/// DAILY MINI ///

Word Craze Daily Mini January 18, 2026 Answers

All 25 clues solved. The shorter daily set - fast to finish, all answers here.

25Clues

3-9Letters

128Total Tiles

5Tied Longest

5.1Avg Letters

/// AT A GLANCE ///

All 25 Answers at a Glance

Tap any answer to jump to its clue.

DEPRESS 7L CLASP 5L BROADCAST 9L BENT 4L ARMY 4L HOE 3L LEI 3L CAM 3L LATTE 5L ABILITIES 9L SENOR 5L UTTERED 7L ECONOMIST 9L PLATE 5L RAD 3L ESCALATOR 9L SPARETIRE 9L EBB 3L STY 3L REHAB 5L SMITE 5L CAT 3L LINE 4L ESL 3L LET 3L

The Word Craze Daily Mini January 18, 2026 is the shorter daily format from Betta Games, giving you 25 clues across 128 letter tiles - distinct from the longer Daily Theme. Answers run from 3 to 9 letters. The shortest are HOE and LEI and CAM and RAD and EBB and STY and CAT and ESL and LET and the longest are BROADCAST and ABILITIES and ECONOMIST and ESCALATOR and SPARETIRE. Jump straight to the clue table for any answer, or use the letter breakdown to see the vowel and consonant split per word.

The Mini is designed to be cleared in a few minutes. With 25 clues and an average of 5.1 letters per answer, the fastest approach is to spot the shortest answer first and work outward through crossings. L and S and E each open 4 answers, today's most common starting letters. Compare with today's Trivia Daily, or return to the Word Craze hub for level guides and pack answers.

Every answer on this page matches what all Word Craze players see on January 18, 2026. If the app shows a different answer after an update, check that your app is current.

/// ANSWERS ///

All Clues and Answers

January 18, 2026 - 25 clues

#	Clue	Answer
1	To lower someone's spirits	DEPRESS 7 letters
2	Hold tight	CLASP 5 letters
3	Transmit or send out a message, often through television or radio	BROADCAST 9 letters
4	Bowed or curved away from a straight line	BENT 4 letters
5	Large group trained for war	ARMY 4 letters
6	Soil-turning tool; farmer's weeder	HOE 3 letters
7	Necklace in Native Hawaiian culture	LEI 3 letters
8	Mitch's husband on "Modern Family"	CAM 3 letters
9	Milky coffee drink	LATTE 5 letters
10	Special skills or aptitudes	ABILITIES 9 letters
11	Mexican mister	SENOR 5 letters
12	Spoke or expressed something out loud	UTTERED 7 letters
13	An expert in financial matters	ECONOMIST 9 letters
14	Knife and fork separator, in a place setting	PLATE 5 letters
15	A term that was popular in the 1980s to describe something that was cool or excellent	RAD 3 letters
16	Moving staircase as in a shopping mall	ESCALATOR 9 letters
17	Kept on a car, usually in the trunk, in case of a blowout	SPARETIRE 9 letters
18	A flowing out or recession of water	EBB 3 letters
19	Where boars are boarded	STY 3 letters
20	Place for recovering addicts to get clean	REHAB 5 letters
21	To strike with a firm blow	SMITE 5 letters
22	Pet with nine lives, they say	CAT 3 letters
23	A long, narrow mark	LINE 4 letters
24	Subj. for some immigrants	ESL 3 letters
25	"I won't ___ you down"	LET 3 letters

/// BREAKDOWN ///

Clue-by-Clue Breakdown

Letter patterns and solving tactics for each answer.

B Consonant A Vowel R Repeated

To lower someone's spirits

DEPRESS

D E P R E S S

DEPRESS fills 7 tiles - 2 vowels and 5 consonants, with a repeated E and S. At 7 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. Its opening D is unique in today's set.

7 letters
2 vowels
5 consonants
5 distinct

Hold tight

CLASP

C L A S P

CLASP fills 5 tiles - 1 vowel and 4 consonants. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with C, shared by 2 other answers today.

5 letters
1 vowel
4 consonants
5 distinct

Transmit or send out a message, often through television or radio

BROADCAST

B R O A D C A S T

BROADCAST fills 9 tiles - 3 vowels and 6 consonants, with a repeated A. It ties for the longest answer today, so leave it until crossings feed its letters. It opens with B, shared by 1 other answer today.

9 letters
3 vowels
6 consonants
8 distinct

Bowed or curved away from a straight line

BENT

B E N T

BENT fills 4 tiles - 1 vowel and 3 consonants. At 4 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with B, shared by 1 other answer today.

4 letters
1 vowel
3 consonants
4 distinct

Large group trained for war

ARMY

A R M Y

ARMY fills 4 tiles - 1 vowel and 3 consonants. At 4 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with A, shared by 1 other answer today. It ends on Y, a natural wheel-closer.

4 letters
1 vowel
3 consonants
4 distinct

Soil-turning tool; farmer's weeder

HOE

H O E

HOE fills 3 tiles - 2 vowels and 1 consonant. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. Its opening H is unique in today's set.

3 letters
2 vowels
1 consonant
3 distinct

Necklace in Native Hawaiian culture

LEI

L E I

LEI fills 3 tiles - 2 vowels and 1 consonant. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with L, shared by 3 other answers today.

3 letters
2 vowels
1 consonant
3 distinct

Mitch's husband on "Modern Family"

CAM

C A M

CAM fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with C, shared by 2 other answers today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
3 distinct

Milky coffee drink

LATTE

L A T T E

LATTE fills 5 tiles - 2 vowels and 3 consonants, with a repeated T. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with L, shared by 3 other answers today.

5 letters
2 vowels
3 consonants
4 distinct

Special skills or aptitudes

ABILITIES

A B I L I T I E S

ABILITIES fills 9 tiles - 5 vowels and 4 consonants, with a repeated I. It ties for the longest answer today, so leave it until crossings feed its letters. It opens with A, shared by 1 other answer today.

9 letters
5 vowels
4 consonants
7 distinct

Mexican mister

SENOR

S E N O R

SENOR fills 5 tiles - 2 vowels and 3 consonants. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with S, shared by 3 other answers today.

5 letters
2 vowels
3 consonants
5 distinct

Spoke or expressed something out loud

UTTERED

U T T E R E D

UTTERED fills 7 tiles - 3 vowels and 4 consonants, with a repeated T and E. At 7 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. Its opening U is unique in today's set. It closes on -ED.

7 letters
3 vowels
4 consonants
5 distinct

An expert in financial matters

ECONOMIST

E C O N O M I S T

ECONOMIST fills 9 tiles - 4 vowels and 5 consonants, with a repeated O. It ties for the longest answer today, so leave it until crossings feed its letters. It opens with E, shared by 3 other answers today.

9 letters
4 vowels
5 consonants
8 distinct

Knife and fork separator, in a place setting

PLATE

P L A T E

PLATE fills 5 tiles - 2 vowels and 3 consonants. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. Its opening P is unique in today's set.

5 letters
2 vowels
3 consonants
5 distinct

A term that was popular in the 1980s to describe something that was cool or excellent

RAD

R A D

RAD fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with R, shared by 1 other answer today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
3 distinct

Moving staircase as in a shopping mall

ESCALATOR

E S C A L A T O R

ESCALATOR fills 9 tiles - 4 vowels and 5 consonants, with a repeated A. It ties for the longest answer today, so leave it until crossings feed its letters. It opens with E, shared by 3 other answers today.

9 letters
4 vowels
5 consonants
8 distinct

Kept on a car, usually in the trunk, in case of a blowout

SPARETIRE

S P A R E T I R E

SPARETIRE fills 9 tiles - 4 vowels and 5 consonants, with a repeated R and E. It ties for the longest answer today, so leave it until crossings feed its letters. It opens with S, shared by 3 other answers today.

9 letters
4 vowels
5 consonants
7 distinct

A flowing out or recession of water

EBB

E B B

EBB fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants, with a repeated B. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with E, shared by 3 other answers today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
2 distinct

Where boars are boarded

STY

S T Y

STY fills 3 tiles - 0 vowels and 3 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with S, shared by 3 other answers today. It ends on Y, a natural wheel-closer.

3 letters
0 vowels
3 consonants
3 distinct

Place for recovering addicts to get clean

REHAB

R E H A B

REHAB fills 5 tiles - 2 vowels and 3 consonants. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with R, shared by 1 other answer today.

5 letters
2 vowels
3 consonants
5 distinct

To strike with a firm blow

SMITE

S M I T E

SMITE fills 5 tiles - 2 vowels and 3 consonants. At 5 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with S, shared by 3 other answers today.

5 letters
2 vowels
3 consonants
5 distinct

Pet with nine lives, they say

CAT

C A T

CAT fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with C, shared by 2 other answers today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
3 distinct

A long, narrow mark

LINE

L I N E

LINE fills 4 tiles - 2 vowels and 2 consonants. At 4 letters it locks in fast once one crossing tile lands. It opens with L, shared by 3 other answers today.

4 letters
2 vowels
2 consonants
4 distinct

Subj. for some immigrants

ESL

E S L

ESL fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with E, shared by 3 other answers today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
3 distinct

"I won't ___ you down"

LET

L E T

LET fills 3 tiles - 1 vowel and 2 consonants. At 3 letters it is one of the shortest - bank it early to seed the longer slots. It opens with L, shared by 3 other answers today.

3 letters
1 vowel
2 consonants
3 distinct

/// HOW TO SOLVE ///

How to Solve the Word Craze Daily Mini

5 steps to clear the board.

1
Start with the shortest clues
Short answers have fewer crossing tiles, so solving them first seeds the longer answers for free. The Mini is compact, so one early win often cascades through the whole board.
2
Count the tile slots before you commit
Each blank row shows you how many letters the answer has. Count before typing - a word that is one letter too long or short is wrong even if it looks right. Use the tile count to filter your first instinct.
3
Treat trailing question marks as wordplay signals
A "?" at the end of a clue signals a pun or lateral connection, not a straight definition. Re-read the clue sideways and the answer often clicks immediately.
4
Cross-reference the tiles you have already filled
Because the Mini is small, every answer shares tiles with at least one other. If you are stuck, look at which letters are already locked in from crossing answers and work backwards.
5
Commit early, correct fast
On a short board hesitation costs more than a wrong guess. Enter your best candidate, then use the crossing tiles to confirm or rule it out and move on.

/// FAQ ///

Frequently Asked Questions

8 questions about the January 18, 2026 Daily Mini.

How many clues are in the Word Craze Daily Mini for January 18, 2026?

The January 18, 2026 Daily Mini has 25 clues across 128 total letter tiles.

What is the longest answer in the January 18, 2026 Daily Mini?

BROADCAST and ABILITIES and ECONOMIST and ESCALATOR and SPARETIRE are all tied at 9 letters each.

What is the shortest answer in the January 18, 2026 Daily Mini?

HOE and LEI and CAM and RAD and EBB and STY and CAT and ESL and LET all tie for shortest at 3 letters each.

How does the Daily Mini differ from the Daily Theme?

The Daily Mini is the shorter daily format from Betta Games. It covers fewer clues than the Daily Theme and is designed to be completed in a few minutes. The Daily Theme features picture clues anchored to a common topic, while the Mini is a compact standalone set.

Are Daily Mini answers the same for everyone?

Yes. Every Word Craze player sees the same Daily Mini clues and answers on the same calendar date, regardless of device or region.

What time does the Daily Mini reset?

The Daily Mini refreshes at midnight in your local time zone, at the same moment as the Daily Theme.

How many total letter tiles are in today's Daily Mini?

Today's 25 Mini clues contain 128 letter tiles, ranging from 3 to 9 letters per answer.

Who compiles these answers?

The answers are compiled and edited by Marco Alvarez, Senior Puzzle Editor at Puzzle Solved, who matches each clue to its answer and checks the letter count against the tile slots in the app before publishing.

/// ABOUT ///

About This Puzzle

How the Daily Mini works and how this page is produced.

The Word Craze Daily Mini is the compact daily puzzle released every morning by Betta Games. It is a shorter format than the Daily Theme - fewer clues, quicker to finish, but still requiring the same tile-counting and crossing-tile tactics. Every Mini belongs to its calendar date and cannot be replayed inside the app after the day resets.

Every set is verified against the tile slots shown in the app before the page is published.

Return to the Word Craze section home for level guides, pack answers, and the full Daily Theme. Independent fan resource, not affiliated with Betta Games.

/// NEARBY DATES ///

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/// DISCUSSION ///

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