NYT Mini Crossword Answers and Hints for Monday, Nov. 2, 2026: A Five-by-Five Grid

The New York Times (NYT) Mini Crossword for Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, is a five-by-five grid with 10 clues by Joel Fagliano. A black square fills each corner, so the top and bottom rows hold three letters and the three middle rows run the full width. 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 (3 letters), Awesome song, informally

  slang for a great track, and also the fruit spread you put on toast.

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  Jam
• 4-Across (5 letters), Word after “Midas” or “magic”

  the sense you use with your fingertips.

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  Touch
• 6-Across (5 letters), World’s most populous country

  the South Asian nation whose capital is New Delhi.

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  India
• 7-Across (5 letters), Holy person

  someone a church has canonized; it ends in T.

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  Saint
• 8-Across (3 letters), Ticker symbol for Harley-Davidson on the N.Y.S.E., appropriately

  a farm animal that bikers also use as a nickname for a big motorcycle.

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  Hog

Down

• 1-Down (5 letters), Biblical whale bait

  the prophet swallowed by a great fish; it starts with J.

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  Jonah
• 2-Down (5 letters), Sound

  the word for the sound track of a recording, as opposed to its video.

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  Audio
• 3-Down (5 letters), Hosting, informally

  acting as master of ceremonies, written as two initials with a verb ending added.

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  Mcing
• 4-Down (3 letters), ”___ the season!”

  the old contraction of “it is” from the carol “Deck the Halls.”

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  Tis
• 5-Down (3 letters), Pharrell’s signature item of apparel

  something worn on the head.

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  Hat

Solving tips

Show the solving tips

Start with 6-Across, a plain geography fact, and 1-Down, a Bible story most people know. 4-Down runs down the left edge through the first letters of 4-, 6- and 7-Across, and 5-Down runs down the right edge through their last letters, so those two short answers check the three long rows. 3-Down is the trickiest entry: it is an abbreviation turned into a verb.

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

More of Monday’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints, Strands hints, Spelling Bee hints and Pips hints. Sunday’s grid is in our Mini answers for Nov. 1.

Today’s NYT Mini answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

Clue	Answer
1-Across	Jam
4-Across	Touch
6-Across	India
7-Across	Saint
8-Across	Hog
1-Down	Jonah
2-Down	Audio
3-Down	Mcing
4-Down	Tis
5-Down	Hat

3-Down reads as MCing, short for emceeing, and 4-Down is ‘Tis. The answers come from the puzzle’s official data.

Yesterday's Mini Crossword answer

The Mini on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026: Across 1 Abcs, 5 Clap, 6 Whiny, 7 Home, 8 Oops; Down 1 Achoo, 2 Blimp, 3 Canes, 4 Spy, 6 Who. Yesterday's hints and full solution.