‘Civic automaker’ NYT Mini Crossword answers and hints

Not only can you manufacture an NYT Mini Crossword, but you can also manufacture cars, which leads us nicely to our “Civic automaker” clue for July 25.

Even if you don’t drive or have never had a driving lesson, everyone’s heard of a Civic, and if you get your brain into gear, this clue isn’t as tough as it appears.

‘Civic automaker’ two down NYT Mini Crossword solution and hints

• Hint 1: Surname of a Japanese football (soccer) great.
• Hint 2: It’s a Japanese company.
• Hint 3: Street Fighter wants its character back.
• Hint 4: It ends with “a.”

Let’s cut the chit-chat and go straight from the hints to the final answer to two down.

If you didn’t get it, the solution is “HONDA,” a popular car manufacturer in the world of automobiles.

Keisuke Honda was a sensation for the Japanese football team—and played for Italian giants AC Milan—and Street Fighter famously has a character called Edmond Honda. Ultimately, they both lead us to Honda—a manufacturer of vehicles founded in the 1940s.

Not only are they renowned for making vehicles, but Honda is also a mainstay in Formula 1 and has been constantly one of the big names alongside the likes of Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes.

Every July 25 NYT Mini Crossword answer

Across

• 1A “That’s mind-blowing!” — WHOA
• 5A Apt anagram of RHINO – I — HORN
• 6A Jelly Belly or Jolly Rancher — CANDY
• 7A Ye ___ Shoppe — OLDE
• 8A Show that recently received a record 23 Emmy nominations, with “The” — THE BEAR

Down

• 1D ___ watching (coastal activity) — WHALE
• 2D Civic automaker — HONDA
• 3D Waiter’s jotting — ORDER
• 4D “Take your pick!” — ANY
• 6D Corn core — COB

‘Civic automaker’ July 25 NYT clue difficulty

I grew up playing Gran Turismo, TOCA, and various other driving games, making it fairly easy for me to decipher Honda in mere seconds. Furthermore, the Civic is such a common and mass-produced car I feel it’s almost impossible not to know it’s Honda—you might see this one coming, but for the second time today, I’m going for a one of out five for difficulty.

More crosswords and puzzles like NYT Mini Crossword daily, explained

The NYT Mini Crossword is a great source of daily workouts for your brain. However, I would be remiss to not mention other fine proprietors of word games. Look no further than the Washington Post and LA Times for direct crossword puzzles. For additional brainteasers changing things up a bit, have a go at Strands and Spelling Bee.