Looking for help with today's NYT Mini Crossword puzzle? Here are some hints and answers for the ... [+] puzzle.Credit: NYTIn case you missed Sundays NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here:Monday has returnedsort of, since its officially still Sunday but we have the Monday Mini Crossword already. Its the first Monday of the month (almost) and March is spread out before us like an unplowed field. Only theres still no snow, nothing to plow, really, and winter is almost over. Wildfires have broken out in the Carolinas. As lovely as the weather is, Im praying for snow. Or even some rain. Moisture of some kind. In any case, we have a crossword to solve so lets solve it!The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword, and unlike its larger sibling, its free-to-play without a subscription to The New York Times. You can play it on the web or the app, though youll need the app to tackle the archive.Spoilers ahead!ACROSS1- Applaud with ones fingers SNAP5- Material for Elviss blue shoes SUEDE6-Tree with white bark ASPEN7- Leather leggings CHAPS8- Traditional garment for a Scottish groom KILTDOWN1- Food ordered in rolls SUSHI2- Country with the most mountains over 25,000 feet in elevation NEPAL3- Skilled (at) ADEPT4- Ink-filled items PENS5- ___ race (picnic event) SACKToday's MiniScreenshot: Erik KainThis was an interesting Mini Crossword. I noticed the circles within the other boxes right away and wasnt sure what they meant. Once I got everything filled out, I was still a little confused until I typed out the letters it forms: USHAPED, as in U-shaped. Very clever! The rest of the puzzle was pretty straightforward. I got everything on the ACROSS side except for CHAPS right away and from here it was easy enough to fill in all the DOWNs. This one took me 1:09.How did you do? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog. Thanks for reading!