September 16, 2026archive
NYT Mini Crossword — September 16, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's five-by-five opens with a nickname for a Dallas NBA player, then something you'd respond to with an RSVP.
Hint 2 of 5
Continue across with a covered patio that shares its name with a Hawaiian island, and a word for a dominant, powerful figure in a business field.
Hint 3 of 5
The last across answer describes a self-referential trait of every letter drawn in this very puzzle's grid.
Hint 4 of 5
Down starts with a word for cheese becoming gooey when heated, and a phrase meaning something didn't work despite the effort.
Hint 5 of 5
Finish down with the largest standard drink size at a popular coffee chain, a soft flatbread often brushed with garlic butter, and the pointed prong of a fork.
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
- Dallas hooper, for short — MAV
- Something to R.S.V.P. to — EVENT
- Kind of patio that shares its name with a Hawaiian island — LANAI
- Heavyweight in an industry — TITAN
- Straight ___, every part of every letter in this puzzle's grid — LINE
- Turn gooey, as cheese — MELT
- To no ___ (unsuccessfully) — AVAIL
- Large size at Starbucks — VENTI
- Flatbread sometimes brushed with garlic butter — NAAN
- Sharp part of a fork — TINE
This puzzle by the numbers
- 5 across, 5 down
- EVENT (5)
Counted from our own archive of NYT Mini Crossword answers — not published anywhere else.
