‘Old-style Yikes!’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

This is one word you'll want to add to your vocabulary list.

The clue, old style yikes! surrounded by a crossword puzzle icon and two cartoon font versions of yikes for the NYT Mini Crossword clue
Image by Dot Esports

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.

Recommended Videos

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

The clue, Old style yikes!, highlighted in blue and yellow on the NYT Mini Crossword puzzle from Sept. 3
This is only one of the unusual clues in today’s crossword puzzle. Screenshot by Dot Esports via the NYT
  • 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.

Author
Image of Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews is a staff writer for Dot Esports with a dual degree in business and human resource management. After discovering her passion for creative writing and gaming, she now writes about MOBAs, MMOs, and cozy games.