‘Wise-sounding herb’ NYT Mini Crossword answers and hints

Today’s NYT Crossword puzzle clue, “Wise-sounding herb,” may sound easy to solve at first, but given the number of herbs, several could be classified as wise-sounding. Only one properly fits the bill here though, and it’s a wise-sounding herb for a reason.

This clue, “Wise-sounding herb,” is from the July 29 NYT mini crossword puzzle. If you’re here, you may be having trouble figuring it out, which is why I’ve included the answer below and some hints to help you if you want to solve it by yourself.

‘Wise-sounding herb’ July 29 NYT Mini Crossword hints and answer

• Hint 1: It starts with an “S.”
• Hint 2: It’s part of the mint family.
• Hint 3: It’s native to the Mediterranean region.
• Hint 4: It’s typically used to flavor pork, sausages, and chicken.

If you still need to solve this clue, I have the answer below.

The answer to “Wise-sounding herb” is “SAGE.” Sage is one of the many aromatic herbs used to flavor various types of foods. It’s been historically used in teas and tonics, and in Medieval Europe, sage was believed to promote wisdom. So, it’s wise-sounding for a reason.

With four-down solved, you can now complete the rest of the July 29 NYT mini crossword puzzle.

NYT Mini Crossword puzzle: All July 29 clues and answers

Across

• 1A Gift of ___(ability to speak eloquently) — GAB
• 4A With 7-across, total goofball — SILLY
• 6A Take in as one’s own — ADOPT
• 7A See 4-across — GOOSE
• 8A Street haunted by Freddy Krueger — ELM

Down

• 1D Rhyming partner of doom — GLOOM
• 2D Where Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn are — ALPS
• 3D Tiny, tiny part of a gig — BYTE
• 4D Wise-sounding herb — SAGE
• 5D Hero — IDOL

How difficult is the ‘Wise-sounding herb’ clue?

This clue is tricky if you’re unfamiliar with herbs, cooking, or medieval tonics. Many herbs contain four letters and were used to increase wisdom, so there are several answers. Given that, I’d give it a solid three out of five in difficulty.

I didn’t find this one to be too difficult because I’d already solved a good portion of the crossword. But if I had started with this clue, it probably would have stumped me for a while because I don’t use sage very often in cooking, and it wasn’t the first herb I had thought of. Thankfully, having solved some of the crossword clues solved helped me once again.

Best games like the NYT Mini Crossword puzzle

If you’ve finished today’s NYT Mini Crossword, try the LA Times and the Washington Post ones, as they’re just as challenging and can be completed daily. Or try the NYT’s Strands or Spelling Bee games. These are also daily games based on word searching and making words.