NYT Mystery Mini Answers & Hints
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | Play NYT Mystery Mini
The Mystery Mini is a 5×5 NYT Mini with a twist in the cluing, published as part of the New York Times Bonus Puzzles every Wednesday. We provide hints and today’s answers.
Click a square to reveal its letter. Get hints below.
The Mystery Mini is a 5×5 New York Times mini crossword with a twist in the cluing — “expect the unexpected” is the brief. It arrives every Wednesday as part of the NYT Bonus Puzzles, and stays up for the whole week. Above you’ll find the grid, every clue and the full solution for the week you’ve selected.
Reveal a single letter when a crossing has you stuck, open one answer at a time, or show the whole grid once you’re ready to see how it fits together. Past weeks stay in the archive, so you can catch up on a drop you missed.
What is the NYT Mystery Mini?
The Mystery Mini is one of six New York Times Bonus Puzzles, a weekly set of twists on the daily games that launched in August 2026. Where the regular NYT Mini plays it straight, the Mystery Mini bends the cluing — misdirection, wordplay and clues that mean something other than what they first appear to.
The grid is the familiar 5×5, so it stays a short solve. The difficulty comes from the clues rather than the size, which makes it a good bridge for solvers who find the daily Mini too quick but the full 15×15 too long.
Tips for solving the Mystery Mini
- Distrust the obvious reading. If a clue has a plain answer that fits perfectly, check the crossings before you commit — the plain reading is often the trap.
- Solve the crossings first. On a 5×5, every letter you place constrains two entries. Building from the straightforward clues gives you enough letters to force the tricky ones.
- Watch the question marks. A clue ending in “?” is signalling wordplay rather than definition — pun, homophone, or a word used in an unexpected sense.
When does the Mystery Mini come out?
Every Wednesday, alongside the rest of the NYT Bonus Puzzles. The same puzzle stays up all week, so Wednesday’s Mystery Mini is still “this week’s” on Sunday.
Frequently asked questions about NYT Mystery Mini
The Mystery Mini is a 5×5 New York Times mini crossword with deliberately tricky cluing. It is one of the six NYT Bonus Puzzles, which drop together every Wednesday.
The grid is the same size, but the clues lean on misdirection and wordplay rather than straight definitions. It also runs weekly rather than daily.
Every Wednesday, with the rest of the NYT Bonus Puzzles. The same puzzle stays up for the whole week.
Use the date picker above the grid to jump to an earlier Wednesday. Every week we have covered stays in the archive.
Daily Game Solvers, Hints and Answers
We help you solve your favourite daily game
