It is June 18. You are here because you want to check the box in the New York Times Mini Crossgrid and move on with your morning coffee ritual. Do you want the answers now? Or do you need a nudge to finish the grid yourself? We will give you both.
Today’s puzzle leans toward the easy side. The clues are straightforward. The vocabulary is standard. If you got stuck on “Extinct flightless pigeons” or that specific Google Calendar date marker, keep reading. We will walk through every answer and why it fits.
Across Answers and Logic
The Across clues build a small narrative about cooking, being alone, and modern technology. Let us break them down from top to bottom.
1A. Pop music’s ___ Bunny
Answer: BAD
This one leans on pop culture recognition. If you listen to radio or watch late-night variety shows, the reference is unmistakable. No other pop star owns that moniker as completely as Bruno Mars does. It is short. It is punchy. It fits three slots.
4A. Unaccompanied
Answer: ALONE
Sometimes the easiest definitions are the trickiest because you overthink them. You might have considered words like solo or single. But those are four letters. ALONE fits perfectly and captures the full meaning of the clue. It is the literal synonym for having no company.
7A. Date circled in red on a Google Calendar
Answer: TODAY
Wait, the article mentioned “blue,” but typically the current date is highlighted in a specific color to denote immediacy. The answer is definitely TODAY. You see it at the top of your weekly view. You glance at it when you open the app. It is not tomorrow. It is not yesterday. It is now.
8A. Kitchen appliance with burners
Answer: STOVE
Do you have to overanalyze this? There are ranges. There are ovens. But the thing with burners is a stove. It is one of the most fundamental appliances in any modern kitchen. Three-letter words can be traps. STOVE is five letters. It works. It makes sense. It belongs.
9A. The “S” of GPS: Abbr.
Answer: SYS
GPS stands for Global Positioning Sys tem. Technically it is System, but crosswords
