You are stuck.
Or you just finished yesterday’s ALIBI and felt like a god today until the grid emptied itself.
June 22 isn’t friendly. The word is odd. The letters are shy.
If you are hunting for Mini Crossword answers or trying to connect those Sports Edition dots, we’ve got that covered too. But let’s talk about this five-letter beast. It feels different. Rare letters involved. Unusual shape.
Need a fresh start? Look at frequency. English loves E, A, R. It ignores Z, Q, J. Stick to the high-probability letters if your gut is telling you to guess in the dark.
How to guess
Before the reveal, take a look at the clues. Don’t scroll past these. You don’t want a spoiler if you’re still sweating.
No repeated letters.
Three vowels inside five slots.
That is tight.
It starts with O.
It ends with E.
The word refers to something egg-shaped.
Think botany. Or biology. Not a breakfast dish.
The Answer
OVATE
It’s ovate. Like an egg. Like a leaf that isn’t quite round but isn’t sharp either.
Yesterday and Recent Hits
Did you crush the previous ones? Or did DRAKE the rapper stump you?
June 1828: ALIBI
June 1827: DRAKE
June 1826: EMOJI
June 1825: ENTRY
June 1824: TOKEN
Best Openers?
Don’t sleep on ADIEU. Or TRAIN. STARE and CLOSE are workhorses. NOISE works if you’re feeling noisy.
Just pick one with vowels. Try not to pick ZEPHY. You won’t like where that goes.
