Best of the best

Editorially verified for the Oct 4, 2026

10 Across

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Athletes standing on a winners’ podium.

Clue explainedFact checked

Elite describes the top tier—the people or things regarded as the very best in a field. An elite team, for instance, stands out for exceptional skill or performance.

Clue type:
Definition

NYT Midi Crossword

This clue's Sunday, October 04, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1"Paul Blart: ___ Cop"
  2. 5Desert occupying most of its namesake peninsula in southwest Asia
  3. 8Shuffling
  4. 10Best of the best
  5. 11Meat in a Denver omelet
  6. 13Original Super Mario Bros. console
  7. 14Rage
  8. 16Desert covering much of Botswana
  9. 19Add, as someone who wasn't originally part of a photo
  10. 21Cul-de-___
  11. 22Seducing
  12. 23"Great job, toreador!"
  13. 24Non-shiny lipstick options
  14. 25"Acid"

Down

  1. 1Ankle-covering garment
  2. 2Kind of
  3. 3Queue
  4. 4Slow Wi-Fi annoyance
  5. 5Prayer-ending word
  6. 6Agitate, with "up"
  7. 7Childish "That's not true!"
  8. 9Shade-providing umbrella
  9. 12Lessons learned from fables
  10. 14Plastic parts of a vampire costume
  11. 15Chopped finely, as cauliflower
  12. 17Working hard
  13. 18Word shouted by a forgetful actor
  14. 19Shade-providing tree
  15. 20"Dance the Night" singer ___ Lipa

The answer to “Best of the best” in the New York Times Midi crossword is ELITE — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on October 4, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 10-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Best of the best” answer

ELITE (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is ELITE.

What does ELITE mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of ELITE is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society
  • a size of letter in typewriting, with 12 characters to the inch (about 4.7 to the centimetre)

When else has “Best of the best” appeared?

New York Times Midi reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

October 4, 2026 (most recent) → ELITE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Best of the best”?

The answer is ELITE, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Midi crossword on October 4, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Best of the best”?

5 letters: ELITE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times Midi crossword on October 4, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 10-Across.

Can “Best of the best” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times Midi sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Midi answers?

The full grid for October 4, 2026 is on the NYT Midi answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Midi Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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