‘Fencing sword’ NYT Mini Crossword answer and hints

Fencing is the closest thing we get in real life to mainstream, competitive sword fighting—which is probably for the best. The Olympics highlights how cool fencing is and how much discipline and skill it requires, and the NYT Mini Crossword today asks you to demonstrate your knowledge of its deeper workings.

‘Fencing sword’ NYT Sept. 20 Mini Crossword hints

• Hint one: It has French accent marks over two of the letters.
• Hint two: Three of the four letters are vowels.
• Hint three: A slang term for urinating is present in the word.
• Hint four: Ends with “E.”

Wow, this is not only a hard clue, but an even harder clue to think of hints for—let’s find out the answer to this beast below.

‘Fencing sword’ three down answer in NYT Sept. 20 Mini Crossword

“Épée” is the insanely difficult answer you’re looking for in today’s NYT Mini Crossword for eight across.

An Épée is one of three swords used in fencing and is considered the biggest and heaviest of the three weapons you can use. According to Fencing.org.uk, “The word ‘epée’ means ‘sword’ in French, and it was invented in response to the use of sabers and other heavy swords that were being used in 19th century dueling.”

All NYT Mini Crossword Sept. 20 answers

Across

• 1A See who can get there the fastest — RACE
• 5A Comic actor Sandler — ADAM
• 6A Acronym for a pro-housing movement — YIMBY
• 8A Fencing sword — EPEE
• 9A Org. that certifies foods as “Organic” — USDA

Down

• 1D Beam of sunshine — RAY
• 2D French goodbye — ADIEU
• 3D Places where bug juice is served and color wars are waged — CAMPS
• 4D Plant deep (within) — EMBED
• 7D Opposite of nay — YAY

‘Fencing sword’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating, explained

I make no hesitation in giving the “Fencing sword” clue a five out of five for difficulty. It’s very simple, I’ve watched a decent bit of fencing at the Olympics throughout the years, but I’ve never known (or knowingly remembered, anyway) the names of the different swords. You might fare better than I considering the 2024 Olympics were fairly recent, but for me, I only got this through knowing other clues, so this one rightfully gets the max difficulty rating on our scale.

How to play daily word games like NYT Mini Crossword

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is a bit of a tough one, I’m not going to lie. However, it’s doable, and if you can conquer this, you should feel like you can overcome any other daily word game. It so happens I have several other puzzles to recommend to you to boost your brain: the LA Times, Washington Post, Strands, and Spelling Bee.