‘Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s’ NYT Mini Crossword answer and hints

The role of the first lady is considered vitally important in American politics. While a male President’s spouse doesn’t run the United States, she makes public appearances and speaks on current agendas and topics. “The ‘Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s” clue is an example of how important these figures are.

‘Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s’ NYT Sept. 18 Mini Crossword hints

• Hint one: _ _ _ _ Howard—Bethesda Executive Producer.
• Hint two: Rhymes with cod.
• Hint three: The Simpsons: Rod and _ _ _ _.
• Hint four: Ends with “D.”

If you still don’t have the answer, I have provided the solution below, along with brief explanations of some of the hints.

‘Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s’ three down answer in NYT Sept. 18 Mini Crossword

The answer to today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue “Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s” is “TODD” for three down. As in, Mary Todd Lincoln—the first lady to Abraham Lincoln, the iconic American President. Unfortunately, her position came to a premature end when Abraham Lincoln was infamously assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865.

For our hints, Todd Howard has been a driving force of Bethesda for years now, and in The Simpsons (fitting considering four down in today’s word game), Rod and Todd Flanders are brothers.

All NYT Mini Crossword Sept. 18 answers

Across

• 1A Doc treating a dachshund — VET
• 4A “Nice going!” — BRAVO
• 6A Tended to, as a squeaky wheel — OILED
• 7A Drop a few bucks — SPEND
• 8A Last word before the starting pistol goes off — SET

Down

• 5D Ready for picking — RIPE
• 1D Parking pro — VALET
• 2D Divisible by two — EVEN
• 3D Mary___Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s — TODD
• 4D Mr. Burns’s relationship to Homer Simpson — BOSS

‘Mary Lincoln, first lady of the 1860s’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating, explained

I didn’t have the first clue where to start here—and even history-studying Americans more closely associated with the topic might struggle to know Mary Lincoln’s middle name. The only reason I got this was through proxy courtesy of solving other clues around this one, so it’s a full five out of five for difficulty—credit to you if you got this one!

How to play daily word games like NYT Mini Crossword

Be sure to check out and play the LA Times, Washington Post, Strands, and Spelling Bee daily word games after completing the NYT Mini Crossword. They are fun, different, and the perfect exercise to keep your brain engaged and thinking.