Today’s Mini Crossword is the kind of big, interactive grid that makes you feel like you’re “driving” your way through clues. As you solve, a little red car zooms around the board, tracing letters that ultimately spell CIRCLING—a fun nod to how this puzzle keeps looping back to familiar patterns. If you got stuck anywhere, the hints below should help you keep the momentum without fully spoiling the fun.
Hints
Across starts with a word that begins with the abbreviation “S” in H.S.—the missing part is the name of a school. Next, look for a mythological figure known for turning things into gold. Then expect a choice between two major cities that can both be preceded by “New Delhi or New York.” A raggedy doll name comes next, followed by a Supreme Court case theme about overturning. Midway through, you’ll need a train-related segment, then a pig feature, and finally a quick way to describe an intuitive sense in your gut.
Down offers a mix of everyday and specific knowledge. One clue points to an author’s scheduled appearance (not a book genre). Another is a public health agency you’ve definitely heard of. There’s a barbershop offering that’s a single word. In the fantasy department, you’ll land on a Gondor capital from The Lord of the Rings. A short-tailed weasel completes that run, followed by a bar order verb. Another clue is an umpire’s shout that sounds like “yer,” and the final entry is a guitarist last name that’s instantly recognizable once you think of Reed.
If you want a quick strategy: solve the entries with strong “anchor” definitions first (myth, courtroom/legal, fantasy place names, and the umpire shout), then the shorter fill-in words tend to click into place faster.
Answers
Mini Across
1A. The “S” of H.S.: Abbr. — SCH
4A. King with a golden touch — MIDAS
6A. New Delhi or New York — BIGCITY
8A. Raggedy ___ doll — ANN
9A. Landmark Supreme Court case overturned by Dobbs — ROE
10A. Segment of a train — RAILCAR
12A. Pig’s nose — SNOUT
13A. Place for an intuitive feeling —
Mini Down
1D. Author’s event — SIGNING
2D. Public health agcy. — CDC
3D. Barbershop offering — HAIRCUT
4D. ___ Tirith, capital of Gondor in the “Lord of the Rings” books — MINAS
5D. Short-tailed weasel — STOAT
6D. Place to order drinks — BAR
7D. “___ out!” (umpire’s shout) — YER
11D. Guitarist Reed — LOU
One neat thing about today’s solve is how “circling” feels baked into the clue set: you keep hopping between tight definitions (CDC, ROE, BAR) and more vivid picture-terms (MINAS…Tirith, SNOUT, MIDAS). If you’re tackling today’s Connections as well, that same approach—locking in the high-confidence answers first—tends to pay off fast when the categories start revealing themselves.
For puzzle lovers, today also makes a nice reminder that Mini can be “big” in a different way: not just longer entries, but the satisfying feeling that every section you finish helps the car’s path (and the grid) resolve cleanly, one turn at a time.
And if the wordplay vibe carries over, it’s worth keeping an eye on how today’s theme choices mirror common crosswords’ habit of using recognizable proper nouns and instant-scan abbreviations—exactly the kind of pattern that shows up across Today’s NYT puzzles when you’re looking for Connections between clue types.
