The May 27 Mini is out. Short on fluff, longer on logic if you count the whale.
Clicking around for answers is a habit now. Wordle. Connections. Strands. Sports Edition. We check them all. Why? Because the brain wants the dopamine hit. The CNET hints page has everything you need, or so the headline suggests.
Skip the pleasantries. Let’s look at the grid.
Across the board
Money talk starts with 1A.
Rare bills. Specifically US ones. You know the ones. They look like counterfeit to everyone except the people who insist they aren’t. The answer is TWOS.
5A is a massive creature. Or rather, a model of one. It’s 94 feet long, hanging in the American Museum of Natural Hall. A blue WHALE. It hangs there looking at you.
6A is basic emotion regulation. “Cool it, okay.” You’re asking someone to RELAX. Easy enough. Unless they’re not relaxed. Then the clue is ironic.
7A gets vibe-coded. A Bohemian? The word isn’t bohemian. It’s ARTY. A bit subjective. But grids require objectivity. So it sticks.
8A is candy. But not just any candy. The kind in the plastic dispenser with the cartoon eyes on the side. PEZ. Generations lost teeth to this. Or just enjoyed the novelty. Hard to say which is more tragic.
Down the drain? No. Just down.
1D repeats a phrase until it loses meaning. “It’ll be all right.” Say it twice. Where? THERE. It’s the place you go to calm down. Or the word you repeat until the sentence falls apart.
2D is formal. Ballroom dancing. Two people holding each other too tight. The classic rotation? WALTZ. One-two-three. One-two-three. It feels mechanical if you miss the rhythm.
3D is specific consumer goods trivia. The Regenerist Micro-Sculpt Cream. If you don’t buy the ad, you don’t know the brand. But the answer is OLAY. Household name for face moisture.
4D is blunt. Why do movies get an R? Violence sure. But often it’s just people sleeping. SEX. The MPA labels it for language too. But the prompt here? Direct.
