‘Button-up or button-down’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

In today’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you, too, might be confused by the clue “Button-up or button-down.” If you’re struggling to find the answer to this clue from the Oct. 1 NYT crossword puzzle, read on.

‘Button-up or button-down’ NYT Oct. 1 Mini Crossword clue hints and answer

• Hint 1: It starts with an “S.”
• Hint 2: It contains only one vowel.
• Hint 3: It ends with a “T.”
• Hint 4: It rhymes with “skirt.”

The answer to the “Button-up or button-down” clue from the Oct. 1 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle is “SHIRT.” Shirts are one of the many pieces of clothing that require you to use buttons to fasten or unfasten one side of the item to the other. Some of these shirts are called button-ups, and others are called button-downs. And there is a difference between these two. A button-up shirt has no buttons on the collar, and a button-down shirt has small buttons to keep the collar in place.

All clues and answers in the Oct. 1 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle

Across

• 1A One is officially called an “Academy Award of Merit” — OSCAR
• 6A Aquatic mammal whose closest terrestrial relative is the hippopotamus — WHALE
• 7A Charlie Brown’s friend with a blanket — LINUS
• 8A City founded by twin brothers, according to legend — ROME
• 9A Something to cram for — TEST

Down

• 1D The bird Duo in Duolingo’s logo, e.g. — OWL
• 2D Button-up or button-down — SHIRT
• 3D Olympic racing vessel since 1936 — CANOE
• 4D Class reunion attendees — ALUMS
• 5D Button you might need a paper clip to press on an electronic device — RESET

‘Button-up or button-down’ NYT crossword clue difficulty, rated

I won’t lie; this clue did give me pause. This is because I’ve never used the phrase “button-down” before. And I didn’t know it was a type of shirt. So, going into today’s crossword clue, I wasn’t sure if this referred to an item of clothing, like a shirt, or something else with buttons. But after solving a few of the surrounding clues, I realized it was the former idea and had to research the difference between a button-up and a button-down shirt. While it wasn’t too difficult or impossible to solve, I’d still give it a rating of four out of five because I’m sure others like me didn’t know about button-down shirts.

Puzzles to enjoy after the NYT Mini Crossword puzzle

Mini puzzles can be fun, quick, and challenging. If you’d like to try more mini crosswords, try the ones from the LA Times or the Washington Post. But if you’d like to try themed word games, try these two from the NYT: Strands or Spelling Bee.