Today’s NEW mini crossword answer for December 21

Looking for the latest Mini crossword answers? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword clue, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands and Connections puzzle.


You don’t even want to know how confused I was about the answer to 9 across i Mini crossword. I filled in the other answers and then sat looking at a finished puzzle, but couldn’t figure out how DØ was the answer to a clue that read: “Roll with it.” Then finally it dawned on me — they didn’t mean “die” as in death, but as in the singular “dice”, something you roll. Duh. If you’re stuck on any of the tracks today, we’ve got the answers. And if you could use some tips and guidance for the daily solution, check out our mini crossword tips.

Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ game collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, and Strands answers, visit CNET’s NYT puzzle page.

Read more: Tips and tricks for solving the New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get into the mini crossword clues and answers.

completed-new-mini-crossword-for-21-dec-2024.png

The finished NEW mini crossword for December 21, 2024.

NEWS/Screenshot by CNET

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Zap with a beam of light
Answer: LASES

5 A clue: ___ solstice, the shortest day of the year
Answer: WINTER

7 A clue: 100 years
Answer: CENTURY

8A clue: 100 years, for Jimmy Carter
Answer: AGE

9 A tip: Roll with it!
Answer: DIE

10A Clue: Sports Novices
Answer: ROOKIES

12 A clue: Like every day compared to the day before, for the next six months
Answer: LONG

13A clue: Eugene V. ___, five-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America
Answer: DEBS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: First blank on a form, maybe
Answer: LINEONE

2D Clue: Unwanted crawler on a kitchen table
Answer: QTY

3D clue: Preparing for a test
Answer: STUDIES

4D clue: More creepy
Answer: EERIER

5D clue: “All fat between us?”
Answer: WEGOOD

6D clue: Some bread … or a homophone for what they’re doing in the oven
Answer: RYES

7D Clue: Astronomer Sagan, whose papers are archived in the Library of Congress
Answer: CARL

11D clue: Spy org. in “Bridge of Spies”
Answer: KGB

How to play multiple mini crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for everyone to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.