The NYT Mini Crossword answers for Tuesday, July 28, 2026 are: BETA, BRAVO, CORAL, COLD and SKY across; BROOK, EARLY, TVAD, AOL and BCCS down.
If you are still working through the puzzle and want hints before the full solution, three clues are below. Skip ahead for the complete answer grid.
Hint 1: Two of today’s Across answers are the second entry in different alphabets, one ancient and one invented in the 20th century.
Hint 2: One Down answer describes what a stream does when it moves over shallow rocks.
Hint 3: One Down answer is a discreet email action that most inboxes support but few people use deliberately.
Across
1A: BETA – Letter after alpha, in the Greek alphabet
5A: BRAVO – Letter after Alfa, in the NATO phonetic alphabet
6A: CORAL – Barrier reef organism
7A: COLD – Bout of sniffling and sneezing, say
8A: SKY – Blue expanse
Down
1D: BROOK – Babbling body of water
2D: EARLY – Before expected
3D: TVAD – Broadcast commercial, for short
4D: AOL – Big name in early email
5D: BCCS – Brings into an email thread discreetly
Notable Clues
Today’s constructor placed two alphabet clues back to back. BETA (1A) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet, following alpha. BRAVO (5A) is B in the NATO phonetic alphabet, which runs Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, the system developed after World War II to prevent miscommunication over radio. Both answers are the second entry in their respective series, a pairing that rewards solvers who notice it.
CORAL (6A) earns its place through double meaning. In the grid it reads as a barrier reef organism, the colonial polyp that builds reef structures over centuries, but coral is also a color sitting between orange and pink. The clue anchors it to marine biology rather than the paint swatch.
BCCS (5D) is the day’s most resistant entry. The clue, “Brings into an email thread discreetly,” refers to blind carbon copy, the Bcc field that adds recipients without others in the thread seeing them. The plural third-person form BCCS (he BCCs, she BCCs) is an unusual inflection for an acronym, and solvers who do not immediately parse the verb form will need crossing letters from BETA and BRAVO to confirm it.
AOL (4D) is a reliable three-letter entry for Tuesday puzzles. America Online dominated early consumer internet access through dial-up service in the 1990s, when its distinctive “You’ve got mail” audio prompt became cultural shorthand. The clue’s past-framing, “Big name in early email,” does the disambiguation work cleanly.
For recent coverage, see the NYT Mini Crossword answers for July 27, 2026 and July 24, 2026.
