Since I’m not a fan of keeping plants alive (unless they’re the plastic variety), I was completely baffled by the clue “plant life” in today’s NYT Mini Crossword.
This clue is five pages long and comes from the August 12 NYT Mini Crossword. If you’re not that knowledgeable about plants either, or not that familiar with plant life, this clue isn’t particularly easy – that’s why you’re here, and that’s why I’ve included clues and the answer below.
“Plant Life” NYT Mini Crossword Clue August 12 – Tips and Answers
- Note 1: It rhymes with “pourer.”
- Note 2: It starts with an “F”.
- Note 3: It also means the life of fungi and bacteria.
- Note 4: It is often used together with the similar word fauna.
The answer to the clue “plant life” is “FLORA.” It’s not often that I get to vent about a word, but the word flora has its roots in Roman mythology. The Roman goddess of spring and flowers was named Flora, and in Latin, flora means flower, so it’s quite fitting that it’s used to describe the life of plants, fungi, and bacteria.
NYT Mini Crossword Puzzle August 12: All Clues and Answers
Over
Down
- 1D Letter before Beta and Gamma—ALPHA
- 2D Pulitzer Prize-winning historian ___ Kearns Goodwin—DORIS
- 3D Did a bit of driving—DRIVEN
- 4D Everything is there, spiritually –REASONABLE
- 5D Like a designer bag with a misspelled company name –FAKE
Difficulty of the clue “Plant life”
The Flora clue was ambiguous as it is hard to tell if the clue was referring to a specific plant species or a category. There are countless answers for both options. It was only after I solved some of the other clues that the answer became clear to me as it is linked to the common phrase Flora and Fauna. While it was not impossible to solve, it certainly had its challenges. Therefore, I would give it a difficulty level of four out of five.
Alternatives to the NYT Mini Crossword Puzzle
Have you solved the NYT Mini Crossword yet? Then try the LA Times or Washington Post Mini Crosswords. They are also published daily and can be quite complex. However, if you prefer word games, try Strands or Spelling Bee.
