‘Openly confesses’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

Openly confessing to something can be good or bad, depending on the situation. As “Openly confesses” is one of today’s troublesome NYT Mini Crossword clues, I’ll admit, this one’s hard to solve. And that’s likely why you’re here—for the answer.

‘Openly confesses’ NYT Sept. 25 Mini Crossword clue hints and answer

• Hint 1: It starts with an “A.”
• Hint 2: It ends with an “S.”
• Hint 3: It’s one word.
• Hint 4: It rhymes with “allows.”

The answer to the “Openly confesses” clue from the Sept. 25 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle is “AVOWS.” Avow is a unique, old-school word that was first known to be used in the 13th century, and it means to declare something without a doubt, openly, or shame. So, when someone avows something, they’re openly confessing or declaring.

All clues and answers for the NYT (Sept. 25) Mini Crossword puzzle

Across

• 1A Toot one’s own horn — BRAG
• 5A “___Us one-down,” Netflix series whose contestants get engaged without ever seeing each other — LOVE
• 6A Says who? — SIMON
• 7A Didn’t just suspect — KNEW
• 8A Words exchanged at a wedding — I DO’S

Down

• 1D See five across — BLIND
• 2D Lover boy — ROMEO
• 3D Openly confesses — AVOWS
• 4D ___Z (Zoomers, by another name) — GEN
• 6D Compete in a Winter Olympics biathlon — SKI

‘Openly confesses’ clue difficulty

I’ll admit I was a little stumped by this clue because there were several answer possibilities. Although I know of the word “avow,” purely because of the game Avowed, I didn’t know what it meant. So, I wasn’t entirely sure it was the answer. But my suspicions were confirmed when I solved the entire crossword puzzle. If you were like me and weren’t sure what avows meant or had never heard of this word before, this clue would have been impossible to solve, so I’m giving it a difficulty rating of five out of five.

Great games to play after solving today’s crossword puzzle

One of the best things about mini-games is they’re still challenging despite being so small. If you enjoy mini crosswords, try the ones from the LA Times or the Washington Post. Or, if you enjoy word searches of spelling challenges, try Strands or Spelling Bee from the NYT.