‘Great Lake that borders Buffalo’ NYT Crossword answer and hints

There are lots of incredible lakes around the world, and in the Aug. 20 edition of the NYT Mini Crossword, we’re taking a look at the “Great Lake that borders Buffalo” to give you an answer to five across.

‘Great Lake that borders Buffalo’ NYT Mini Crossword clue hints (Aug. 20)

• Hint one: It starts with “E.”
• Hint two: Repeat another letter in the clue and it’s almost creepy and frightening.
• Hint three: It features three vowels.
• Hint four: Rhymes with dreary.

Clues are at a premium here, so let’s get straight into the complete solution.

‘Great Lake that borders Buffalo’ clue solution in NYT Mini Crossword

The answer to the “Great Lake that borders Buffalo” clue is “ERIE.”

Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes in America and spans multiple states. As I said, if you add a letter to the clue, it becomes “Eerie,” and it rhymes with the word “dreary.”

All answers for Aug. 20 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle

Across

• 1A “That’s gonna leave a ____!”— MARK
• 5A Great Lake that borders Buffalo — ERIE
• 6A Bee offensive? — STING
• 7A Greek god of war — ARES
• 8A Something you might hold around a dumpster — NOSE

Down

• 6D ____Diego, Calif. — SAN
• 1D D.C’s subway system — METRO
• 2D Zodiac sign for Nancy Pelosi and Tim Walz — ARIES
• 3D Hold under running water — RINSE
• 4D Big barrel of Bud — KEG

‘Great Lake that borders Buffalo’ crossword clue difficulty

I thought I recognized this clue and setup as I covered the “Shallowest of the Great Lakes” solution from the July 14 NYT Mini Crossword—where the answer is also ERIE! This prior knowledge helped me, but a four out of five difficulty rating works if geography isn’t your strong suit—especially for a non-U.S. resident.

Puzzles and word games to enjoy after the NYT Mini Crossword

To expand your horizons, I encourage you to explore the LA Times, Washington Post, Strands, and Spelling Bee daily word games. They each offer a word-game variant and are a ton of fun to complete.