Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword was going pretty smooth for me until I hit 7-Across. I had the final four letters, but it seemed like the first letter should be R, which would not work. Thankfully, 1-Down was so easy, I was able to figure it out from that answer. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Do some legwork?
Answer: SQUAT

6A clue: Deep, narrow valley
Answer: GULCH

7A clue: Worn and shabby
Answer: TATTY

8A clue: Word below «To» on a gift card
Answer: FROM

9A clue: $2.90, for a N.Y.C. subway ride
Answer: FARE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «___ Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band»
Answer: SGT

2D clue: Fancy word for «beverage»
Answer: QUAFF

3D clue: Prefix with marathon for a race over 26.2 miles
Answer: ULTRA

4D clue: Line memorizer
Answer: ACTOR

5D clue: Herb often paired with rosemary
Answer: THYME

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Alexa, May the Fourth be with you. For Star Wars Day, May 4, fans may choose to celebrate by watching Star Wars movies, or by scooping up games or merchandise. But if you have virtual assistants that use Amazon’s Alexa, such as an Echo or Dot, you can get your Star Wars fix for free from the comfort of your couch. Admittedly, there are not a whole galaxy of options, but try out the questions and commands written in bold below. 

Alexa, tell me a Baby Yoda joke.
Alexa, tell me a Star Wars joke.
Alexa, how cute is Baby Yoda?
Alexa, talk like Baby Yoda.

Want some galactic humor? You can ask Alexa to tell you a Star Wars joke or even more specifically, a Baby Yoda joke. («What’s Baby Yoda’s favorite bedtime story? Goodnight, That’s No Moon.») You can ask her, «Alexa, how cute is Baby Yoda?» or ask her to talk like Baby Yoda, but in my experience, she only has one or two answers for each of those, so don’t keep repeating your requests.

Alexa, begin my Jedi lessons.
If you really want to educate yourself like Luke Skywalker, saying «Alexa, begin my Jedi lessons» will set her off with nine lessons in the world of Star Wars. Welcome, Padawan!

Alexa, use the Force. 
When I tried this, Alexa offered up Star Wars jokes, mostly, but occasionally some interesting movie trivia. Did George Lucas really take the inspiration for the Millennium Falcon’s shape from a hamburger with a bite out of it? Sounds like he did. Alexa knows her Star Wars stuff. 

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition features a fun mix of categories today. The blue and purple answers jumped out at me, and hint — the purple ones might have done so because I live in Seattle. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Getting ready to play.

Green group hint: Not South Carolina.

Blue group hint: Think Tour de France.

Purple group hint:  Long-gone teams.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Approach to a game.

Green group: North Carolina teams.

Blue group: Bicycle brands.

Purple group: Former NBA team names.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is approach to a game. The four answers are plan, scheme, strategy and tactic.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is North Carolina teams. The four answers are Hornets, Hurricanes, Panthers and Wolfpack.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is bicycle brands. The four answers are Giant, Huffy, Mongoose and Schwinn.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is former NBA team names. The four answers are Bobcats, Nationals, Royals and Supersonics.