NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers for March 14

NEW YORK, March 14, 2025 — The New York Times Mini Crossword provides a quick and engaging challenge for puzzle enthusiasts. Today’s clues offer insights into various topics, including pop culture and sports.

Among the key clues in today’s puzzle was one asking for the team that signed outfielder Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract. The answer is the New York Mets, a team that continues to make headlines in Major League Baseball.

The Mini Crossword, a compressed version of the larger daily crossword, is designed to be completed quickly, often featuring three to five clues in both horizontal and vertical directions on a five-by-five grid. While the daily challenge is free to play on the New York Times website and app, archived puzzles require a subscription to NYT Games.

Today’s puzzle also presented additional challenges. For instance, the clue for 1 Across asked for the female parent of a horse, with the answer being “dam.” Other clues included “slice” for a type of shot in tennis and “light” pertaining to concerns for basement apartments.

Many solvers found today’s puzzle engaging yet a bit tricky. “I struggled with IVIES and initially thought LIGHT should be ‘night,’” one player noted after completing the puzzle in less than a minute. This same solver mentioned the puzzle felt somewhat too American-centric, particularly the references.

The complete answers for today’s Mini Crossword include:

1 Across: Hydroelectric project – DAM

4 Across: Piece of the pie – SLICE

6 Across: Concern for a basement apartment – LIGHT

7 Across: Noted octet in higher education – IVIES

8 Across: Fur-riend – PET

1 Down: Piece of the pi? – DIGIT

2 Down: Feel the pain – ACHE

3 Down: Team that signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking contract – METS

4 Down: Mess (up) – SLIP

5 Down: Like podcasts with a studio audience, say – LIVE

The New York Times Mini Crossword is part of the broader range of games offered by the publication. Players can also access games like Wordle and Connections, all of which stimulate critical thinking and offer a fun distraction from daily routines.