The NYT Mini Crossword answers for September 7, 2026 are here – all five Across and five Down clues fully solved.
Still working through it? Three hints before the reveal:
- The first Across clue refers to a common woodworking tool.
- The first Down answer is a word for side dishes on a diner menu.
- One Down clue contains its answer hidden inside another word.
Across Answers
1-Across: Tool with teeth – SAW
4-Across: Number of rows on a chessboard – EIGHT
6-Across: Common Wordle starting word – ADIEU
7-Across: Kick back – RELAX
8-Across: Band’s grouping of songs – SET
Down Answers
1-Down: French fries and coleslaw, for two – SIDES
2-Down: Fleet of foot – AGILE
3-Down: Resource in the game Catan – WHEAT
4-Down: Body part in the heart of “heart” – EAR
5-Down: Attire for a black-tie wedding – TUX
About Today’s Mini
Monday’s Mini opened with SAW – a clean, three-letter entry that eases solvers into the grid. The chess trivia packed into 4-Across is more precise than it first appears: a standard chessboard has exactly eight rows and eight columns, for 64 squares total. ADIEU, the vowel-heavy Wordle opener that players swear by, earns its crossword cameo with good reason. RELAX was a smooth fill for 7-Across.
The clue of the day belonged to 4-Down. EAR is literally embedded inside the word “hEARt” – a letter-within-a-word construction the Mini deploys just often enough to keep solvers on their toes. Pair that with TUX as a three-letter stand-in for formal wear, and Monday’s puzzle struck a satisfying balance between trivia and wordplay.
The full NYT Crossword, Wordle, Connections, and the other daily games are available in the New York Times Games app.
