LA Times Mini Crossword Answers Today (August 2026)

Stuck on today’s LA Times Mini? Every answer for Today’s LA Times Mini Crossword is above, split into Across and Down exactly as the clue numbers appear in the grid. LA Times Mini publishes midnight Eastern Time (9 PM Pacific Time). Each Mini is a 5×5 grid with 10 clues (five Across and five Down)

The full LA Times Crossword Vs the LA Times Mini Crossword

The practical difference for solvers is checking. In a 5×5 with no black squares, every single letter is confirmed by a crossing word, so a wrong guess exposes itself almost immediately. In a full-size grid, a wrong entry can sit undetected for a long stretch.

Where to Find Past LA Times Mini Answers

Missed a day, or want to settle a puzzle you abandoned last week? Every previous LA Times Mini is still available here. The date picker at the top of this page jumps to any past puzzle. Each archived date keeps the same layout you see today: the completed grid first, then the Across and Down answers, then the hints. Nothing sits behind a signup.

Tips for Solving the LA Times Mini

These are the habits that shave time off any Mini, not hints for today’s grid.

Fill the gimmes first, then read the crosses

Write in the answers you’re certain of before you touch anything you’re unsure about. In a grid this small, one confident five-letter entry hands you a starting letter for all five clues running the other direction. The Mini rewards momentum more than cleverness.

Start with the fill-in-the-blank clues

A clue built around a blank is the least ambiguous thing in any crossword. There’s usually one phrase that fits and your ear finds it before your brain does. These cost nothing and immediately give you crossing letters to work with.

Match the grammar of the clue

A plural clue takes a plural answer. A past-tense clue takes a past-tense answer. A clue phrased as a noun won’t resolve to a verb. If your entry fits the squares but not the form of the clue, it’s the wrong entry.This is the single most common way solvers talk themselves into a bad grid.

Treat an abbreviated clue as a signal

Wording like “for short,” “in brief,” or “Abbr.” tells you the answer is shortened, as does an abbreviation sitting inside the clue itself. When a three-letter slot is giving you trouble, check whether the clue was quietly telling you to abbreviate the whole time.

Read a question mark as a warning

A question mark at the end of a clue is the constructor signalling wordplay. The definition is a pun, a double meaning or a deliberate misdirection rather than something you’d find in a dictionary.

Switch directions when you stall

Don’t grind on one clue. If an Across entry won’t come, solve the Downs that pass through it and let the letters accumulate underneath you. Two answers in one direction will usually break open everything in the other.

All the LA Times Mini Crossword Answers Are Accurate!

A wrong answer is worse than no answer, so here is exactly how this page gets built each day. Every morning a member of our team solves the LA Times Mini on latimes.com after it publishes. We don’t scrape aggregator sites and we don’t reconstruct answers from partial clue matches found elsewhere.