‘Caustic chemical compound’ NYT Mini Crossword July 31 answer and hints

Another NYT Mini Crossword daily, another science clue—this time for the July 31 edition of the puzzle: “Caustic chemical compound.”

This side of trivia isn’t my strong suit, nor is it for many, I would guess. This makes the “caustic chemical compound” clue a tough task, but there is a science behind it.

‘Caustic chemical compound’ seven down NYT Mini Crossword solution

• Hint 1: A homophone for being untruthful.
• Hint 2: One of the later letters in the alphabet is in the middle of the word.
• Hint 3: You can get a favorable one of these in Golf—spelled differently.
• Hint 4: It ends with “E.”

Four different clues and ways of looking at the answer, and now it’s time for the answer reveal.

The solution to the “caustic chemical compound” clue is “LYE.”

If you deliberately say something you know isn’t true, some would say is a lie. The letter “y” is the 25th letter of 26. As a golfer myself (and not a good one), I enjoy having a good lie. Finally, LYE ends with an “e.”

Lye meaning, explained

Lye is an alkaline liquor that’s highly soluble in water, making it ideal for cleaning products and curing foods.

All answers for July 31 NYT Mini Crossword

Across

• 1A Keyboard key near the top left — TAB
• 4A Hot couple, in a celebrity gossip column — ITEM
• 6A Wild, as an animal — FERAL
• 8A Like many four-legged friends — FURRY
• 9A Keyboard key on the bottom — SPACE

Down

• 1D Little spats — TIFFS
• 2D Thoroughly devoured — ATEUP
• 3D Yogi who said “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours” — BEAR
• 5D Comedian Maron — MARC
• 7D Caustic chemical compound — LYE

‘Caustic chemical compound’ NYT Crossword Mini difficulty rating

This nearly gets a full five-star rating for difficulty in today’s NYT Mini Crossword. The only thing saving its scientific bacon is the fact it’s three letters, and six, eight, and nine across can get you across the line. I’m still going to break the scale slightly and give this a four and a half stars out of five because it’s so obscure.

How to play other word games and crosswords like NYT Mini puzzle

The NYT Mini Crossword shouldn’t define July 31 for you. Far from it. Jump into other daily word games such as the LA Times, Washington Post, Strands, and Spelling Bee, as they are all capable of delivering a challenge.