NYT Mini Crossword — September 5, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's larger weekend grid opens with a northern U.S. state whose quarter shows a bear catching a fish, then a word for ordinary or typical.
Hint 2 of 5
Continue across with a word for feeling isolated, a large Rocky Mountain grazer, and the freestanding kitchen counter people gather around.
Hint 3 of 5
Finish across with someone following a weight-loss eating plan, and a martial arts class known for its colored belts.
Hint 4 of 5
Down starts with the short name for a common knee ligament injury, a British word for the bathroom, and a word for serious memory loss.
Hint 5 of 5
Finish down with a functional nickname for your nose, the capital city of West Bengal, a football fan's favorite phrase about giving it your all, a texting shrug, the word for what's left after taxes, and the nickname of a famous rapper-producer who co-founded a legendary record label.
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
- Its state quarter features a grizzly bear catching a salmon — ALASKA
- Run-of-the-mill — COMMON
- Needing a friend — LONELY
- Grazing animal in the Rockies — ELK
- Freestanding counter at the center of a kitchen — ISLAND
- Eating plan participant — DIETER
- Class with colored belts — KARATE
- Knee injury site, for short — ACL
- Brit's bathroom — LOO
- Memory loss issue — AMNESIA
- Nose, by function — SMELLER
- Major Indian city that's the capital of West Bengal — KOLKATA
- "___ given Sunday!" (football fan's maxim) — ANY
- Texting equivalent of a shrug — IDK
- After taxes — NET
- "Dr." who co-founded Death Row Records — DRE
This puzzle by the numbers
- 7 across, 9 down
- AMNESIA (7)
Counted from our own archive of NYT Mini Crossword answers — not published anywhere else.
