If you’re chasing a streak or a personal-best time, today’s New York Times Mini Crossword for Saturday, August 23, offers just enough bite to be interesting without turning into a timesink. Below you’ll find the complete answer key, followed by a deeper, solver-friendly breakdown of clue angles, where the grid likely felt stickiest, and quick strategies you can reuse on future Minis. This write-up is designed to serve both purposes most Mini solvers have: confirming a square that cost you seconds and learning a few patterns that shave time tomorrow—without turning the experience into a spoiler-fest for every clue you’ll ever see.
Today’s full solution (spoilers): Across — MOPTOP; KILLINIT; ANDSCENE; TIS; SIN; ZOOMLENS; NUTMEG; LAND. Down — MINION; OLDSOUL; PLS; TIC; ONESEED; PINING; KATZ; TENS; MTA; LMN.
At first glance, this answer set mixes pop culture, everyday language, and a couple of short abbreviations—the kind of blend the Mini excels at. Many solvers will have cracked the grid by anchoring fast, high-confidence entries and using them as cross-checks for the longer ones. “MOPTOP” (hairstyle made popular by the Beatles) is a classic crossword-ready noun that practically fills itself once you spot the Beatles cue. “ANDSCENE” (director’s words at the end of a take) is another gift if you’ve ever watched a behind-the-scenes clip or taken a drama class; the phrase is idiomatic and familiar. “TIS” is a staple contraction in crosswords, and “SIN” is a direct, unambiguous definition for serious wrongdoing. “LAND” (come down to earth) is literal rather than figurative, which helps it fall quickly once you have a crossing or two.
The longer entries across are textbook Mini time-sinks if you don’t see them immediately. “KILLINIT” (doin’ amazingly, in slang) is just contemporary enough to make some solvers hesitate over spacing or informal spelling—should it be “KILLIN IT,” “KILLIN’ IT,” or closed-up “KILLINIT”? In Minis, slang is often presented close-up to fit the grid cleanly, so trusting that convention pays off. “ZOOMLENS” (camera attachment) is a solid technical noun that may tempt you into overthinking—there are many camera add-ons—but once you have a Z or an M from Crosses, “ZOOMLENS” becomes the most natural fit. “NUTMEG” (spice in a Pumpkin Spice Latte) is seasonally flavored, cluing in miniature: while PSLs classically highlight cinnamon and nutmeg among other spices, “NUTMEG” is a clean six-letter entry that fits the Mini’s compact style.
On the Downs, the puzzle offers several rapid-fire wins. “MINION” (yellow creature in “Despicable Me”) is widely recognizable and helps unlock whichever longer answer intersects it. “PLS” (opposite of “thx,” in texting) is exactly the sort of short abbreviation that Minis use to speed you through corners—if “thx” is the thanks, “PLS” gets you to the politeness on the other end of the exchange. “TIC” (behavioral quirk) and “MTA” (N.Y.C. commuting org.) are crossword-old friends: short, common, and dependable. “TENS” (Hamilton bills) is straightforward U.S. currency trivia. “LMN” (letters after “JK”) is a letter-sequence gag that Minis love—fast and satisfying once you realize you’re not in slang land anymore, you’re just moving through the alphabet.
A couple of Downs lean into culture and sports. “OLDSOUL” (teen who exclusively listens to music from the ’70s, say) is a character sketch disguised as a clue; the key is recognizing that the definition is about temperament or taste, not age. “ONESEED” (tournament favorite) is bracket speak; even if you’re not a March Madness regular, “one seed” has migrated into broader sports commentary, so keep it in your mental word list. “PINING” (longing for) is a clean, formal verb that pairs well with the Mini’s fondness for precise vocabulary. “KATZ” (the New York City deli featured in “When Harry Met Sally…”) is iconic enough that even non-New Yorkers will hear the “I’ll have what she’s having” bell; in a small grid, that proper noun can be a lifesaver because the Z is a relatively uncommon letter and locks down crossings quickly.
From a difficulty perspective, today’s grid likely produced two kinds of slowdowns. First, the slang vs. orthography issue with “KILLINIT.” When a clue uses an apostrophe in an example or your brain expects one, Minis often elides punctuation to keep the fill clean; accepting that pattern can save you a rethink. Second, “ZOOMLENS” might have competed with “telephoto” or “macro” in your mind, but those either don’t fit or don’t match the clue’s generality—“camera attachment,” not a specific focal-length class. Once “ZOOMLENS” falls, it provides a pile of crosses that make “NUTMEG” and “ANDSCENE” snap into place.
If your intent today was simply to check an error and protect a streak, the minimal answer list above is all you needed. If your intent is improvement—faster times and fewer hiccups—here are takeaway patterns straight from this grid that you can repurpose tomorrow. Start by scanning for short, high-certainty abbreviations and sequences: “MTA,” “PLS,” “TIC,” “LMN,” and “TENS” are the sort of entries that can be filled almost on sight. Next, exploit pop-culture anchors that carry unmistakable letters: “MINION,” “KATZ,” and “MOPTOP” each plant uncommon consonants—M, N, Z, P, T—that give you strong confirmation across the row or column. Finally, treat long, everyday phrases like “ANDSCENE” as phrases rather than individual words; reading the clue aloud can trigger recognition faster than silently parsing.
It’s also useful to remember what Minis typically do not try to do: they’re less likely to bury you in obscure proper nouns or arcane abbreviations, especially on a weekend when many players are solving on mobile. Instead, they rely on a crisp mix of modern vernacular, evergreen cultural touchstones, and general knowledge. That’s why today’s “NUTMEG” works so well: it’s concrete, familiar, and specific without requiring a culinary deep dive. Similarly, “ONESEED” rewards even casual sports awareness without punishing those who don’t follow a particular league.
For solvers tracking performance, consider segmenting your run into phases. Phase one: the instant-fills (abbreviations, alphabet runs, very common nouns). Phase two: the culturally obvious (MINION, KATZ, MOPTOP). Phase three: the longer, phrase-based entries that unlock with two or three crosses (“ANDSCENE,” “ZOOMLENS,” “KILLINIT”). If you’re speed-solving, your goal is to move through phase one in a handful of seconds, exit phase two with at least one long entry half-filled, and then let crosses do the heavy lifting in phase three. The more you practice this rhythm, the less you’ll stall when a single clue doesn’t click immediately.
One more note for those who like to future-proof their approach: Minis often oscillate between hyper-current slang and timeless vocabulary across the same grid. Today’s “KILLINIT” and “OLDSOUL” sit comfortably alongside “TIS” and “SIN.” Don’t overfit your expectations to one register; stay flexible. If a clue seems to be pointing at something modern, but every letter you have suggests a classic term, trust the letters. Crosswords—especially small ones—are built to converge on certainty through intersections.
As for what’s next, a fresh Mini will be waiting at midnight in the NYT Games app and on the website, and you can expect a similar mix of cultural references and quick definitions. If you’re building a streak, consider toggling on the in-app streak reminders and minimizing mid-solve distractions; Minis are short enough that a single interruption can cost you the leaderboard. And if you’re just here for the satisfaction of a tidy daily brain warm-up, keep doing what works: start small, lock easy wins, and let the grid tell you the rest.
To recap today in one line: a clean, lively Mini with approachable anchors, a couple of confidence-boosting pop-culture gimmes, and just enough longer fill to keep your fingers tapping. Use the confirmed entries—MOPTOP, KILLINIT, ANDSCENE, TIS, SIN, ZOOMLENS, NUTMEG, LAND; MINION, OLDSOUL, PLS, TIC, ONESEED, PINING, KATZ, TENS, MTA, LMN—to check your work, and carry the patterns forward. Whether you were protecting a streak or chasing a new best time, this was a good grid to practice the fundamentals that matter most: start with the sure things, trust your crosses, and don’t let one square steal your minute.