Found the Mini Crossword easy? Good. Because this one might trip you up.
It is June 5. Puzzle number 620. This isn’t your standard New York Times fare, though. This is the Sports Edition, published by The Athletic. They own the puzzle, The Times just hosts it. You won’t find it in the main NYT Games app. Check The Athletic app. Or just play for free online, why bother paying?
The purple group this time had me staring at the screen for a minute. Words hidden inside athlete surnames? Of course. It’s subtle. It’s tricky. You have to look past the surface.
If you want to beat it on your own, stop reading here.
If you’re stuck, fine. Here is how it breaks down.
The Hints
The puzzle ranks difficulty from yellow (easy) to purple (hard). Sometimes bizarrely so.
Yellow: Friendly names for baseball teams.
Green: Health advice for a sprained ankle. Or a pulled muscle.
Blue: Teams from the Yellowhammer State. That’s Alabama, for anyone needing a geography refresher.
Purple: Nation names hidden inside words.
The Answers
Let’s get through them.
Yellow: MLB Teams (Informally)
Buccos. Cards. Cubbies. Yanks.
Simple enough. Anyone who watches a game on Tuesday nights knows these.
Green: The “RICE” Method
Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
Standard first aid. Don’t skip the elevation, your ankle will thank you.
Blue: Alabama College Nicknames
Blazers. Crimson Tide. Tigers. Trojans.
You have to know where the teams are from, not just their colors. The Crimson Tide is obviously Bama. The Blazers? Alabama State. It catches you out if you’re not looking.
Purple: Starts with a Country
Chiles. Cubarsí. Indiana. Malinin.
See the country in the athlete? Chile, Cuba, India, Mali.
Chiles has Chile. Cubarsí has Cuba. Indiana hides India. Malinin starts with Mali.
Cue the groaning. I got two wrong before I realized they were hockey players. Mostly. Indiana is basketball. Well. Not really, she’s gymnastics. The names just happen to start with the countries.
Is Sports Trivia Harder?
Depends on who you are.
My husband nails Formula 1 questions. He knows driver surnames like he knows his own middle name. My friend is a hockey hawk. I? I know Minnesota sports inside out. Nothing else.
Some categories just seem designed to break your brain.
- Serie A Clubs: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Romans.
- WNBA MVPs: Catchings, Delle Donne, Cowles, Stewart. Wait. Fowles. Not Cowles. Fowles. Note the ‘ow’.
- Premier League Nicknames: Bees, Cherries, Foxes, Hammers.
Why are the Foxes called that? No one really knows anymore. Probably because foxes are sly, or perhaps just a guy in a suit decided it sounded cool in 1874.
Sometimes the answers just slip by you. You see “Cardinals” and think of baseball, not a color. You see “Chiles” and think of food. That’s the trap. That’s the point.
Did you get Indiana right? Most people didn’t. I certainly didn’t, not at first. It feels too simple. Which means it’s probably a trap.
Go solve the next one. Maybe you’ll spot the hidden nation in time.
Don’t forget: The puzzle refreshes daily. If you missed it today, there’s another one tomorrow.
Good luck with the Strands puzzle, too. Those letters get everywhere. 🏈🏒⚾️
