Today's NYT Midi Crossword is live, and today's grid runs on brisk general trivia, a Michelangelo masterpiece and a Scottish museum city and a comic book villain, all stitched together by plain-spoken definitions that give you somewhere to stand. One cross-reference chain and a single mischievous question mark clue supply the resistance.
Settle in, work the long vertical spine that runs down the board, and the rest of the squares fall into place around it.
How The Midi Works
The Midi is the middle ground between the Mini and the classic NYT Crossword, offering a mid-size grid that takes a few satisfying minutes to clear. Solve the intersecting words, and when the grid is complete, you'll hear a satisfying chime.
New puzzles drop daily. The Midi offers more complexity than the Mini while remaining accessible for solvers who want a quick but substantial challenge.
Quick Scan
In a rush? Here's the at-a-glance breakdown for today's puzzle:
Grid Size: 9x9
Total Clues: 30 (15 Across, 15 Down)
Trickiest Clue: 15-Across, Check point?, is the toughest moment on the board. That question mark is doing heavy work, because the two words look like one familiar compound and mean something entirely different once you separate them.
Gimme Clue: 2-Down, Doing nothing, is the freebie. It is a bare definition with no question mark and no proper noun, so it lands on first read and immediately feeds letters into the top row.
Theme Spotted: "Tipping the Scales"
Clue Decoder (Hints Only)
Need a nudge without the full answer? Here's a hint for each clue.
Across Hints
1A. Michelangelo sculpture in the Vatican
Hint: Michelangelo's marble grouping of the grieving Mary cradling the body of Christ, carved when he was in his twenties and now behind glass in St. Peter's Basilica. Five letters, starts with P.
6A. Winged nocturnal animal
Hint: The round-faced night hunter with silent feathers and a swiveling head, famous for a hooting call after dark. Three letters, starts with O.
9A. Milk source on a dairy cow
Hint: The pendulous gland a farmer reaches for at milking time on a dairy cow. Five letters, starts with U.
10A. ___ de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Hint: The Spanish word for day that opens the name of the Mexican holiday honoring the departed. Three letters, starts with D.
11A. What covers the eyes of 8-Down/17-Across
Hint: The strip of cloth tied over the eyes of the figure named jointly at 8-Down and 17-Across, the courthouse symbol of judging without looking at who stands before you. Nine letters, starts with B.
13A. Rep.'s counterpart in Congress
Hint: The shortened title placed before the name of a federal lawmaker from the chamber where every state seats an equal number, the counterpart to Rep. Three letters, starts with S.
14A. Ahead of schedule
Hint: Showing up ahead of schedule, before the appointed hour rather than after it. Five letters, starts with E.
15A. Check point?
Hint: The question mark reframes the clue: not a barrier where guards inspect you, but the institution where you deposit that piece of paper. Four letters, starts with B.
17A. See 8-Down
Hint: The second half of the paired phrase begun at 8-Down, naming the ideal of fairness that a court exists to deliver. Seven letters, starts with J.
20A. "Pulled" barbecue meat
Hint: The pig-derived barbecue meat slow cooked until it shreds and gets piled on a bun. Four letters, starts with P.
21A. Affirmative head motions
Hint: The up-and-down head movements that say yes without a word. Four letters, starts with N.
23A. Jelly bean-filled plastic holiday toys
Hint: The hinged pastel shells hidden across the lawn on Easter morning with candy rattling inside. Four letters, starts with E.
24A. "Abracadabra" singer Lady ___
Hint: The stage name that follows the honorific in the clue, belonging to the pop artist behind "Abracadabra." Four letters, starts with G.
25A. Remnant of a cigar
Hint: The soft gray residue a cigar leaves behind in the tray as it burns down. Three letters, starts with A.
26A. Superman enemy ___ Luthor
Hint: The name filling the blank before Luthor, Superman's bald and calculating archenemy from Metropolis. Three letters, starts with L.
Down Hints
1D. British taverns
Hint: The neighborhood drinking establishments across Britain where you order a pint at the bar and carry it to your table. Four letters, starts with P.
2D. Doing nothing
Hint: Sitting around accomplishing nothing, the same word used for an engine turning over while the car goes nowhere. Four letters, starts with I.
3D. City that's home to the National Museum of Scotland
Hint: The Scottish capital, built around a volcanic crag and its castle, where the National Museum of Scotland stands on Chambers Street. Nine letters, starts with E.
4D. Cube root of 1,000
Hint: The cube root of 1,000, the round figure you can count off on your fingers and the base of our numbering system. Three letters, starts with T.
5D. Passionate
Hint: Passionate and fervent about something, from a Latin root meaning to burn. Six letters, starts with A.
6D. Smell from a garbage truck
Hint: The unpleasant smell that hangs in the air behind a garbage truck on a hot morning. Four letters, starts with O.
7D. Document that says "I hereby bequeath ..."
Hint: The signed legal document in which a person directs who receives their possessions after death. Four letters, starts with W.
8D. With 17-Across, paragon of fairness
Hint: The first half of the paired phrase completed at 17-Across, the courteous title borne by the robed statue who holds the scales outside courthouses. Four letters, starts with L.
12D. Putting on an act
Hint: Putting on an act, pretending to an injury or an emotion you do not actually have. Six letters, starts with F.
16D. Inquires (about)
Hint: Inquires about something, the verb for putting a question to someone. Four letters, starts with A.
17D. Runs at an easy pace
Hint: Runs at the relaxed, sustainable pace of a morning loop around the park rather than a sprint. Four letters, starts with J.
18D. What Santa gives naughty children
Hint: The black lump of fossil fuel Santa reportedly drops in the stockings of naughty children. Four letters, starts with C.
19D. Sharp part of a sword
Hint: The sharpened side of a sword blade, the part that does the cutting. Four letters, starts with E.
20D. Little green vegetable
Hint: The tiny green sphere that grows in a pod and rolls off a fork. Three letters, starts with P.
22D. Instrument that might be used as the "J" in a "Jazz Club" sign
Hint: The curved brass horn at the heart of jazz, whose looping neck and upturned bell can stand in for the letter shape described in the clue. Three letters, starts with S.
Full Answers
Spoilers below. Scroll only when you're ready for the solutions.
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Across Answers
1A. Michelangelo sculpture in the Vatican
Answer: PIETA
6A. Winged nocturnal animal
Answer: OWL
9A. Milk source on a dairy cow
Answer: UDDER
10A. ___ de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Answer: DIA
11A. What covers the eyes of 8-Down/17-Across
Answer: BLINDFOLD
13A. Rep.'s counterpart in Congress
Answer: SEN
14A. Ahead of schedule
Answer: EARLY
15A. Check point?
Answer: BANK
17A. See 8-Down
Answer: JUSTICE
20A. "Pulled" barbecue meat
Answer: PORK
21A. Affirmative head motions
Answer: NODS
23A. Jelly bean-filled plastic holiday toys
Answer: EGGS
24A. "Abracadabra" singer Lady ___
Answer: GAGA
25A. Remnant of a cigar
Answer: ASH
26A. Superman enemy ___ Luthor
Answer: LEX
Down Answers
1D. British taverns
Answer: PUBS
2D. Doing nothing
Answer: IDLE
3D. City that's home to the National Museum of Scotland
Answer: EDINBURGH
4D. Cube root of 1,000
Answer: TEN
5D. Passionate
Answer: ARDENT
6D. Smell from a garbage truck
Answer: ODOR
7D. Document that says "I hereby bequeath ..."
Answer: WILL
8D. With 17-Across, paragon of fairness
Answer: LADY
12D. Putting on an act
Answer: FAKING
16D. Inquires (about)
Answer: ASKS
17D. Runs at an easy pace
Answer: JOGS
18D. What Santa gives naughty children
Answer: COAL
19D. Sharp part of a sword
Answer: EDGE
20D. Little green vegetable
Answer: PEA
22D. Instrument that might be used as the "J" in a "Jazz Club" sign
Answer: SAX
Grid Breakdown
Here's what made today's puzzle tick:
Standout Clue: 11-Across, What covers the eyes of 8-Down/17-Across, is BLINDFOLD, and it defines the puzzle. The answer spans the entire width of the grid and depends on LADY JUSTICE, an answer that is itself split across two separate entries, so one image holds three clues together.
Wordplay Winner: 15-Across, Check point?, for BANK is the misdirection of the day. Your eye fuses the two words into a security stop, when the clue actually wants check as the slip of paper and point as the place you take it.
Quick Fill: EDINBURGH at 3-Down is the fastest confident write-in for anyone who knows the National Museum of Scotland, and it anchors everything because it runs the full height of the board. It crosses an Across answer in every row of the grid: PIETA, UDDER, BLINDFOLD, SEN, BANK, JUSTICE, PORK, EGGS, and ASH.
Speed Solver Tips
Looking to shave seconds off your time? Here's what today's puzzle teaches:
When a clue points at another clue, do not chase it, feed it. BLINDFOLD at 11-Across takes a letter from every Down answer that crosses its row, so filling PUBS, IDLE, TEN, ARDENT, FAKING, ODOR, and WILL hands you most of the long entry without ever solving the reference directly.
Park the question mark clue and come back with crossings in hand. Check point? was never going to yield on first read, but the K from BANK arrives free once FAKING is in place.
Tomorrow's Puzzle
This grid treated solvers generously, trading tough vocabulary for clean definitions and saving its one real trick for BANK. BLINDFOLD stretching wall to wall over LADY JUSTICE is the image you carry out of it.
See you at the next grid.
