It’s not often a crossword throws me for a loop, but today’s NYT Crossword puzzle clue, “Old-style “Yikes!” has done exactly that. If you’re here, you’re probably in the same boat.
This particularly tricky old-time clue appears at two down in the Sept. 3 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle today. I’ve now finished this crossword puzzle, but I’m still questioning whether this is a real word because it’s that old and unusual.
‘Old-style “Yikes!”‘ NYT Mini Crossword clue Sept. 3 hints and answer
- Hint 1: It starts with an “E.”
- Hint 2: It contains two vowels.
- Hint 3: It ends in an “S.”
- Hint 4: An anagram of the word is “SAGED.”
The answer to the “Old-style ‘Yikes!'” clue is “EGADS.” Egads is, surprisingly, a real word that was once used as a mild oath. It was first known to be used around the late 1600s; it was believed to be a euphemism for “Oh, God” back then.
NYT Sept. 3 Mini Crossword puzzle: All clues and answers
Across
- 1A Concert tees, pins, posters, etc.—MERCH
- 6A Quick on one’s feet—AGILE
- 7A Kind of orange with a “belly button”—NAVEL
- 8A As good as it gets—IDEAL
- 9A Study of the stars and planets, for short—ASTRO
Down
- 1D Suffix for a huge fad—MANIA
- 2D Old-style “Yikes!”—EGADS
- 3D Patented metal fastener on Levi’s jeans—RIVET
- 4D Word shouted during a defibrillator scene in a hospital drama—CLEAR
- 5D Name tag headline—HELLO
‘Old-style “Yikes!”‘ NYT Crossword clue difficulty, rated
I had no idea what the answer was to this clue. Even after solving the puzzle and discovering the answer, “egads” didn’t really sound like a real word. So, I had to research the proclamation and learned not only was it an actual word, but that it’s been around for several hundred years, which is pretty cool—even if it’s not a common word today. Either way, it’s such an unusual clue I’d give it a solid five out of five in difficulty.
NYT Mini Crossword puzzle game alternatives
If you’ve finished today’s mini crossword puzzle from the NYT, why not try the publication’s word-based games, Strands or Spelling Bee? But if you’d like to try more mini crossword puzzles, try the ones from the LA Times or the Washington Post.
