The NYT Mini Crossword answers for September 24, 2026 are below, with the clue and solution for every entry.
Across
1-Across: Attendees of the Jellicle Ball, on Broadway – CATS
5-Across: Topping on a pizza margherita – BASIL
6-Across: President who said “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something” – OBAMA
7-Across: Feature of many a smart toilet – SEAT
8-Across: Rattling kind of drum – TIN
Down
1-Down: House in the woods – CABIN
2-Down: Carne ___ (beef dish) – ASADA
3-Down: Function in the Clock app – TIMER
4-Down: Rock used in roofing – SLATE
5-Down: Moves up and down in the water – BOBS
The Mini for September 24 spans a wider cultural range than most. The 1-Across clue references the Jellicle Ball from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical Cats, where the feline cast gathers each year to compete for the chance at a new life. The 6-Across clue pairs a motivational quote with a five-letter presidential name – a format the Mini uses regularly and one that rewards solvers who recognise the sentiment from Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
For those catching up on yesterday’s NYT Mini Crossword answers for September 23, those are still available. ASADA, the 2-Down answer clued through the popular Mexican beef dish carne asada, is the entry most likely to slow solvers who arrive at that corner with only partial letters confirmed. BOBS, at 5-Down, refers to the act of moving buoyantly up and down in water – not the haircut or the name. SLATE, running down the right side of the grid, means the fine-grained metamorphic rock used in traditional roofing, not the publication.
The NYT Mini Crossword is a free 5×5 daily puzzle that resets at midnight Eastern Time, faster to complete than the full crossword but still capable of the occasional misdirect. For the rest of today’s NYT Games, the Wordle answer for September 24 is already posted. For those who missed yesterday, the NYT Connections answers for September 23 and the NYT Strands hints for September 23 are available.
