Harmless lie

The answer to “Harmless lie” in the New York Times Mini crossword is FIB — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times Mini crossword on October 18, 2026 at 1-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.

“Harmless lie” answer

FIB (3 letters)

Use the reveal tiles above to uncover the solution one letter at a time if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Prefer the full answer straight away? It's FIB.

What does FIB mean?

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

When else has “Harmless lie” appeared?

New York Times Mini 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 18, 2026 (most recent) → FIB. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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