‘One traveling at the speed of flight?’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

Have you ever been on a flight that significantly cut down your travel time? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue, “One traveling at the speed of flight?,” asks you to identify someone with an important role in aviation.

If you’re finding today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue’s wordplay hard to solve, use our hints and answers below to beat the puzzle.

‘One traveling at the speed of flight?’ NYT Oct. 14 Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: The answer describes someone who wears a uniform and sits in the cockpit.
• Hint 2: The five-letter solution is a job where the person will need a special license to perform their job.
• Hint 3: It starts with the letter “P.” 
• Hint 4: The solution also refers to the first episode of a TV show.

Let’s jump in and reveal the answer.

The answer to six across in the Oct. 14 New York Times Mini Crossword is “PILOT.” The clue uses clever wordplay to hide the answer in plain sight. There are two ways to decipher the clue, as the first part makes you think of travelling at the speed of light, which is a fairly common phrase. The second part of the clue swaps the word “light” with “flight,” which directly refers to the pilot flying the aircraft.  

‘One traveling at the speed of flight?’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

Even though the wordplay was complicated, it referred to the pilot quite clearly. After reading the clue, it reminded me of the lyrics of the Queen song, “Don’t Stop Me Now,” which helped me easily solve the wordplay and find the answer. If you didn’t see through it, then you might struggle with the clue. So, I’d give it a three out of five for difficulty.

NYT Mini Crossword (Oct. 14) answers

Across

• 1A Ancient sailors used them to navigate — STARS
• 6A One traveling at the speed of flight? — PILOT
• 7A Basketball stadium, e.g. — ARENA
• 8A Dallasite or Houstonian — TEXAN
• 9A Grains you’d rather not eat? — SAND

Down

• 1D Little fight — SPAT
• 2D Rubber rings — TIRES
• 3D Amazon device voice — ALEXA
• 4D Actress Saoirse of “Lady Bird” and “Little Woman” — RONAN
• 5D Spot for witness testimony — STAND

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

If the NYT Mini Crossword word games feel overwhelming, you can step up your game with the LA Times and Washington Post puzzles. Alternatively, you can also dive into Strands and Spelling Bee if you fancy something different.