‘With 7-Across, total goofball’ and ‘See 4 Across’ NYT Mini Crossword solutions and hints

We’re here to smash a couple of different clues in the July 29 NYT Mini Crossword: “With 7-Across, total goofball” and “See 4-Across” to kill two birds with one stone.

The classic double clue makes an appearance in the July 29 edition of the NYT Mini. Two different clues and two different solutions, but a strong connection binds them. If this is your first time with clues of this nature, don’t worry. I’ll talk you through the logic and answers.

‘See 4 Across & With 7 Across, total goofball’ NYT Mini Crossword solutions and hints

See 4 Across hints

• Hint 1: It repeats one consonant twice.
• Hint 2: Billy.
• Hint 3: You can get ILL in the middle of this.
• Hint 4: It starts with “S.”

With 7 Across, total goofball hints

• Hint 1: Rhymes with another animal quite native to Canada.
• Hint 2: A vowel is repeated twice.
• Hint 3: A bird.
• Hint 4: It ends with “E.”

That’s all your hints for both clues. You may have got one, both, or neither, regardless, let’s check out both answers.

4 Across is “SILLY” and its adjoining clue is “GOOSE.”

Silly repeats the “L” consonant twice, it can be used in conjunction with “Billy” to describe someone, “ILL” appears in the middle of the word, and it ends with “S.” Whereas GOOSE rhymes with moose, repeats the “O,” it’s obviously a bird, and its final letter is an “E.”

Like how you can call someone a “Silly Billy,” you can also call them a “Silly Goose” if they’ve done something daft, like dropping something or mispronouncing a word—usually humorously.

All clues and answers for July 29 NYT Mini Crossword

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

‘See 4 across & With 7 Across, total goofball’ NYT Crossword Mini difficulty rating

If you wrap your head around the idea of double-ended clues that relate to each other, it becomes second nature the next time you encounter one. This isn’t my first rodeo with a crossword, and the words themselves are straightforward. We’ll slap an easy two out of five on this Crossword puzzle.

How to play other word games and crosswords like the NYT Mini

I like to venture to Strands and Spelling Bee for other daily internet word games if I fancy a break from the direct attack of crosswords. On the other hand, the LA Times and Washington Post are other great sources of time-killing activities designed to test you.