The NYT Mini Crossword answers for Monday, August 3, 2026: ACROSS – PYRO, SLEEP, HALLS, OILY, ETS; DOWN – PLAIT, YELLS, RELY, OPS, SHOE. Full clues, hints, and puzzle notes follow below.
NYT Mini Crossword Hints – August 3, 2026
Three hints for today’s trickier clues before the full answer list:
1-Across: A one-syllable slang shortening – the kind of person irresistibly drawn to flames. Four letters.
1-Down: This British English word for a hairstyle involves weaving strands over and under each other. Five letters, and the spelling trips up American solvers who expect a “b.”
7-Across: The punchline to the farmer joke woven through today’s grid. Think petroleum-adjacent. Four letters.
NYT Mini Crossword Answers – Monday, August 3, 2026
ACROSS
1-Across: Fire enthusiast, slangily – PYRO
5-Across: Q: Why did the farmer ___ under his tractor? – SLEEP
6-Across: Many buildings on campus – HALLS
7-Across: A: So he could wake up ___ in the morning! – OILY
8-Across: Aliens, for short – ETS
DOWN
1-Down: Braid, to a Brit – PLAIT
2-Down: Hollers – YELLS
3-Down: Depend (on) – RELY
4-Down: Photo ___ (publicity events) – OPS
5-Down: One of two often sold in a box – SHOE
About Today’s Mini Crossword Puzzle
Today’s Mini Crossword hides a complete joke across three clues. Reading 5-Across and 7-Across together gives: “Why did the farmer sleep under his tractor? So he could wake up oily in the morning!” The gag is a classic pun on “early” – a construction that rewards solvers paying attention to the thematic thread rather than treating each clue in isolation. It also makes SLEEP and OILY easier than they would appear standalone, since the joke’s logic guides the fill once the setup clue is spotted.
The toughest entry for many solvers will be 1-Down: PLAIT. The word is standard British English for a braid – pronounced “plat,” not “plate” – and it confounds American solvers who instinctively reach for the “b” spelling. In competitive crossword solving, British-English variants like PLAIT, KERB, and TYRE are reliable stumbling blocks in grids that otherwise run on American vocabulary. The crossing of PLAIT with PYRO (1-Across) means solvers who know the fire-enthusiast slang get the P immediately, which helps unlock the British spelling.
The NYT Mini Crossword resets each day at midnight Eastern time and is free to play on the New York Times Games site. For previous solutions, see NYT Mini Crossword answers for August 2, 2026 and NYT Mini Crossword answers for August 1, 2026.
