Archive · Puzzle #87
Friday, August 21, 2026
Mini Crossword
Across
- 1Deli meat
- 4Royal rank
- 6Happening
- 7Following ninth
- 8Nope
Down
- 4Wager
- 1Refuge
- 2Sports venue
- 3Calendar segment
- 5To the max
Friday Mini Crossword puzzles run at the harder end of the weekly difficulty curve, though not yet at the weekend ceiling. Puzzle #87 (Friday, August 21, 2026) reflects that calibration: longer solve times, occasional unusual vocabulary or pattern, and more reliance on strategic guess selection than the early-week material requires. Players using the archive to build skill should treat Fridays as the practical training-day puzzles.
Mid-August sits in the steady-rotation middle of the calendar month. The Mini Crossword difficulty calibration does not adjust for calendar position; puzzle #87 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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