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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The first two Across clues stumped me, but I was able to fill in the Down answers and solve it eventually. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Only U.S. president born in the month of September
Answer: TAFT

5A clue: «I’ll ___ it» («Fine, I guess»)
Answer: ALLOW

7A clue: Material for a reusable diaper
Answer: CLOTH

8A clue: Land of Seoul and Pyongyang
Answer: KOREA

9A clue: One might be «Forever»
Answer: STAMP

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Metal pins on a bulletin board
Answer: TACKS

2D clue: Separate into portions
Answer: ALLOT

3D clue: Fauna’s counterpart
Answer: FLORA

4D clue: ___ pole (symbolic carving)
Answer: TOTEM

6D clue: Sound from a fly swatter
Answer: WHAP

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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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. It will help if you know a certain US state and its sports teams. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Throw it or hit it.

Green group hint: Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.

Blue group hint: On the ice.

Purple group hint: Not empty.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sports projectiles.

Green group: Oklahoma teams.

Blue group: PWHL teams.

Purple group: Full ____.

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 sports projectiles. The four answers are ball, Frisbee, puck and shuttlecock.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Oklahoma teams. The four answers are Cowboys, Golden Hurricane, Sooners and Thunder.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is PWHL teams. The four answers are Frost, Goldeneyes, Sceptres and Victoire.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is full ____. The four answers are back, count, house and time.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Editors’ note, Dec. 20: Xbox Game Pass offers a slew of benefits, like the ability to play on a myriad of devices — not just consoles — and access to games on Day 1 of release on certain plans, making this a convenient gaming subscription service for a wide range of people. Every Xbox Game Pass plan costs less than the price of a new AAA game each month, yet gives access to dozens — if not hundreds — of titles, which is why the service as a whole earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The original article follows.

New AAA video games, the industry’s flagship titles, used to cost $50 apiece, but it’s not unusual to see a similar game cost $70 now. That price might make you pause before you buy a game, but with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you could game for anywhere from $10 to $30 a month — less than half of that price.

Microsoft launched Game Pass in 2017, and since then, the gaming service has evolved into a good value for many gamers. All Game Pass plans offer member discounts for non-Game Pass titles and other perks, but figuring out which plan is right for you can be challenging.

That choice can be especially tough after Microsoft increased the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $20 to $30 a month and changed the names of some other Game Pass tiers. While Ultimate may not be the best choice for most folks, it’s still a good pick for gamers who want to play all the latest games.

I’ve covered the service in the past, including regular releases and whether Game Pass Ultimate will save you money compared with buying single games. With the new plan names, price increases and upgrades — like PC, console and cloud gaming for most plans — you might be wondering what the difference is between each Game Pass tier. Note that online multiplayer is standard across all tiers.

Here’s what you need to know about the Game Pass plans so you can decide which one is right for your needs. 

For more on Xbox, discover some of the games available on Game Pass now and check out our hands-on review of Game Pass Ultimate. You can also learn about recent changes to Game Pass.