‘Grippy part of a tire’ Aug. 6 NYT Mini Crossword clue solution and hints

A car has so many moving—and stationary— parts that it can be hard to keep on top of it all. The “Grippy part of a tire” clue for the Aug. 6 edition of the NYT Mini Crossword focuses on one part of the car in particular, and you can have a wheely good time if you know the answer.

‘Grippy part of a tire’ Aug. 6 NYT Mini Crossword hints

• Hint 1: You can perform this action lightly.
• Hint 2: The name of a Transformer.
• Hint 3: “Don’t _____ On Me”: Song by Metallica.
• Hint 4: It ends with “D.”

This is your final chance to make use of these clues and secure the answer of your own volition.

‘Grippy part of a tire’ NYT Mini clue answer

“TREAD” is the word you are looking for, and it refers to the outermost part of the tire, which connects with the road as the vehicle travels.

As for our hints, you can “tread lightly,” Tread is the name of a character in the Transformers franchise, and “Don’t Tread On Me” is a great song from Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album. Finally, the word “Tread” has “D” as its final letter.

‘Grippy part of a tire’ clue difficulty rating

I went for more obscure clues to try and make this a bit trickier to solve, as I honestly think it’s a fairly easy solution. I don’t consider myself a petrolhead, and I know a decent amount of cars—thanks to years of playing Gran Turismo and other race games. With countless opportunities to learn about “Tread” in different walks of life, a two out of five seems right.

All NYT Mini Crossword answers (Aug. 6)

Across

• 1A Petty fight — SPAT
• 5A Funny little habit — QUIRK
• 7A “I can’t___that!” (response to being told that Colonel Sanders’s bow tie looks like a stick figure’s body) — UNSEE
• 8A Mother-of-pearl design on a guitar, e.g. — INLAY
• 9A Colored, as hair — DYED

Down

• 1D Source of edible ink — SQUID
• 2D Like the horror movie titles “Chopping Mall” and “Santa’s Slay” — PUNNY
• 3D Airplane seat choice — AISLE
• 4D Grippy part of a tire — TREAD
• 6D Paper with the answers on it — KEY

Other word games like the NYT Mini

I highly recommend the LA Times and Washington Post to fulfill your daily crossword puzzle needs, and you should also check out Strands and Spelling Bee to diversify your logic-solving tastes.