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

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.

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

• 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.