Archive · Puzzle #86
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Mini Crossword
Across
- 1Brewer's tub
- 4Trite
- 6Similar
- 7Targeted
- 8Lair
Down
- 4Sheep sound
- 1Legitimate
- 2Japanese cartoon
- 3Grabbed
- 5Showed the way
Mid-week Mini Crossword puzzles are calibrated between the easy early-week tier and the harder weekend tier. Puzzle #86 from Thursday, August 20, 2026 reflects that middle setting: longer solve time than Monday or Tuesday on average, but without the harder calibration the weekend reserves. The mid-week puzzles are the ones most players consider canonical Mini Crossword — neither padded easy nor stretched difficult.
Mid-August sits in the steady-rotation middle of the calendar month. The Mini Crossword difficulty calibration does not adjust for calendar position; puzzle #86 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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