Stuck? You probably are. The NYT Mini has a rhythm today that catches people off guard.
It’s not random. The grid plays with your eyes.
Check the pattern. 1-Across is CHA. 4-Across is CHAR. Same letters. Just one extra. Then 5-Across is CHARM. Another letter added.
It builds. Layer by layer.
Same thing happening in the columns. 3-Down is ARM. 2-Down is HARM. Again. You see where this is going.
The puzzle is basically teaching itself. Or teasing you.
Here are the answers if you didn’t notice the trick in time.
Across
- 1A: When tripled, playful syllables? CHA (as in Happy Birthday).
- 4A: Grill burn. CHAR.
- 5A: Baltimore’s nickname. CHAR m City.
- 6A: Loud explosion noise. BOOM.
- 7A: Half of
cuatro. DOS.
Down
- 1D: Total mess. CHAOS.
- 2D: Hurt a reputation. HARM.
- 3D: Where a tattoo sleeve lives. ARM.
- 4D: Jimmy
___shoes. CHOO.
Sometimes the pattern is the clue.
Why complicate a four-by-five grid? Tradition, I guess.
Most of you solved this by feel rather than logic. Which is fine. It’s only a few minutes of your morning anyway.
The other puzzles on CNET are waiting. Wordle. Strands. Connections. Sports Edition, apparently.
Do you solve them for the dopamine hit or just to prove you can read?
The answers change every day. The urge to solve doesn’t.
