‘_ De Jing (philosophical text)’ NYT Mini Crossword clue Aug. 17 answer and hints

Sometimes, the NYT Mini Crossword tests your scholarly knowledge, and with the Saturday editions being extra tricky, now is a good time to shake out our bag of hints, for this clue about the ___ De Jing philosophical text is a real doozy.

“___ De Jing (philosophical text)” is a clue 9 across, a three-letter word in the Aug. 17 Mini Crossword, and if you haven’t stumbled onto matters relating to Eastern philosophies, then good luck with this one—or make use of our handy hints below.

‘_ De Jing (philosophical text)’ NYT Mini Crossword clue Aug. 17 hints and answer

• Hint 1: The answer kind of sounds like one of the oldest stock indexes.
• Hint 2: The answer contains two vowels and one consonant.
• Hint 3: The missing word in Shakespeare’s Much ___ About Nothing is an anagram of the answer.
• Hint 4: The answer starts with a D.

Last warning before we reveal the answer—but if you need to go all the way for help with the 9A “__De Jing (philosophical text)” hint and the rest of the Mini Crossword puzzle clues for Aug. 17, here goes nothing.

The answer to 9A “__De Jing (philosophical text)” is DAO. The Dao De Jing, also often formatted as the Tao Te Ching, is the foundational text of Taoism, an ancient Chinese religious and philosophical tradition. You can read it for yourself, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. With a less-commonly seen spelling (which is what tripped me up when solving), this clue definitely warrants a five out of five difficulty rating.

All NYT Mini Crossword puzzle (Aug. 17) clues and answers

Across

• 1A Stuff chewed by a cow — CUD
• 4A Bakery offerings — CAKES
• 6A Corporate makeover — REBRAND
• 8A 100% — ALL
• 9A __De Jing (philosophical text) — DAO
• 10A Like restrictions you might mention to a waiter — DIETARY
• 12A Difficult shape for a mini golf hole — ANTHILL
• 13A Ah, this takes me back! — REVERSE

Down

• 1D What the Disney Channel and the Golf Channel appear on — CABLETV
• 2D Kyiv’s land: Abbr.— UKR
• 3D Awkward silence in a broadcast — DEADAIR
• 4D Dion, who performed atop the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Olympics — Celine
• 5D Responds in an aggressive and threatening tone — SNARLS
• 6D Weather-detecting technology — RADAR
• 7D Writer Arthur Conan ___ — DOYLE
• 11D The “t” of btw — THE

More word games to play after you’re done with the NYT Mini Crossword

Hungry for more word game action? You can stick with the New York Times with Strands and Spelling Bee or go beyond for more crosswords over at the LA Times and the Washington Post. Happy wording!