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Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, March 12

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 12.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read
NYT Mini Crossword game

Need the answers for today's NYT Mini Crossword?

 James Martin/CNET

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 found 7-Across tricky. 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.

completed-nyt-mini-crossword-puzzle-for-march-12-2026.png

The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for March 12, 2026.

 NYT/Screenshot by CNET

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like jerk chicken and chicken vindaloo
Answer: SPICY

6A clue: Capital of Vietnam
Answer: HANOI

7A clue: "Well, would ya look at that!"
Answer: ILLBE

8A clue: Gem in an oyster
Answer: PEARL

9A clue: Thick roll of cash
Answer: WAD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Part of a naval fleet
Answer: SHIP

2D clue: The "P" in I.P.A.
Answer: PALE

3D clue: Relative by marriage
Answer: INLAW

4D clue: King ___ (venomous snake)
Answer: COBRA

5D clue: Sign obeyed by merging traffic
Answer: YIELD

Quick tips for the NYT Mini Crossword

#1: If you're unsure, put down an answer anyway, but remember your uncertainty. You might find yourself erasing that answer as other letters fill in.

#2: If you're struggling with a few Across clues, skip to the Down side. You might be able to fill that in and find the Across clues solved for you.

#3: The puzzle-makers love to play little word games, so be on your guard. They may offer a clue where the words don't mean the obvious. If you're stumped, try thinking of secondary meanings for phrases in the clue.