‘Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr.’ NYT Mini Crossword clue Aug. 13 answer and hints

In school, I loved orienteering, so I thought today’s clue from the NYT crossword puzzle would be an easy hit, given it asks for abbreviated directions. Boy, was I wrong.

“Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr.” is one of the clues from the Aug. 13 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle. If you know little about using a compass or the cardinal directions or are terrible at directions altogether, this clue feels impossible—unless you use these hints to help.

‘Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr.’ NYT Mini Crossword clue Aug. 13 hints and answer

• Hint 1: It’s not a word but an abbreviation of three words.
• Hint 2: The directions refer to the cardinal directions.
• Hint 3: The first letter is “S.”
• Hint 4: The last letter in the answer is “E.”

The answer to the “Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr.” clue is “SSE.” SSE stands for South-South East, meaning the location is South but just a little to the East. This abbreviation would instead have been SE (for South East) if the location had been more eastern.

NYT Aug. 13 Mini Crossword puzzle: All clues and answers

Across

• 1A Gymnastics surfaces — MATS
• 5A They might be raised by something exciting— HOPES
• 6A More than enough — AMPLE
• 7A Highway payment — TOLL
• 8A Food for farm animals — HAY

Down

• 1D Actor Jason of “Dune” — MOMOA
• 2D Submit one’s résumé — APPLY
• 3D Poker player’s giveaway — TELL
• 4D Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr. — SSE
• 5D “Hell___ no fury like…” — HATH

Clue difficulty for the ‘Direction that’s down and a little to the right: Abbr.’

When I first read this clue, I had to read it again because I wasn’t entirely sure what it was asking. When I realized it meant giving directions on cardinal directions, I thought it had to be South-East. But that wasn’t entirely correct. I had to visualize giving someone directions and thinking about how I would say, “Oh, it’s South, South-East of here,” to get the answer. But even then, I wasn’t sure of my answer until I finished the entire crossword. So, unless you’re used to giving directions and know the Cardinal directions and how to use them, this would have been a difficult clue to crack. Because of this, I’d give it a difficulty rating of four out of five.

NYT Mini Crossword puzzle alternatives and word games

If you’re eager to try more mini crossword puzzles, I recommend the mini daily ones from the LA Times or the Washington Post. They may be short, but they can also be just as tricky. But if you enjoy word games, try Strands or Spelling Bee from the NYT.