The NYT Mini Crossword for September 2, 2026, brought a Food Network personality, a vacation rental platform, and endangered ocean ecosystems into the same five-by-five grid.
NYT Mini Crossword Answers: September 2, 2026
Across
1-Across: “The Odyssey” (2006) or “The Odd Couple” (1968): FILM
5-Across: YouTube posting: VIDEO
6-Across: Endangered marine ecosystems: REEFS
8-Across: Greasy: OILY
Down
1-Down: Guy of the Food Network: FIERI
2-Down: 10/10: IDEAL
3-Down: Someone who doesn’t handle things right?: LEFTY
4-Down: Spanish ___, plant that hangs from cypress trees: MOSS
5-Down: Airbnb alternative: VRBO
Clue Notes
The 1-Across clue links two titles: “The Odyssey” and “The Odd Couple,” connected by the single word FILM, describing both without being specific to either. Guy Fieri, the answer to 1-Down, hosts Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network and has become a recurring crossword answer due to the distinctive letter combination in his surname. VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) is the Airbnb competitor owned by Expedia Group, regularly used by the Mini as a four-letter fill. Spanish moss, the answer to 4-Down, is not a true moss at all: it is a bromeliad, a relative of the pineapple, that hangs in curtains from cypress and live oak trees across the American South and Central America. The clue for 3-Down uses wordplay: someone who does not handle things right is a left-handed person.
About the NYT Mini Crossword
The Mini Crossword is a compact daily puzzle published at midnight Eastern Time as part of the New York Times Games suite. It uses the same clue conventions as the standard crossword: wordplay, misdirection, and cultural knowledge, compressed into a five-by-five grid. Most players complete it in under three minutes. Play it free at NYT Mini Crossword.
For more word game help today, see the Wordle answer for September 2, 2026, the NYT Connections answers for September 2, 2026, and the NYT Strands answer for September 2, 2026 on Eastern Herald. Yesterday’s answers are in the NYT Mini Crossword answers for September 1, 2026.
