Tiny Cotton Swab Crossword Clue

By: Five Letter Words | Last edited: Apr 24, 2025

Looking to crack the challenging Tiny cotton swab crossword clue featured in the Apr 24, 2025 New York Times Mini puzzle? We've identified the precise 4-letter answer you're seeking. For a more engaging puzzle-solving experience, we've developed interactive features to enhance your journey. Try our progressive letter reveal tool to gradually uncover the solution, or explore our carefully designed hints—such as helpful anagrams, similar clues with matching answers, or detailed definitions to guide your thinking. We've also simplified navigation between related clues from the same puzzle for a seamless solving experience. Ready to dive deeper into today's puzzle challenge? Let's explore the solution!

Crossword Answer:

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About This Clue

The April 24, 2025 New York Times Mini Crossword featured the clue "Tiny cotton swab" with the answer Q-TIP. This clue refers to the common household item used for personal hygiene and various cleaning purposes. While Q-tip is technically a brand name (similar to how Kleenex is used for tissues), it has become genericized in common speech to refer to any cotton-tipped swab.

Cotton Swab History

Cotton swabs were invented in the 1920s by Leo Gerstenzang, who observed his wife applying cotton to toothpicks for baby care. This led to the creation of the Q-Tips brand, with "Q" standing for "quality." Originally marketed for baby care, these small cotton swabs quickly gained popularity for a wide range of uses beyond their initial purpose. Today, cotton swabs are used for makeup application and removal, crafts, cleaning small spaces and electronics, medical purposes, and much more. While commonly used for ear cleaning, medical professionals generally advise against inserting cotton swabs into the ear canal due to potential damage to the eardrum and impaction of earwax.

NYT Mini Crossword Tips

When solving everyday object clues like "Tiny cotton swab" in the NYT Mini Crossword, consider both generic terms and common brand names that may have entered general usage. In American crosswords, brand names are fair game, especially those that have become synonymous with the product category. For this particular clue, recognizing that a short answer is needed (as Mini Crossword answers are typically 3-5 letters) points toward a brand name rather than the longer generic term "cotton swab." Similar everyday household items frequently appear in the Mini, so familiarity with common brand names can be helpful for regular solvers.

Related Crossword Answers

More Clues & Answers For The New York Times Mini (April 24, 2025)

ACROSS

• 1. Tiny cotton swab
• 5. Leaves on the stove too long
• 6. They're used to hunt and peck
• 7. "I'm trying to focus here!"
• 8. Button that might make a "Whoosh!" sound

DOWN

• 1. Word pronounced like its first letter (which is followed by four vowels)
• 2. Feature of an extravagant wedding dress
• 3. Signed, as a contract
• 4. Verbal alternative to a tap on the shoulder
• 5. Some backyard parties, for short