September 21, 2026archive
NYT Mini Crossword — September 21, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's grid opens across with footwear you might wear while hauling boxes on moving day, then what optimists keep elevated, and a flaky baked dish.
Hint 2 of 5
Continue across with a gas station chain that shares its name with something you'd find by the beach, and an old-fashioned word for days gone by.
Hint 3 of 5
Down starts with someone who casts a ballot, a tech company you might shop at next to a farmer's market, and the first name of the actor who played Barney Stinson.
Hint 4 of 5
Keep going down with the compass direction opposite of NNW, and a treat you might leave out for Santa.
Hint 5 of 5
Finish down with the stage name of the rapper behind "Gangnam Style."
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
- Appropriate shoes to wear on moving day? — VANS
- Optimists keep them high — HOPES
- Baked entree with a flaky crust — POTPIE
- Appropriate gas station to find by the beach? — SHELL
- Days of old — YORE
- Ballot caster — VOTER
- Appropriate store beside a farmer's market? — APPLE
- Actor ___ Patrick Harris — NEIL
- Opposite of NNW — SSE
- Appropriate snack for Santa? — HOHO
- "Gangnam Style" rapper — PSY
This puzzle by the numbers
- 5 across, 6 down
- POTPIE (6)
Counted from our own archive of NYT Mini Crossword answers — not published anywhere else.
