These are the corroborated answers for the NYT Mini Crossword dated Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The puzzle is archived; this page is for that date, not for today’s puzzle.
Wednesday, January 21 Mini Crossword answers
Open the answer key only when you are ready for spoilers.
Across
| Clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1-Across: The slightest amount | A BIT |
| 5-Across: With 2-Down, intentionally inflammatory posts | RAGE |
| 6-Across: Dirty stuff | FILTH |
| 8-Across: Five Below or 7-Eleven | STORE |
| 9-Across: Something used to steer a rowboat | OAR |
Down
| Clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1-Down: Sounds from a doggy daycare | ARFS |
| 2-Down: See 5-Across | BAIT |
| 3-Down: Domed home | IGLOO |
| 4-Down: Small, colorful fish that’s popular in aquariums | TETRA |
| 7-Down: 2013 film in which Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with an A.I. operating system | HER |
How the crossing answers fit
5-Across and 2-Down combine to form “rage bait,” matching the clue for intentionally inflammatory posts. The other entries are supported by their crossings: A BIT, FILTH, STORE and OAR across; ARFS, IGLOO, TETRA and HER down.
About this dated puzzle
WordDB and Forbes publish the same ten clue-and-answer pairs for the January 21, 2026 puzzle, and Parade also lists all ten answers. The key here is therefore corroborated by multiple third-party answer pages; a primary NYT answer page was not verified. Forbes reported on January 21, 2026 that the Mini was available only to subscribers and that archive puzzles required an NYT Games subscription at that time. That is a dated report, not confirmation of current access rules.
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