September 11, 2026archive
NYT Mini Crossword — September 11, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's five-by-five opens with a picture-based puzzle that combines symbols to spell out a message, then a potato-famous state known for its license plate slogan.
Hint 2 of 5
Continue across with a coffee order without the caffeine, and the long snout that's a defining feature of a certain African anteater-like mammal.
Hint 3 of 5
The last across answer is the familiar abbreviation for a decades-old live sketch comedy show.
Hint 4 of 5
Down starts with a word meaning to free something of an unwanted presence, and paradise-like places.
Hint 5 of 5
Finish down with a lyric about bringing home a breakfast meat, a well-known truck rental company, and a word that pairs with "ware" or "ball."
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
- Picture puzzle where 👁️ + ❤️ + 🐑 means "I love you" — REBUS
- Its license plates read "Famous Potatoes" — IDAHO
- After-dinner coffee order — DECAF
- Distinctive feature of an aardvark — SNOUT
- Long-running show with a cold open, familiarly — SNL
- Frees (of) — RIDS
- Utopian places — EDENS
- "I'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the ___" (Weezer lyric) — BACON
- Big name in moving trucks — UHAUL
- Word before ware or ball — SOFT
This puzzle by the numbers
- 5 across, 5 down
- REBUS (5)
Counted from our own archive of NYT Mini Crossword answers — not published anywhere else.
