‘Made less difficult’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clues answer and hints

Have you ever had a friend who’d solve your problems in a jiffy? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue is “Made less difficult,” which asks you to describe this quality of your friend and the act of making difficult things seem easy. 

If today’s NYT Mini Crossword clues are proving tough, you can use our hints and answers to easily solve the word puzzle.

‘Made less difficult’ NYT Nov. 6 Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: The answer refers to making progress in relieving or improving a difficult situation.
• Hint 2: The five-letter solution refers to a process where something became simpler or less strenuous.
• Hint 3: It starts with the letter “E.”
• Hint 4: The solution is a past tense of the word, meaning lack of difficulty in a task.

Let’s jump in and reveal the answer.

The answer to seven across in the Nov. 6 New York Times Mini Crossword is “EASED.” Eased is the past tense of the verb ease, which fits perfectly with the “less difficult” part of the clue, showing the reduced difficulty in completing a task.

‘Made less difficult’‘ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

Ease of doing a task is something everybody is familiar with and it is a regularly used word in everyday conversations so it should be easy to solve for everyone. However, the past tense answer might catch many people off guard and mess up their perfect streak. But if you figure out the past tense and then think of the answer while solving the crossword, it is relatively easy to guess compared to other clues on the list. So, I’d give it a three out of five for difficulty.

NYT Mini Crossword (Nov. 6) answers

Across

• 1A Horror franchise with an 11th film planned for 2025 — SAW
• 4A Airy areas, architecturally — ATRIA
• 6A Like an oddball — WEIRD
• 7A Made less difficult — EASED
• 8A ___ school (MCAT taker’s next step) — MED

Down

• 1D What shoots out the ears of an angry cartoon character — STEAM
• 2D Come up in conversation — ARISE
• 3D Overly caffeinated, say— WIRED
• 4D Feeling when first seeing the Alps or the Grand Canyon — AWE
• 5D Press “+” — ADD

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

When the NYT Mini Crossword word games feel like a steep climb, the LA Times and Washington Post puzzles can give you a boost. But if you’ve had enough traditional word games, consider trying Strands and Spelling Bee.