‘Member of an underwater colony’ NYT Mini clue hints and answer (Aug. 26)

It’s Monday morning here, and I’m not long awake—that’s my excuse for struggling with the NYT Mini clue,” Member of an underwater colony,” and I’m sticking to it.

This one was hard. My brain immediately thought of Atlantis, the sea people in Dave the Diver, and other ancient underwater civilizations, but I was so off the mark. The answer is much more straightforward.

‘Member of an underwater colony’ NYT Mini clue hints

As always, I’m going to give your four hints before I give you the answer. Here you go:

• Hint 1: Marine invertebrates.
• Hint 2: Often pink or orange in color.
• Hint 3: Important component of reefs.
• Hint 4: Begins with a “C.”

‘Member of an underwater colony’ NYT Mini clue answer

I know; these hints were not great today. I’m sorry. If you managed to get the answer based on my hints, congratulations! If not, keep trying or scroll on for the answer below.

The answer to the ‘Member of an underwater colony’ clue in today’s NYT Mini crossword is “CORAL.” It’s easy when you know it, right? Coral is a sort of brainy-looking underwater creature that’s critical to reef building.

‘Member of an underwater colony’ NYT Mini clue difficulty rating

I struggled much more with this than expected, and that’s because of the clue itself. The reference to a “colony” made me think of fictional and real underwater civilizations, not plain ol’ coral. I’m giving this clue a four out of five difficulty rating due to the awkwardness of the clue.

All NYT Mini Aug. 26 answers

Across

• 1A Soccer player’s prominent muscle—CALF
• 5A Member of an underwater colony—CORAL
• 6A Mario’s twin—LUIGI
• 7A Fluster—UPSET
• 8A Source of a buzz…with or without its last letter?—BEER

Down

• 1D Two-door car—COUPE
• 2D Get up or come up—ARISE
• 3D Light-colored variety of 8-Across—LAGER
• 4D Move swiftly, like a butterfly—FLIT
• 5D ♣️—CLUB

How to play more word games like the NYT Mini

It’s Monday! So it’s time to get that brain working with some excellent word games. Head to the LA Times or the Washington Post for more crossword fun, or check out Strands and Spelling Bee for something a bit different.