Need help with today's NYT Mini Crossword? Here are all the clues, hints, and full answers for Thursday, March 26, 2026. Hints come first — scroll past them only when you're ready for the full solutions.
What Is the NYT Mini Crossword?
The NYT Mini Crossword is a fast 5×5 crossword puzzle published daily by The New York Times. It's designed to be solved in minutes, making it a perfect daily brain warm-up before tackling the full crossword.
Across Clues and Hints — March 26, 2026
1 Across: Degrees for boardroom execs
Hint: A well-known postgraduate business qualification — plural.
Answer: MBAS
5 Across: "___ want for Christmas …"
Hint: Fill in the blank from the famous holiday song lyric.
Answer: ALLI
6 Across: What Hamlet holds while giving his "Alas, poor Yorick!" speech
Hint: It's a human bone — the most recognisable one in Shakespeare.
Answer: SKULL
7 Across: Wild, as an animal
Hint: Think untamed, undomesticated — a word often used for stray cats.
Answer: FERAL
8 Across: Sphere
Hint: A short, poetic word for a round object — think fantasy or astronomy.
Answer: ORB
Down Clues and Hints — March 26, 2026
1 Down: Word after "match" or "mischief"
Hint: Someone who creates or produces something — or causes it.
Answer: MAKER
2 Down: Bit of writing on a book jacket
Hint: That short, punchy promotional paragraph on the back or inside flap.
Answer: BLURB
3 Down: Penne ___ vodka
Hint: Complete the name of this classic Italian-American pasta dish.
Answer: ALLA
4 Down: Window ledge
Hint: The flat horizontal surface at the bottom of a window frame.
Answer: SILL
6 Down: Bay Area airport, for short
Hint: Three-letter IATA code for San Francisco's main international airport.
Answer: SFO
Full Answer Grid — March 26, 2026
Here's a quick summary of all today's Mini Crossword answers:
Across
- 1A: MBAS
- 5A: ALLI
- 6A: SKULL
- 7A: FERAL
- 8A: ORB
Down
- 1D: MAKER
- 2D: BLURB
- 3D: ALLA
- 4D: SILL
- 6D: SFO
A Note on Today's Grid
Today's Mini has a fun baseball theme running through it — baseball images are patterned throughout the grid, and solving the puzzle reveals a word spelled out by those images. It's a timely touch with the MLB season getting underway. The clues themselves are a nice mix of pop culture (Hamlet, holiday songs), everyday vocabulary (FERAL, ORB), and practical knowledge (SFO, MBAS). BLURB is the kind of answer that feels obvious in retrospect but can trip you up mid-solve.
More Daily Puzzle Help
Looking for hints from other days? Check out our recent guides: