NYT Mini Crossword Answers May 15, 2025

Across
1 Direction opposite of WSW (Answer: ENE)
🧭 3 letters, starts with E, ends with E
📍 Stands for east-northeast
🧭 Found on a compass rose
🌄 Where the sun rises from
↗️ Slightly right of due east
🗺️ Opposite of west-southwest
🌍 Navigation direction
🚗 Used in orienteering
📌 Between NE and E on a compass

4 Shoot out, as lava from a volcano (Answer: SPEW)
🌋 4 letters, starts with S, ends with W
💥 Forcefully eject
🌫️ Often used with smoke or gas
💨 Violent emission
🤮 Slang for vomiting
🔥 Lava might do this
📢 Angrily rant or explode
🚀 Used for steam or pressure
🗣️ Spout rapidly

5 “In what place?” (Answer: WHERE)
🗺️ 5 letters, starts with W, ends with E
❓ A question of location
🔍 Used when seeking a spot
🗣️ “___ are my keys?”
🧭 Directional interrogative
🎯 Asked when you’re lost
🌍 Related to geography
📍 Often follows “from”
🧠 Part of the five W’s

6 Plants you didn’t plant, perhaps (Answer: WEEDS)
🌿 5 letters, starts with W, ends with S
🚫 Unwanted garden growth
🌱 Grows without being invited
🌾 Pulled out by hand
🧤 Common enemy of gardeners
🌻 May choke flowers or crops
🪴 Invasive plants
🧽 Not a vegetable or fruit
🌼 Sprouts in cracks or dirt

7 Like Mini crosswords … and a phonetic description of this puzzle? (Answer: EASY)
🎯 4 letters, starts with E, ends with Y
✅ Not hard
📉 Low difficulty
🧩 Simple to solve
📚 Beginner-friendly
😌 Breezy or light
🧠 Doesn’t strain your brain
🏆 Opposite of hard
🎮 Casual game mode

Down
1 Fencing swords (Answer: EPEES)
⚔️ 5 letters, starts with E, ends with S
🏅 Olympic weapons
🎯 Used in fencing
🗡️ Long, thin blades
🎭 Touch-based sport gear
📏 Heavier than foils
🧤 Held with a glove
🎽 Paired with protective gear
📚 French word origin

2 Prone to geeking out (Answer: NERDY)
🤓 5 letters, starts with N, ends with Y
💻 Obsessed with specific topics
📚 Loves learning
🎲 May play D&D
🎮 Likely into video games
🎓 Academic type
👓 Stereotypically wears glasses
🧠 Intelligent but awkward
🧬 Science-loving

3 Farm animals that sound like vowels not seen in this puzzle? (Answer: EWES)
🐑 4 letters, starts with E, ends with S
👩‍🌾 Female sheep
🧒 “You” homophone
🎵 Makes baa sounds
🪶 Raised for wool
🐏 Ram’s counterpart
🌾 Common in pastures
🔤 Contain only consonants phonetically
📜 Biblical animal

4 Stadium at which the Beatles performed an iconic 1965 concert (Answer: SHEA)
🎶 4 letters, starts with S, ends with A
⚾ Former Mets home
🎤 Historic NYC concert site
🎸 Beatles landmark
🏟️ Replaced by Citi Field
📍 Located in Queens
📅 Torn down in 2009
🧱 Home to sports and concerts
🎧 Site of Beatlemania

5 Org. for Hulk Hogan and John Cena (Answer: WWE)
🤼 3 letters, starts with W, ends with E
🏆 Pro wrestling league
💥 Slam-centric entertainment
🎭 Sports meets soap opera
📺 Monday Night Raw brand
💪 Muscle-packed federation
🎮 Has video games too
🎤 “SmackDown” creator
🎬 Theatrical fights