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? I thought 5-Down was very tricky, and not really representative of the clue, either. 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: Goosebumps-inducing
Answer: SCARY

6A clue: Buddy, informally
Answer: HOMIE

7A clue: Rub off, as pencil markings
Answer: ERASE

8A clue: Enjoys a quiet weekend morning, perhaps
Answer: LAZES

9A clue: David Szalay novel that won the 2025 Booker Prize
Answer: FLESH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Section of a bookcase
Answer: SHELF

2D clue: Color similar to salmon that’s also named for a sea creature
Answer: CORAL

3D clue: Leave speechless
Answer: AMAZE

4D clue: Gets out of bed
Answer: RISES

5D clue: «Uff-da!»
Answer: YEESH

A new AI tool called Einstein is pushing the boundaries of what automation in education looks like. Created by the startup Companion, Einstein does more than generate answers to homework questions. It logs directly into a student’s Canvas account and completes coursework on the student’s behalf.

According to its creators, Einstein operates through its own virtual computer. It can open a browser, navigate class pages, watch lecture videos, read PDFs and essays, write papers, complete quizzes and post replies in discussion boards. Once connected to a student’s account, the system can monitor deadlines and automatically submit assignments.

Unlike chatbots that respond when prompted, Einstein functions more like a digital stand-in for a human student. After setup, it can run in the background with little ongoing input.

«Students are already using AI. We’re just giving them a better version of it,» Companion CEO Advait Paliwal said in a statement. 

Read more: ‘Machines Can’t Think for You.’ How Learning Is Changing in the Age of AI

How Einstein works

Einstein connects to Canvas, a widely used learning-management system in colleges and high schools. From there, it reviews course materials and identifies assigned tasks. The AI can analyze lecture recordings, summarize readings and generate written work that matches the assignment requirements.

The company says the system produces original essays with citations and context-aware discussion posts. It can also track new announcements and upcoming deadlines. In practice, this means a student could enroll in an online course and let Einstein handle much — if not all — of the required work.

The technology builds on advances in generative AI, browser automation and so-called autonomous agents that can take multistep actions on behalf of their human counterpart. While many students already use AI tools to brainstorm ideas or check grammar, Einstein moves beyond assistance into complete automation.

«Our companions aren’t simple chatbots,» Paliwal said. «Each one has access to an entire virtual computer with a persistent file system and internet access, so they can actually do things on your behalf. This makes ChatGPT look like a toy.»

A crossroads for academic integrity?

The release of Einstein comes at a time when schools are still adapting to widespread AI use. Since the arrival of powerful language models, educators have debated how to distinguish legitimate support from academic dishonesty. Most policies focus on whether students are using AI to help draft or edit their work, or do it entirely for them. 

Einstein complicates that conversation. 

If an AI logs in as a student and completes assignments independently, the question shifts from assistance to substitution. Is the tool essentially taking the student’s place? 

Not all in education are sounding the alarm, though. 

«I think the Canvas method of teaching already has a proclivity for cheating. This change, I think, will ultimately be good because it will force educators to redesign classes to not rely on virtual assignments,» said Nicholas DiMaggio, a PhD student at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and teaching assistant for a course in consumer behavior this quarter. 

DiMaggio said that this may prompt institutions to emphasize in-person work, oral exams or project-based learning instead. Beyond this one tool, schools will have to decide whether to ban such tools outright, integrate them under strict guidelines or rethink how learning is measured in the age of AI.

Read more: How to Use AI to Get Better Grades — Without Cheating

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, and there are only four answers, though some of them are quite long. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Just for reference.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Like Wikipedia.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• CLOP, TREAT, SHARD, PATE, PATES, DOOR, ROOD, ROOT, DIRECT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, ENCYCLOPEDIA, DIRECTORY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is LOOKITUP. To find it, start with the L that’s the last letter on the farthest vertical row to the left, and wind up.

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