Archive · Puzzle #81
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Mini Crossword
Across
- 1Quick breath
- 5Sacred table
- 7Not tight
- 8Heart vessel
- 9Dread
Down
- 1Big party
- 2Distant
- 3Shop
- 4Italian staple
- 6Back
Saturday and Sunday Mini Crossword puzzles sit at the top of the weekly difficulty curve — longer solves, more unusual vocabulary or patterns, and a higher rate of player solve-rate drops than any other day of the week. Puzzle #81 from Saturday, August 15, 2026 reflects that calibration. The weekend puzzles are the ones that produce the most interesting share-string variation across the community and the highest concentration of "how did you do" conversations.
Mid-August sits in the steady-rotation middle of the calendar month. The Mini Crossword difficulty calibration does not adjust for calendar position; puzzle #81 runs the same calibration the day-of-week band specifies, regardless of where in the month it falls. The mid-month archive is the most representative slice of typical Mini Crossword difficulty over time.
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