‘Puff piece?’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clues answer and hints

Have you ever read a school essay by someone who tries very hard to impress the professor with their flowery language? I have and honestly, it’s infuriating. Today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue “Puff piece?,” asks you to understand and think out of the box to get the hidden solution.

If today’s NYT Mini Crossword feels tricky, you can use our hints and answers to help you solve it with ease.

‘Puff piece?’ NYT Nov. 17 Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: The answer is not related to writing.
• Hint 2: The five-letter solution is associated with smoking.
• Hint 3: It starts with the letter “C.”
• Hint 4: The solution is something that Winston Churchill and Fidel Castro were rarely seen without one of these in their hand.

It’s time to reveal the answer.

The answer to five across in the Nov. 17 New York Times Mini Crossword is “CIGAR.” The clue “Puff piece” refers to a piece that you can puff and that’s where the cigar fits the bill because it is something you “puff” on, and produce puffs of smoke. 

‘Puff piece?’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

When you think about the clue “puff piece?” you might think it’s a term used to describe a flattering article or write-up, but the clues that end with a question mark suggest a wordplay and that’s the case here as well. The clue doesn’t talk about any writing, but rather the answer points toward cigars, which are often found in fancy celebrations or classic movies.

If you could find the connection between smoking and the clue then it should be relatively easier for you to find the answer. So, I’d give it a four out of five for difficulty.

NYT Mini Crossword (Nov. 17) answers

Across

• 1A Someone for whom a velvet rope may be lifted, in brief — VIP
• 4A Workplace with pickaxes — MINE
• 5A Puff piece? — CIGAR
• 6A Lose a staring contest — BLINK
• 7A Parts of Crocs that say “crocs” on them — SOLES

Down

• 1D Candlelight ceremony — VIGIL
• 2D Totally harebrained — INANE
• 3D Company car and a free gym membership, for example — PERKS
• 4D Venus de ___ (sculpture) — MILO
• 5D “60 Minutes” network — CBS

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

When the NYT Mini Crossword word games stump you, you can always turn toward the LA Times and Washington Post to help you stay sharp. However, if you’re looking to break free from traditional crosswords, you can play the Strands and Spelling Bee to have a fun way of learning new words.