What is The Midi Crossword?
The Midi Crossword is a daily New York Times crossword that sits between the Mini and the full-size puzzle. It uses 9×9 to 11×11 grids, with 9×9 as the standard size, and is designed as a manageable daily solve rather than a speed race. Every puzzle carries a title and requires an NYT Games subscription.
How to play The Midi Crossword
- Open the daily Midi puzzle and review the Across and Down clues.
- Fill white squares with words and phrases so crossing entries match at shared letters.
- Use the timer and optional tools such as Check, Reveal, pencil mode and clue navigation as needed.
- Complete the entire grid to finish the puzzle.
Why play The Midi Crossword?
The Midi bridges the gap when the Mini feels too quick and the full Crossword feels too demanding. It delivers a daily, human-constructed crossword with compact grids, titles and themes, while keeping the familiar clue structure, crossings and progress tracking of NYT crosswords.
Reading the feedback
A correct solve triggers music and a congratulatory message. A filled grid without that message contains at least one wrong square. Checked letters appear blue, ordinary pen entries show black, and pencil entries display gray. Gold stars mark qualifying consecutive solves; blue stars indicate completed puzzles that do not count toward a streak.
Modes
Daily Midi
A new subscriber-only midsize crossword appears each day, with 9×9 to 11×11 grids.
Midi Archive
Subscribers can solve past daily Midi puzzles in the NYT Crossword Archive on the web and in the Games app.
Pen and pencil
A pencil control toggles entries between black pen text and gray pencil text.
Tips for a cleaner solve
Use crossing answers to confirm uncertain clues rather than committing to a single interpretation too early. The Midi is intended as a bridge between the Mini and the Daily Crossword, offering a longer but still digestible experience.
Avoid Check or Reveal when protecting a qualifying streak. Both tools disqualify that puzzle from the Midi streak count, so reserve them for practice runs or non-streak sessions.
Common questions
How big is a Midi Crossword?
NYT states that the Midi ranges from 9×9 to 11×11 every day, with 9×9 as the default size.
When is a new Midi available?
Sunday and Monday puzzles arrive at 6 p.m. E.T. the previous day. Tuesday through Saturday puzzles arrive at 10 p.m. E.T. the previous day.