Here are all the answers for the NYT Mini Crossword for September 26, 2026.
The NYT Mini is a compact daily crossword that resets at midnight. Today’s puzzle leans on pop culture, natural history, and a bit of wordplay – a solid Friday challenge.
NYT Mini Crossword Across Answers – September 26, 2026
1A: Alphabet song lyric before “Now I know my ABCs”
Answer: WXYANDZ
The tail end of the alphabet song – W, X, Y and Z – sung as one tumbling phrase before the famous closing line.
8A: Sea creature whose name sounds like “Ah, baloney!”
Answer: ABALONE
The large edible sea snail prized for its iridescent shell. Say it fast and the resemblance to “ah, baloney” comes through.
9A: Skin markings after a sunny day on the links
Answer: GOLFTAN
The classic golfer’s tan – one arm darker than the other, with a sharp line at the glove and collar.
10A: Gen ___ (member of the “MTV generation”)
Answer: XER
Gen Xer – someone born roughly between the early 1960s and early 1980s, coming of age with MTV in the background.
11A: Medieval weapon
Answer: POLEAXE
A fearsome weapon combining an axe blade, a hammer, and a spike on a long pole – common on medieval battlefields.
15A: Fasting intermittently, say
Answer: ONADIET
On a diet – intermittent fasting being one of the more talked-about modern approaches to it.
16A: Phrases differently
Answer: REWORDS
To reword something is to express the same idea in different language – a useful skill in crossword cluing itself.
NYT Mini Crossword Down Answers – September 26, 2026
1D: Shake, like a dog’s tail
Answer: WAG
2D: Gaming console with a number in its name
Answer: XBOXONE
Microsoft’s Xbox One – the number hidden in plain sight.
3D: Prestigious J.D. program in New Haven, Conn.
Answer: YALELAW
Yale Law School – consistently ranked among the top law programs in the United States.
4D: Creamy pasta sauce
Answer: ALFREDO
Fettuccine Alfredo’s defining sauce – butter, Parmesan, and pasta water, classically nothing more.
5D: “Believe it or ___ …”
Answer: NOT
6D: Double-helix molecule
Answer: DNA
7D: Buddhism branch associated with gardens
Answer: ZEN
Zen Buddhism, originating in China and flowering in Japan, is closely associated with rock gardens, meditation, and simplicity.
11D: “___ favor” (basic Spanish phrase)
Answer: POR
Por favor – please, in Spanish.
12D: What snowboarders try to catch
Answer: AIR
Getting air – launching off a jump or half-pipe lip – is central to freestyle snowboarding.
13D: Crossed (out)
Answer: XED
To X out or X something – marked with an X to indicate deletion or rejection.
14D: Creatures on U.F.O.s, for short
Answer: ETS
ETs – extraterrestrials – the shorthand for the little green (or grey) passengers of science fiction lore.
Looking for more daily puzzle answers? Check today’s Wordle #1925 answer, the NYT Connections #1203 answers, the NYT Strands #937 hints and answer, and the Contexto #1469 answer for September 26.
