles, including Wordle, Connections, and Strands. Furthermore, it offers access to tips and tricks for solving the Mini Crossword, equipping readers with strategies to enhance their puzzle-solving skills.
Access to the Mini Crossword puzzles varies within the New York Times Games section. While the current day’s puzzle is available for free, accessing older puzzles requires a subscription to the Times Games section. This subscription model allows the Times to maintain a vast archive of puzzles while providing a taste of the experience for free users.
The article concludes with embedded code related to Facebook event tracking. This code snippet suggests that the webpage hosting the article integrates with Facebook’s analytics platform to monitor user engagement and potentially tailor content or advertising based on user behavior. While not directly related to the crossword content, this code highlights the integration of web analytics within online platforms.
