NYT Mini Crossword, July 21: Solve the Monday puzzle with these hints and answers
Hints for Monday's Puzzle: July 21, 2025
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Across Hints:
1 Across: Ceremonial band — (Hint: Ends with 'S')
5 Across: First official state hand gesture (as per a 2024 Hawaiian bill) — (Hint: Ends with 'A')
6 Across: Deck with the Major and Minor Arcana — (Hint: Starts with 'T')
7 Across: Just love — (Hint: Starts with 'A')
8 Across: Boardwalk has the highest one on a Monopoly board — (Hint: Ends with 'T')
Down Hints:
1 Down: Cool place to be on a sunny day — (Hint: Ends with 'E')
2 Down: Name that might come first during an alphabetical roll call — (Hint: Starts with 'A')
3 Down: Hybrid athletic garment — (Hint: Starts with 'S')
4 Down: Just loathe — (Hint: Ends with 'E')
5 Down: One whose name is in lights — (Hint: Starts with 'S')
NYT Mini Answers for July 21, 2025
Across Answers:
1 Across: SASH
5 Across: SHAKA
6 Across: TAROT
7 Across: ADORE
8 Across: RENT
Down Answers:
1 Down: SHADE
2 Down: AARON
3 Down: SKORT
4 Down: HATE
5 Down: STAR
A Closer Look at the Grid
Why NYT Mini Remains a Daily Ritual
Strategies for Solving the NYT Mini
Start with Known Answers: Begin with obvious clues to build momentum.
Use Cross Letters: The intersecting format makes it easier to solve multiple clues simultaneously.
Think Synonyms and Cultural References: Often, the puzzle includes phrases that tie into pop culture, geography, or history.
Don't Overthink It: Many clues appear harder than they actually are. Trust your instincts.
Time Your Solving: Use the clock to add a competitive edge. Many solvers track their time to improve over the week.
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In the ever-growing landscape of digital puzzle games, the NYT Mini Crossword has carved a niche of its own with its compact size and challenging clues. The Monday, July 21, 2025 edition brought a fresh set of cryptic entries that have once again captured the attention of crossword aficionados worldwide.Created as a shorter, faster alternative to The New York Times' classic crossword, the NYT Mini is beloved for its daily five-by-five format that makes for a perfect mental workout during commutes, coffee breaks, or before bedtime. While many puzzle enthusiasts consider it a brief warm-up to the larger grid, Monday's clues left even seasoned solvers scratching their heads.The NYT Mini is part of the New York Times' suite of popular word games including Wordle, Connections, and Strands. Unlike the full-sized Crossword, which typically requires a paid subscription, the Mini is free and resets daily at 10 p.m. IST. Its brevity, however, doesn't take away from its intensity.Today's Mini, like most Mondays, maintained a medium difficulty level—easy enough for casual solvers, yet layered with nuanced wordplay that demands both logic and a touch of intuition.To assist players without revealing too much at once, clues for today's game were divided into Across and Down hints, as per a report by Parade magazine. These nudged players just enough to keep the challenge alive without spoiling the experience.For those who prefer resolution over rumination, today's answers helped connect the dots on a grid that featured culture, emotion, fashion, and property reference, all packed into a tight five-word format in each direction.Each clue today offered a subtle blend of trivia and logic. From the ceremonial 'SASH' to 'SHAKA'—Hawaii's newly-minted official hand gesture—today's puzzle incorporated recent cultural events into wordplay.Of special note was the clue referencing 'TAROT,' the spiritual deck often associated with fortune-telling. Meanwhile, 'ADORE' and 'HATE' brought an emotional balance to the board, and 'SKORT' added a fashionable twist, referencing the hybrid of skirt and shorts popular in athletic and casual wear.The blue-chip property reference 'RENT' hearkened to Monopoly's most expensive square, Boardwalk—drawing a parallel between games of chance and games of words.Despite the advent of AI and tech-assisted learning tools, the appeal of traditional puzzles like the NYT Mini remains unwavering. It's a game that rewards word familiarity, pop culture awareness, and lateral thinking.For many users, the game's appeal lies in its ability to challenge with brevity. There are no sprawling grids or cryptic definitions—just a tight box of clues that demand wit over time.Regular players recommend a few tried-and-tested strategies for aspiring solvers of the NYT Mini:The NYT Mini Crossword is a compact, five-by-five daily crossword puzzle published by The New York Times. Designed as a quicker, simpler version of the traditional full-sized crossword, it challenges players with clever clues that can be solved in a few minutes.The puzzle resets daily at 12:30 p.m ET, offering a fresh set of clues every night for solvers around the globe.
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