‘Help with a crime’ NYT Mini Crossword Aug. 4 answer and hints

One of the more challenging clues from the Aug. 4 New York Times Mini Crossword revolves around some illegal activities, featuring a word that’s not so commonly used in everyday conversations.

If you are one of the many Mini Crossword players who couldn’t quite crack the three down clue today, read on for some pointers and the set of solutions you need for the Sunday puzzle.

‘Help with a crime’ NYT Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: The word starts with an A.
• Hint 2: You get a male name if you change the final letter.
• Hint 3: The second letter of the word is a B.
• Hint 4: Aid and ___.

This is your final chance to solve this for yourself before we reveal the solution!

The answer to three down in the Aug. 4 NYT Mini Crossword is “ABET.” Merriam-Webster defines the word as “to actively second and encourage something” or “to assist or support someone in the achievement or a purpose. Most commonly used in relation to criminal intent, “abet” is a short but sweet crossword puzzle solution.

‘Help with a crime’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

Unless you’re the lawyerly type, you would be forgiven for not encountering this word often in the wild. It’s a bit antiquated and wooden-sounding word that rarely stands on its own (I tend to encounter it as part of the phrase “aid and abet” myself, if at all), so we’ll call this a three out of five on the difficulty scale.

NYT Mini Crossword (Aug. 4) answers

If you are looking for the full slate of solutions, here you go:

Across 

• 1A The first blank in this phrase: From ____ to ____ — HEAD
• 5A “The Hobbit” Hobbit — BILBO
• 6A A 16 seed beating a 1 seed, e.g. — UPSET
• 7A Feeling of ill will — SPITE
• 8A The second blank in this phrase: From ____ to ____ — TOE

Down

• 1D Creature able to hold its breath underwater for up to 30 minutes — HIPPO
• 2D Name that sounds like the twelfth and third letters of the alphabet — ELSIE
• 3D Help with a crime — ABET
• 4D Pour love (on) — DOTE
• 5D Opposite of boom, on Wall Street — BUST

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

Looking for more word game action? Check out the LA Times and the Washington Post crosswords for a quick fix. As for other New York Times word games, we wholeheartedly recommend Strands and Spelling Bee.