Mini #51 — the answers

The Mini crossword from October 22, 2026: a 5×5 grid, 5 across and 5 down, filled in the order the crossings give it away.

The clues

Across

1. 1. Church bench — PEW
2. 4. Earth’s spin line — AXIS
3. 6. Like ocean waves — TIDAL
4. 8. Voice quality — TONE
5. 9. Rainy — WET

Down

1. 1. Butter serving — PAT
2. 2. Way out — EXIT
3. 3. Black ___ spider — WIDOW
4. 5. Rational — SANE
5. 7. Rent out — LET

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, “Church bench” — nothing given yet: PEW.
2. 1-Down, “Butter serving” — P·· from the crossings: PAT.
3. 4-Across, “Earth’s spin line” — A··· from the crossings: AXIS.
4. 2-Down, “Way out” — EX·· from the crossings: EXIT.
5. 6-Across, “Like ocean waves” — TI··· from the crossings: TIDAL.
6. 3-Down, “Black ___ spider” — WID·· from the crossings: WIDOW.
7. 8-Across, “Voice quality” — TO·· from the crossings: TONE.
8. 5-Down, “Rational” — SAN· from the crossings: SANE.
9. 9-Across, “Rainy” — WE· from the crossings: WET.
10. 7-Down, “Rent out” — already spelled out by its crossings: LET.

The answer

Previous: Mini #50 (Wed, Oct 21) · Next: Mini #52 (Fri, Oct 23) · All Mini solutions

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.