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Mini #317 · Thursday

Our Mini Crossword Hints — August 13, 2026

Step-by-step hints for Mini #317, our own daily mini crossword. Looking for the New York Times Mini? That’s a different puzzle, published on nytimes.com.

Play puzzle firstAnswer key
All hints
10 clues
Spoiler-light

Across

1 Across: Luxury German cars, in the pluralHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about a well-known German car brand, made plural here.
  2. Hint 2: This automaker's logo is a spinning blue-and-white circle, and the clue wants more than one of them.
  3. Hint 3: Luxury German vehicles as a plural noun, starts with B.
5 Across: Path through the woodsHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about walking through a forest.
  2. Hint 2: This is the worn track hikers follow, not a paved road.
  3. Hint 3: A path often found in woods or parks, starts with T.
6 Across: Main language of northern IndiaHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about languages spoken in South Asia.
  2. Hint 2: This is the most widely spoken language in India, especially in the north.
  3. Hint 3: The major official language of northern India, starts with H.
7 Across: Bordered, as a lawnHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about yard work and lawn care.
  2. Hint 2: This describes trimming or lining the border of grass neatly.
  3. Hint 3: Having a neatly bordered edge, as a lawn, starts with E.
8 Across: 365 daysHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about a unit of time.
  2. Hint 2: This is the period it takes Earth to orbit the sun once.
  3. Hint 3: A span of 365 days, starts with Y.

Down

1 Down: Woman on her wedding dayHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about someone getting married.
  2. Hint 2: This is the woman walking down the aisle in a white dress.
  3. Hint 3: The woman being married on her wedding day, starts with B.
2 Down: Japanese comic book styleHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about a popular Japanese art form.
  2. Hint 2: This is the black-and-white illustrated comic style that inspired anime.
  3. Hint 3: The Japanese comic book art style, starts with M.
3 Down: More broadHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about the opposite of narrow.
  2. Hint 2: This describes something with more width or a greater span.
  3. Hint 3: A comparative word meaning more broad, starts with W.
4 Down: Went down the playground poleHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about playground equipment.
  2. Hint 2: This is what you did after climbing up and going down a smooth metal chute.
  3. Hint 3: Past tense of moving down a playground slide, starts with S.
5 Down: Those peopleHint
  1. Hint 1: Think about a pronoun referring to a group.
  2. Hint 2: This word points to people other than the speaker or listener, in plural form.
  3. Hint 3: A pronoun meaning those people, starts with T.

Use hints slowly

Reveal the first hint, try the grid again, then come back only if the crossing letters still do not move.

See answers

Before you open a hint

Mini #317 has ten clues, so this page holds 30 hints. Hint 1 points you at the idea, hint 2 narrows it down, and hint 3 all but gives it away. On this date, all ten third hints name the answer's first letter.

Short answers have the fewest possible fills, so they make a good start. The four-letter slots are 1-Across, 8-Across, 4-Down and 5-Down; the five-letter slots are 5-Across, 6-Across, 7-Across, 1-Down, 2-Down and 3-Down.

Clues to try first

  • Some clues lean on a name or title, such as 1-Across, “Luxury German cars, in the plural” and 6-Across, “Main language of northern India”; if one is unfamiliar, work its crossing answers first.

More for August 13, 2026

Rather see the grid first? Play Mini #317. When you're done, the answer key reveals one answer at a time, and the printable copy is there for paper solvers. The day before, Mini #316 (August 12, 2026), opens with 1-Across, “Chimp or gorilla”; the day after, Mini #318 (August 14, 2026), opens with 1-Across, “Bills and coins”.

August 13, 2026 Mini Crossword hints FAQ

Are these hints for the August 13, 2026 Mini Crossword?
Yes. Every clue on this page is from our own August 13, 2026 puzzle, with three hints each, from a gentle nudge to a strong push. The answers themselves are on the answer key page.
Is this the NYT Mini hints page?
No. This is an independent daily mini crossword. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by, or endorsed by The New York Times.
What is the difference between hints and the answer key?
Hints move you toward the answer one step at a time so you can still solve it yourself. If you want to see a solution outright, the answer key at /answers/2026-08-13 reveals one answer at a time.