What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother’ NYT Mini Crossword clue answer and hints

Mnemonics are a super useful way to recall information that can be tricky to memorize. The “What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother'” clue on today’s NYT Mini Crossword challenges you to solve what this one is referring to.

If you’ve never heard this before, it’s a pretty tough clue to decipher. Here are some hints and the answer for the “What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother'” clue on the Oct. 3 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle to help you progress.

What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother’ NYT Oct. 3 Mini Crossword hints

• Hint 1: It ends with the letter “S.”
• Hint 2: The Roman goddess of love and beauty.
• Hint 3: “_____” Williams is a famous American tennis player.
• Hint 4: The second planet from the sun.

I’m going to reveal the answer now, so if you’re not ready to learn it just yet, stop right here. Once you’re ready to check your work, read on.

What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother’ NYT Mini answer

The solution for the “What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother'” clue on the Oct. 3 NYT Mini Crossword is “VENUS.” The phrase “My Very Educated Mother” is the first part of the longer mnemonic “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.”

This mnemonic is used to help you remember and list all planets, so if you look at the first letter for each word in the phrase, you can recall Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The word “Very” in this phrase refers to “VENUS” which is why it’s the solution for today’s clue.

What ‘very’ stands for in the mnemonic ‘My Very Educated Mother’ clue difficulty rating

I definitely used to know a mnemonic to remember all the planets at some point, but it’s not a piece of information I often need, so I completely forgot about it until I saw this clue. Unless it specifically pertains to your chosen profession or interests, this clue is generally a pretty tricky one to solve.

When I first saw this one, I thought it was the name of a television show and was completely lost. If you’re familiar with this mnemonic, this one is probably fairly easy, but I don’t think most people are or if they did know it at one time, they have likely since forgotten. With this in mind, I’m giving this clue a full five out of five difficulty rating.

All Oct. 3 NYT Mini Crossword clues and answers

Across

• 1A What “very” stands for in the mnemonic “My Very Educated Mother…” — VENUS
• 6A Like some mobile game purchases — IN APP
• 7A Come up, as a situation — ARISE
• 8A More than just enjoyed — LOVED
• 9A Hockey goal component — NET

Down

• 1D Tube in a lab — VIAL
• 2D Disgraced energy company with a 2001 bankruptcy — ENRON
• 3D Overly trusting, perhaps — NAIVE
• 4D Underdog’s victory — UPSET
• 5D Went really fast — SPED

Best games like the NYT Mini Crossword

The NYT Mini Crossword might be your favorite puzzle to solve, but if you want some additional word games to work through, there are lots of great options like it. The LA Times and the Washington Post are great choices if you want more crosswords to complete while Strands and Spelling Bee are perfect if you want to try something new instead.