"5 Across Or 8 Across, If You Change The T's In This Answer" Crossword Clue
By: Five Letter Words | Last edited: Apr 25, 2025
Looking to solve the intriguing "5 Across Or 8 Across, If You Change The T's In This Answer" crossword clue from the Apr 25, 2025 New York Times Mini puzzle? We've identified the exact 5-letter solution you're seeking. For those who enjoy a more interactive solving experience, we've developed engaging features to assist your journey. Our letter-by-letter reveal tool allows you to uncover the solution gradually, while our carefully designed hints—including helpful anagrams, alternative clues with the same answer, or comprehensive definitions—will guide your thought process. We've also simplified navigation between related clues from this puzzle, enabling seamless progress through multiple challenges. Ready to tackle this clever wordplay puzzle? Let's explore the solution together!
Crossword Answer:
You can click on the ? tiles to reveal letter by letter before uncovering the full solution.
About This Clue
The April 25, 2025 New York Times Mini Crossword included the clever wordplay clue "5 Across Or 8 Across, If You Change The T's In This Answer" with the answer STATE. This is a meta-type clue that requires solvers to think beyond the typical crossword solving pattern. The clue itself references its own answer: if you change the T's in STATE to the numeral 8, you get S8A8E, which visually resembles "SKATE" - potentially a 5 or 8 Across answer in the puzzle. This type of self-referential clue showcases the creative and playful nature that makes the NYT Mini Crossword both challenging and enjoyable for puzzle enthusiasts.
Solving Strategy
When approaching meta or self-referential clues like "5 Across Or 8 Across, If You Change The T's In This Answer," it helps to consider what the puzzle creator might be hinting at through wordplay. In this case, the key insight is realizing that certain letters can resemble numbers when substituted - specifically, the letter "T" can be replaced by the numeral "8" to transform one word into another.
The answer STATE contains two T's, and when those are replaced with 8's, the resulting S8A8E visually resembles SKATE. The clue cleverly suggests this transformation by mentioning that changing the T's in the answer could yield another potential crossword answer (SKATE) that might appear at 5-Across or 8-Across in a different puzzle. This type of visual wordplay is particularly common in the NYT Mini Crossword, which often features creative clues that go beyond straightforward definitions.
NYT Mini Crossword Tips
When solving self-referential or meta clues in the NYT Mini Crossword, keep these strategies in mind: First, consider how the clue might refer to its own answer or to other parts of the puzzle. Second, be alert for visual puns or letter substitutions - numbers that look like letters (0/O, 1/I, 8/B or 8/S) are common elements in these types of wordplay. Third, don't be afraid to think literally about what the clue is saying - sometimes the most straightforward interpretation is correct. Finally, crosschecking with intersecting answers can help narrow down possibilities. For this specific clue, recognizing that T's could transform into 8's to create a word that might be an answer elsewhere in a crossword (SKATE) is the key insight that leads to STATE as the solution.
Related Crossword Answers
STATE
Clue: "New York or California"
STATE
Clue: "Condition or situation"
SKATE
Clue: "Glide on ice"
SKATE
Clue: "Flat fish or ice activity"
More Clues & Answers For The New York Times Mini (April 25, 2025)
ACROSS
- 1. "Beware the ___ of March"
- 5. 5 Across Or 8 Across, If You Change The T's In This Answer
- 7. Pond scum
- 8. Teeny-tiny bit
- 9. Doctor who might more aptly be called a "dogtor"