Mini #8 — the answers

The Mini crossword from September 9, 2026: a 5×5 grid, 5 across and 5 down, filled in the order the crossings give it away.

The clues

Across

1. 1. Bird in a parliament — OWL
2. 4. Crime ___ — SPREE
3. 6. Snake charmer’s snake — COBRA
4. 7. Green card holder, legally — ALIEN
5. 8. "___ so fast!" — NOT

Down

1. 1. Satellite’s path — ORBIT
2. 2. "___ you there?" — WERE
3. 3. Cut with little fat — LEAN
4. 4. Read a barcode — SCAN
5. 5. Marco ___ — POLO

The walkthrough

One way through: start at 1-Across, then let each answer feed the words it crosses — the slot with the most letters already showing is the one to fill next.

1. 1-Across, “Bird in a parliament” — nothing given yet: OWL.
2. 1-Down, “Satellite’s path” — O···· from the crossings: ORBIT.
3. 4-Across, “Crime ___” — ··R·· from the crossings: SPREE.
4. 2-Down, “"___ you there?"” — WE·· from the crossings: WERE.
5. 6-Across, “Snake charmer’s snake” — ··BR· from the crossings: COBRA.
6. 3-Down, “Cut with little fat” — LEA· from the crossings: LEAN.
7. 7-Across, “Green card holder, legally” — ··IEN from the crossings: ALIEN.
8. 4-Down, “Read a barcode” — SCA· from the crossings: SCAN.
9. 5-Down, “Marco ___” — POL· from the crossings: POLO.
10. 8-Across, “"___ so fast!"” — already spelled out by its crossings: NOT.

The answer

Previous: Mini #7 (Tue, Sep 8) · Next: Mini #9 (Thu, Sep 10)

About Mini

Mini is Noggin’s five-by-five crossword, on the second shelf: one grid a day against the clock, outside the daily line-up. How to play Mini, or play today’s.