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.

My husband groaned when he saw today’s NYT Mini Crossword. «Why is it so huge?» he asked. It’s not, but there is one additional clue-answer combo in the Down category, so it seems longer. None of them are too tough, and I enjoyed the upcoming holiday pun. 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: Person, ___ or thing
Answer: PLACE

6A clue: Like someone you shouldn’t trust with fragile objects
Answer: KLUTZY

7A clue: A time to dye?
Answer: EASTER

8A clue: Dangle a carrot in front of
Answer: ENTICE

9A clue: Class for a cognitive science major, for short
Answer: PSYCH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Activities on the docket
Answer: PLANS

2D clue: Full of sexual desire
Answer: LUSTY

3D clue: Commonly cobwebby room
Answer: ATTIC

4D clue: From Prague, say
Answer: CZECH

5D clue: Jane in classic literature
Answer: EYRE

6D clue: Not get rid of
Answer: KEEP

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.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle includes some fun categories. The blue group is a neat mix of words, for one. And oof, that purple category pulled another letter mix-up, but once you figure it out (if you do), it’s kinda cool. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Think Gypsy Rose Lee.

Green group hint: Abrade or scruff.

Blue group hint: Tigers and jaguars do it.

Purple group hint: Everybody dance now!

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Burlesque wear.

Green group: Mess up the surface of.

Blue group: They roar.

Purple group: Latin dances with a vowel changed

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is burlesque wear. The four answers are boa, corset, garter and stockings.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is mess up the surface of. The four answers are scar, score, scrape and scratch.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is they roar. The four answers are crowd, engine, Katy Perry and lion.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Latin dances with a vowel changed. The four answers are mamba, meringue, Simba and tangy. 

Wondering what dances those words refer to?

Mamba=mambo

Meringue=merengue

Simba=samba

Tangy=tango

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.

Ahead of the launch of its new $100 Method 360 ANC earbuds in NewYork City, Skullcandy hyped the new buds as «the boldest audio product of 2025, featuring a partnership you didn’t see coming.» Whether the Method 360 ANC are the boldest audio product of the year is debatable, but I was certainly surprised to learn that Skullcandy had joined forces with Bose to create what’s essentially the budget version of Bose’s $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. 

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025

I’ve been using the Method 360 ANC for only a day — they’re available now in five color options — but I’ve been mostly impressed with the new buds, which sound better than most of the earbuds in this price class. From a design standpoint, they share many of the traits of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, with a similar shape and stabilizing «fit» fins, but they’re lighter and lack the more premium finish and overall feel of those pricey buds. That said, they offer a similar fit — and by that, I mean they’re quite comfortable and stay in your ears very securely once you get the buds set up with the right combo of ear tips and fins (three sizes of each are included).

Method 360 ANC’s jumbo case has plusses and minuses

The one glaring difference between the Method 360 ANC and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, as well as the step-down Quiet Comfort Earbuds ($179), is the Method 360 ANC’s charging case. It’s big — perhaps too big for some people — and it’s a little awkward to get the buds in the case. Yes, the case still fits in a pocket or can be clipped onto a backpack or your jacket. But compared with the charging cases of most true-wireless earbuds, it’s pretty jumbo. It also has no wireless charging.

On the plus side, the case does have a distinct Skullycandy-ish vibe, and I like how it slides open/shuts and how the o-ring clip is integrated into the case. It also houses an ample-size battery that stores an extra 23 hours of battery life when the case is fully charged. The buds are rated for 9 hours of battery life with noise canceling on, or 32 hours total (with the juice in the case), and 11 hours with ANC off, or 40 hours total. I haven’t fully tested the buds yet to confirm those numbers, but if accurate, they’re good.

Sound by Bose

Skullcandy describes the buds as having «Sound by Bose,» which involves hardware (a chipset and presumably drivers) and acoustic digital tuning. I don’t know exactly what components the buds use, but they sound similar to Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds and have similar specs, including four-mic hybrid active noise canceling. 

Like the QC Earbuds, they’re equipped with ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take the buds out of your ears and resume playback when you put the buds back in your ears. I also thought the touch controls were well-implemented. They’re customizable via the Skullcandy-iQ app for iOS and Android, where you can also play around with EQ settings to tweak the sound profile. 

Bose’s earbuds and headphones are designed to work well with a variety of music and offer generally smooth, punchy sound that’s very pleasant for listening. While some premium buds offer a little more detail and clarity, like Bose’s QC Earbuds, the bass on these Skullcandy buds has good kick to it without sounding boomy. 

I don’t think the Method 360 ANC buds sound as good as the QC Ultras, which have a tad more depth and extension (they offer slightly richer, more detailed sound), but the contest was much closer than I thought it would be. It’s also worth mentioning that the Method 360 ANC buds play pretty loud and sound better than any Skullcandy earbuds I’ve tested over the years. I still have to listen to them a little longer and compare them with some other earbuds in this price range before delivering a final verdict, but as far as sound goes, there really isn’t much to complain about for the price. 

Skullcandy’s best noise canceling in a pair of earbuds

Noise canceling also seems pretty good, and you can adjust its «intensity» in the app along with the level of ambient sound you let into the buds when you’re in the «stay-aware» mode. While noise canceling isn’t part of the Sound By Bose program, a PR rep told me it was validated by Bose as meeting its standards. As with the sound quality, it isn’t quite up to the level of what you get with the QC Ultra Earbuds or even the QC Earbuds, but it’s respectable and more effective than the middling ANC on earlier Skullcandy noise-canceling earbuds I’ve tried.

I found the voice-calling performance to be something of a mixed bag. In my tests in the noisy streets of New York, one caller said they could hear me clearly with little background noise, while two other callers said my voice warbled and cut in and out (I was hard to hear). I still have some testing to do in this area, but there are some question marks about call quality — at least when it comes to what callers are hearing (I had no issues on my end hearing callers).

An excellent value for the moment

I’ll have my full review of the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds in the coming days. But aside from a few caveats, it’s safe to say these buds appear to be a very good value. Note that Skullcandy refers to their $100 price tag as an «introductory price,» and that it could change in time as the situation with tariffs remains fluid. But a Skullcandy rep informed me that the earbuds went into production in January, so the company was able to get plenty of units to the US before the tariffs went into effect. While there are currently exemptions in place for smartphones, laptops and some other electronics, there are no tariff carve-outs for headphones and earbuds.           

Skullcandy Method 360 ANC key specs

• Sound By Bose technology
• Battery Life: Up to 40 hours ANC off (11 in buds, 29 in case); up to 32 hours with ANC on (9 in buds, 23 in case)
• Noise-isolating, ergonomic fit: 3 different size pairs of fit fins and three sets of ear gels, leveraging licensed technology from Bose
• Adjustable 4-mic hybrid active noise canceling with customizable Stay-Aware mode
• Low latency audio
• Wear detection sensors
• IPX4 sweat and water-resistant (splash-proof)
• Skull-iQ App compatible: Choose one of 3 preset EQ settings or customize your own, reconfigure the button functions, adjust your Stay-Aware or ANC modes and more
• Rapid charge: A 10-minute charge provides 2 hours of playtime 
• Clear Voice smart mic helps isolate your voice and reduce background noise during calls
• Spotify Tap compatible
• Google Fast Pair 
• Multipoint Bluetooth Pairing: Pair two devices simultaneously for easy switching
• Voice sidetone for calls (hear your voice in the earbuds during calls)
• Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio
• Five color options: Black, bone, primer, plasma and leopard
• Price: $100