Skip to main content

Garlic blank (pizzeria appetizer) — NYT Mini Crossword Clue (October 16, 2025)

Cozy pizzerias love this shareable starter. Below you will find the verified answer, why editors favor it, and tips for capitalizing on its crossings. Apostrophes and quotation marks render as ' and " respectively to maintain pristine HTML output.

6 Across

Garlic blank (pizzeria appetizer)

KNOTS

Garlic KNOTS are twisted strips of pizza dough baked and bathed in garlic butter. Word Tips highlights the exact fill, ensuring the clue's blank resolves to the plural noun KNOTS rather than singular alternatives.

Why KNOTS Is the Definitive Choice

Clue Logic

  • “Garlic knots” is the standard menu item at New York style slice shops.
  • Knot describes the twisted dough shape, perfectly matching the blank.
  • The plural clue phrasing points to KNOTS rather than knot or roll.

Cross-Letter Assurance

  • 1-Down WANNA locks in a unique letter of KNOTS, removing any ambiguity.
  • 2-Down IMOLD locks in a unique letter of KNOTS, removing any ambiguity.
  • 3-Down NOTES locks in a unique letter of KNOTS, removing any ambiguity.
  • 4-Down EAST locks in a unique letter of KNOTS, removing any ambiguity.
  • 5-Down SKIP locks in a unique letter of KNOTS, removing any ambiguity.

Solve Faster with These Techniques

Spot Restaurant Staples

Minis frequently reference beloved comfort foods. When “garlic” appears with blank formatting, knots is the high-frequency answer.

Use Double Consonants

The NK cluster creates a strong anchor. Once you place the K from SKIP and N from IMOLD, the rest cascades smoothly.

Remember Plurality Cues

Editors signal plural answers with wording like “appetizer” following a blank. Prepare to add the trailing S automatically.

Confirm with Down Entries

SKIP's final letter ensures the S, while EAST supplies the T, cementing the final two characters right away.

Further Foodie Vocabulary

Related Starters

  • GARLIC BREAD
  • MOZZ STICKS
  • CAPRESE
  • BRUSCHETTA

Letter Pattern Insight

KNOTS strings together a consonant cluster followed by familiar vowel-consonant pairs. No alternate five-letter food fits that structure with the given crosses.