NYT Mini Crossword Answers and Hints for Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026: A Five-by-Five Grid

The New York Times (NYT) Mini Crossword for Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, is a five-by-five grid with 10 clues by Joel Fagliano. Two black squares sit in the top-left corner and two in the bottom-right, so every entry runs three to five letters. Below is a hint for every clue, each one hidden until you open it, then the full answers in a marked spoiler section.

Hints for every clue

Across

• 1-Across (4 letters), Preschoolers sing them

  the alphabet song, written as three letters plus a plural S.
• 5-Across (4 letters), Give applause

  bring your palms together, once.
• 6-Across (5 letters), Constantly complaining

  an adjective for a child who moans about everything; it ends in Y.
• 7-Across (4 letters), Remote button with a house icon

  the same word as the place you live.
• 8-Across (4 letters), Bad comment to hear from your barber

  the word people say right after a small mistake; it starts with a double O.

Down

• 1-Down (5 letters), Sneeze sound

  how a sneeze is spelled in comics, starting with A.
• 2-Down (5 letters), Goodyear aircraft

  the airship that floats over stadiums, not a plane.
• 3-Down (5 letters), Some decorations on Christmas trees

  the striped hooked candies, plural.
• 4-Down (3 letters), Undercover agent

  a secret operative in a three-letter word.
• 6-Down (3 letters), “Pinball Wizard” band, with “The”

  the British rock group whose name is also a question word.

Solving tips

Start with 4-Down and 6-Down, the only three-letter answers. 1-Across and 1-Down share their first square, and 6-Across crosses all five Down answers, so filling it checks the whole middle row at once. 7-Across and 8-Across, on the two bottom rows, each cross four Down answers, so save them for last.

Keep a streak log on our printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More of Sunday’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints, Strands hints, Spelling Bee hints and Pips hints. Saturday’s grid is in our Mini answers for Oct. 31.

Today’s NYT Mini answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

Clue	Answer
1-Across	Abcs
5-Across	Clap
6-Across	Whiny
7-Across	Home
8-Across	Oops
1-Down	Achoo
2-Down	Blimp
3-Down	Canes
4-Down	Spy
6-Down	Who

1-Across is the alphabet, read as its first three letters, and 3-Down means candy canes. The answers come from the puzzle’s official data.

Yesterday's Mini Crossword answer

The Mini on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026: Across 1 Bag, 4 Nasa, 5 Startle, 8 Par, 9 Roo, 10 Airhorn, 12 Mouses, 13 Ewe; Down 1 Bar, 2 Astros, 3 Galore, 4 Narrow, 5 Spa, 6 Taime, 7 Eons, 11 Hue. Yesterday's hints and full solution.