Mini crossword tips

A solving order that survives a 5×5

Start with clues that are basically a blank in a phrase, or a definition you would give a ten-year-old. On a five-by-five those answers are short, so one sure word paints letters into two or three neighbors. Then read the crossing clue before you fall in love with a synonym. If Check says a square is wrong, clear that square only. Rewriting the whole row usually destroys a word that was fine.

Plurals and verb endings are a gift on a small grid. If a crossing wants an S and your brilliant answer cannot take one, the brilliant answer is wrong. Proper names are the other trap. If you do not know the person, leave the square and come back from the other direction. Guessing a celebrity into a 5×5 poisons half the board.

Does it get harder through the week?

The Times help center does not publish a Monday-easy, Friday-hard table for the mini. Beebom says there is no fixed climb, and that difficulty moves with the clue and the wordplay. StuckOnWordle says Monday feels easiest, Friday harder, and Sunday a bit longer. I am not going to print a star chart that pretends those feelings are a schedule. They are two readings. Yours can be a third.

minicrossword.com does say its own puzzles ramp up from Monday toward the weekend. That is a statement about Jeff Chen’s site, not about the Times and not about the puzzles on this domain. Our daily notes name a theme. They do not assign a weekday difficulty score.

Should I use Reveal?

Use hints on the date page first. Reveal is there when a single square is blocking you and you would rather finish.

Is Friday’s Times mini harder?

Some solvers say so. The help center does not say so. I am not upgrading a feeling into a rule.

What if the grid is full but nothing happened?

On the Times player, a full wrong grid does not celebrate. On ours, press Check. A marked square is the one to reconsider.