Mini #53 — the answers

The Mini crossword from October 24, 2026: a 5×5 grid, 5 across and 5 down, filled in the order the crossings give it away.

The clues

Across

1. 1. Not good — BAD
2. 4. Dough — MONEY
3. 6. Bird on the dollar — EAGLE
4. 7. Halloween alternative to a trick — TREAT
5. 8. Not wet — DRY

Down

1. 1. Lumber piece — BOARD
2. 2. Rage — ANGER
3. 3. Hold up — DELAY
4. 4. Ran into — MET
5. 5. Up to now — YET

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, “Not good” — nothing given yet: BAD.
2. 1-Down, “Lumber piece” — B···· from the crossings: BOARD.
3. 4-Across, “Dough” — ·O··· from the crossings: MONEY.
4. 2-Down, “Rage” — AN··· from the crossings: ANGER.
5. 6-Across, “Bird on the dollar” — ·AG·· from the crossings: EAGLE.
6. 3-Down, “Hold up” — DEL·· from the crossings: DELAY.
7. 7-Across, “Halloween alternative to a trick” — ·REA· from the crossings: TREAT.
8. 8-Across, “Not wet” — already spelled out by its crossings: DRY.
9. 4-Down, “Ran into” — already spelled out by its crossings: MET.
10. 5-Down, “Up to now” — already spelled out by its crossings: YET.

The answer

Previous: Mini #52 (Fri, Oct 23) · Next: Mini #54 (Sun, Oct 25) · 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.