NYT Mini Crossword Answers for March 22, 2026 | CNET

The New York Times’ daily Mini Crossword puzzle for March 22, 2026, has been completed, offering a quick mental exercise for solvers. The puzzle featured clues ranging from pop culture to geography and language.

Among the across clues, 7-Across, “Big name in root beer,” was answered with “AANDW,” referencing the A&W brand. Other across answers included “COLIN” for “Jost of ‘Saturday Night Live’,” “RHINE” for a German wine valley rhyming with “wine,” and “FRUIT” as a common slot machine symbol. 9-Across, “James Talarico’s state,” was answered with “TEXAS.”

Down clues presented a similar mix of challenges. 1-Down, “Cunning skill,” was solved as “CRAFT.” “Chicago airport” was identified as “OHARE” (2-Down). The operating system on which Android is partly based, 3-Down, was answered with “LINUX.” 4-Down, “World’s most populous country,” was answered with “INDIA,” and 5-Down, “Small salamanders,” was answered with “NEWTS.”

The New York Times offers a variety of other daily games alongside the Mini Crossword, including Wordle, Connections, Strands, and Spelling Bee, all accessible through the NYT Games website. Wordle, edited by Tracy Bennett as of March 21, 2026, challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six attempts. Connections tasks players with grouping words by shared themes, while Strands involves uncovering hidden words within a grid. The Times also recently introduced Crossplay, a two-player word game available as a free app for iOS and Android devices.

The New York Times’ suite of games has expanded significantly since the introduction of The Mini Crossword in 2014, followed by Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and Tiles. The acquisition of Wordle further broadened the offerings, with subsequent additions like Connections and Strands.