August 18, 2026archive
NYT Mini Crossword — August 18, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's five-by-five opens with the cuddling position where you nestle close together, then Mickey Mouse's pet dog.
Hint 2 of 5
Continue across with a foamy espresso-based coffee order, a casual word for inside information, and the drops that stream down a crying emoji's face.
Hint 3 of 5
Down starts with dividing a restaurant bill evenly, and the vehicle that comes with wings on either side.
Hint 4 of 5
Continue down with a phrase for leaving somewhere in a hurry, and the playful, whiskered animal often seen floating in a kelp forest.
Hint 5 of 5
Finish down with another word for Christmas carols.
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
- Big ___ (cuddling partner) — SPOON
- Mickey Mouse's pet dog — PLUTO
- Foamy coffee order — LATTE
- Inside information, informally — INTEL
- Blue streams down a yellow emoji's face — TEARS
- Divide, as the check — SPLIT
- It comes with wings on the side — PLANE
- "Get ___ town!" — OUTTA
- Furry animal seen swimming around a kelp forest — OTTER
- Christmas carols — NOELS
This puzzle by the numbers
- 5 across, 5 down
- SPOON (5)
Counted from our own archive of NYT Mini Crossword answers — not published anywhere else.
