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Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s so long, it’s almost not a mini version today. Read on for 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: Field trip vehicle
Answer: BUS

4A clue: Peter’s antagonist, in a musical tale
Answer: WOLF

8A clue: «Keep me posted,» in texts
Answer: LMK

9A clue: Opera solo
Answer: ARIA

10A clue: ___Pen (emergency device)
Answer: EPI

11A clue: With 12-Across, gets in order
Answer: SETS

12A clue: With 14-Across, what a tennis champ might win a match in
Answer: STRAIGHT

14A clue: See 12-Across
Answer: SETS

15A clue: «A long time ___ in a galaxy far, far away …»
Answer: AGO

16A clue: Shy and gentle
Answer: MEEK

17A clue: Prefix with apology or answer
Answer: NON

18A clue: Comes to a close
Answer: ENDS

19A clue: Have to pay
Answer: OWE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «Goodness gracious!»
Answer: BLESSME

2D clue: Indefinitely many, informally
Answer: UMPTEEN

3D clue: Avoided, as an issue
Answer: SKIRTED

4D clue: «Now, where ___?»
Answer: WASI

5D clue: Green topping at a pizza parlor
Answer: OREGANO

6D clue: John who played Churchill on «The Crown»
Answer: LITHGOW

7D clue: Sneaky trick to «pull»
Answer: FASTONE

13D clue: Doesn’t just assume one has permission
Answer: ASKS

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If you’re looking at getting an Apple Watch this holiday season, you have a tough choice: Should you buy the latest Apple Watch Series 11, or find a Series 10 that has most of the same features at a lower cost? Apple made incremental changes to its flagship smartwatch, while also introducing significant improvements to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3.

There are still enough differences to make you look twice at moving up (especially if you’re coming from an older model). Let’s compare the models side by side and tease out the finer details.

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Pricing the Apple Watch Series 11

The Series 11 has kept the same price as the Series 10. It starts at $399 for the model with an aluminum body or $699 for one made of titanium.

Add $30 for the larger 46mm case size in aluminum, or $50 for titanium. Opting for a model with a cellular radio that connects independently to networks adds $100. And if you choose a band made of something other than rubber or textile — a stainless steel link bracelet, for example — the price climbs further. Unfortunately, you can’t order just the watch case; you have to select a new band, even if it ends up in your drawer in favor of one you already own and prefer.

There’s also a titanium Apple Watch Hermès model available in silver titanium in both sizes that starts at $1,249.

Apple no longer sells the Series 10, since the Series 11 replaces it, but you can still find refurbished Series 10 models for less from Apple, and new models from other retailers while supplies last.

Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10: Outward design

The Series 11 and Series 10 share the same case design and materials. The larger model measures 46mm tall by 39mm wide, while the smaller comes in at 42mm by 36mm. (Kudos to Apple for continuing to offer two sizes to accommodate people with different-sized wrists.) They’re also both 1mm slimmer than the Apple Watch models that came before, at 9.7mm.

Despite being mostly the same in dimensions, the Series 11 is slightly heavier than the Series 10. For example, the 46mm aluminum GPS Series 11 weighs 37.8 grams, up slightly from 36.4 grams for the Series 10. The 42mm versions come in at 30.3 grams and 30.0 grams, respectively.

For colors, the Series 11 adds a space gray aluminum option to go along with rose gold, silver and jet black. Both models are also available in titanium finishes of slate, gold and natural.

The physical controls are unchanged: the dial that Apple calls the Digital Crown and a side button (that Apple cleverly calls the «side button»). Only the Apple Watch Ultra includes a third physical control: the Action button.

Also noteworthy: The titanium Series 11 is made of 100% recycled titanium, up from 95% recycled material in the titanium Series 10. The display glass is made of 40% recycled glass in the Series 11; no amount is listed for the Series 10. And the battery in the Series 11 uses 100% recycled cobalt and 95% recycled lithium. (The Series 10 lists only 100% recycled cobalt.)

Series 11 vs. Series 10 screens

The screens on both the Series 11 and Series 10 watches have a wide-angle LTPO 3 OLED display. That means it’s easier to see the contents from an angle, and the always-on display refreshes once per second, allowing the seconds counter to move even when the watch is in inactive mode.

LTPO3 screens are also more power efficient. The screens reach up to 2,000 nits for clear visibility in sunlight and dim down to just 1 nit in darkness.

The key difference between the Series 11 and Series 10 screens lies in the glass covering. On the Series 11 aluminum models, Apple uses Ion-X glass, which it claims is twice as scratch-resistant as the glass on previous aluminum versions. The titanium Series 11 uses a sapphire crystal display.

Apple Watch processor and chips

Normally we’d highlight how the new processor improves on its predecessor, but for 2025 Apple stuck with the same S10 processor found in the Series 10. That also means the other chips remain the same, too: the W3 Apple Wireless chip, the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip (for precise Find My location tracking), a four-core Neural Engine and 64GB of storage.

Battery power: Series 11 vs. Series 10

Battery life is where the two models get really interesting. Apple doesn’t reveal how large the built-in lithium-ion battery is or its capacity, but it is claiming up to 24 hours for the Series 11 compared to 18 hours for the Series 10. In Low Power Mode, that’s up to 38 hours for the Series 11, up from 36 hours in the Series 10.

It’s not entirely clear where Apple squeezed an extra six hours of battery life out of what appears to be mostly identical hardware. Both phones use the same S10 processor, though there are likely software optimizations in WatchOS 26. CNET lead writer Vanessa Hand Orellana found that, at least initially, Apple may be undercounting the battery performance, writing in her review, «With notifications turned on (heavy Slack-ing and texting), at least one 30- to 45-minute outdoor workout a day, a full night of sleep tracking and some mild flashlight use, I’ve consistently managed to squeeze between 27 and 32 hours per charge.»

As for charging the watches, both the Series 11 and Series 10 can be charged up to 80% in about 30 minutes. Apple says that with a 20W power adapter, 15 minutes of fast charging provides up to 8 hours of regular use, while just five minutes is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking — thanks to the watch’s much lower power demands while you’re asleep. Apple’s comparison information for the Series 10 doesn’t list those last two metrics, but that seems more due to it being a marketing point last year versus a new capability in the Series 11.

Comparing the sensors of the Series 11 and Series 10

The Apple Watch’s sensors power health features that range from heart-rate monitoring to depth sensing to precise location tracking. That said…

They’re identical in the Series 11 and Series 10. No changes here.

Another change: Connectivity in the Series 11 and Series 10

One of the more notable changes in the cellular models of the Series 11 is support for 5G networks, specifically a power-efficient type called 5G Reduced Capacity (or 5G RedCap). That allows it to connect to both 5G and LTE networks without having to go through a connected iPhone, and the 5G speeds should be better. By comparison, the cellular Series 10 supports LTE and UMTS (3G).

Part of incorporating 5G into the Series 11 models is a redesigned cellular antenna and an algorithm that «simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength,» according to Apple’s Series 11 press release. That algorithm is exclusive to the Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, per Apple.

Both Apple Watch models support Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.5GHz and 5GHz speeds. (Apple’s comparison page only lists the speeds for the Series 11, but an Apple Watch Wi-Fi support page notes 5GHz has been supported since the Series 6 watches.)

Both watches talk to the iPhone and other peripherals using Bluetooth 5.3.

WatchOS 26 on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Series 10

The new features of WatchOS 26 come to both watch models, including hypertension notifications, Sleep Score and the Blood Oxygen app (making its reappearance in the US amid an ongoing legal dispute). Apple’s comparison page lists the new Wrist Flick gesture for the Series 11 but not the Series 10, but that must be a typo because I can confirm that it works on my Series 10 watch.

The Game Awards on Thursday revealed new games such as Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic and Control Resonant, but one of the biggest games shown was already revealed earlier in the year. Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth entry in the main Resident Evil series and takes players back to where the games started while seeing the return of a fan-favorite character.

A new trailer for Resident Evil Requiem finally reveals the antagonist of the game and confirms that Leon Kennedy is back, though it’s unclear what he’s been doing since Resident Evil 6. Also shown in the footage was Victor Gideon, a former doctor who looks like he’s been experimenting on people — and himself — as he intimidates the other main character players will control, Grace Ashcroft. 

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Resident Evil Requiem made its debut during the Summer Games Fest in June, and developer Capcom slowly released details about the upcoming horror game. What’s clear from the previously released footage and impressions is that Capcom really wants to terrify players — and it’ll go so far as to put players in Grace’s shoes without weapons. 

When does Resident Evil Requiem come out?

Resident Evil Requiem will be released on Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.

When does Resident Evil Requiem take place? 

Resident Evil Requiem takes place 30 years after the events of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, which was when Raccoon City was destroyed. 

How will Resident Evil Requiem play?

After the trailer was shown, Game Awards host Geoff Keighley said Leon would bring «action-heavy gameplay» and that the game would offer two different experiences. This could mean that a good chunk of the game will be played as Grace, who will provide more of a survival-horror experience with fewer weapons and tools, while a portion of the game will be focused on Leon and his more chainsaw-wielding, kicking-in-the-face style of gameplay. 

Read more: I Played Resident Evil 9 Requiem at Summer Game Fest, and It’s Extremely Messed Up

Who is Grace Ashcroft? 

Grace Ashcroft is an FBI analyst who has a connection with Raccoon City. Her mother, Alyssa, was a survivor of the destruction of Raccoon City and was a playable character in the online game Resident Evil Outbreak, released on the PS2 in 2003. The elder Ashcroft was a reporter who told the story of what happened to the zombie-infested city, but was killed by a masked assailant in 2018.

Her murder spurred Grace to join the FBI. In Requiem, a mysterious infection is spreading, and deaths are mounting. Grace is assigned to investigate the Wrenwood Hotel, the place where the latest fatality has occurred, and which was the site of her mother’s murder. It’s from here that she’ll make her way to Raccoon City. 

Where has Leon Kennedy been? 

Leon was last seen in the series with Resident Evil 6, but he’s been active in the Resident Evil animated movies and series, including Resident Evil: Degeneration, Resident Evil: Damnation, Resident Evil: Vendetta, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and Resident Evil: Death Island. Leon is currently an agent for the Division of Security Operations and is deployed worldwide to investigate instances of bioweapons causing havoc, which often leads to reunions with other Resident Evil survivors, such as Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers. 

Are there any other characters set to be revealed? 

A GameStop listing for Resident Evil Requiem listed the Expansion Pass for the game and the additional scenarios, according to a report from Videogame Chronicles on Tuesday. One scenario referred to a Shadow Walker Costume Pack, which includes outfits for Rosemary Winters, the daughter of Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village hero Ethan Winters. Rosemary was the main character of Shadows of Rose, a postrelease content scenario for Resident Evil Village. 

There could be additional characters revealed in the coming days as Resident Evil Requiem’s release date nears.