Spoilers below. If you’re still solving, bookmark this page and come back when you’re ready. You can play the Mini on the NYT Games site at nytimes.com/crosswords/game/mini.

NYT Mini answers for Oct. 17, 2025 — Across

Clue Answer
1A: “The Naked Gun” or “Scary Movie” SPOOF
6A: ___ cut (short hairstyle) PIXIE
7A: Napoleon’s punishment after the Battle of Waterloo EXILE
8A: Surrendered CEDED
9A: They travel up and down snow-covered hills SLEDS

NYT Mini answers for Oct. 17, 2025 — Down

Clue Answer
1D: Glasses, informally SPECS
2D: Dot on a computer screen PIXEL
3D: Nitrous ___ (laughing gas) OXIDE
4D: De-squeaked, as a bike chain OILED
5D: Scrollable features of social media FEEDS

Why these entries fit

  • SPOOF matches both “The Naked Gun” and the “Scary Movie” series, which parody genre tropes.
  • PIXIE is a common short hairstyle; that pairs neatly with 2D’s PIXEL through overlapping letters.
  • EXILE is the historical outcome for Napoleon following Waterloo.
  • CEDED means yielded or surrendered, in line with the clue’s past tense.
  • SLEDS is the straightforward plural for downhill snow transport.
  • SPECS is casual shorthand for spectacles.
  • PIXEL is the unit “dot” that makes up a digital display.
  • OXIDE completes “Nitrous ___,” the chemical compound better known as laughing gas.
  • OILED describes the fix for a squeaky chain.
  • FEEDS are the vertically scrollable streams in social apps.

Mini basics (format and timing)

The Mini is a compact crossword that typically uses a 5×5 grid with three to five entries in each direction. It aims for quick solves with direct cluing and clean crossings. The grid size can expand on some days, especially Saturdays.

New puzzles generally post in the evening—weekdays at 10PM ET and weekends earlier in the evening—so if you solve late, you’ll often see the next day’s Mini appear right after you finish.