Pays attention to

Latest answer — September 16, 2026

33 Down

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Clue explained

MINDS means pays attention to or takes care of, as in “She minds the instructions.” Its final S gives it the third-person singular present-tense form used by the clue.

Clue type:
Word form
A person listening carefully to instructions

WSJ Crossword

This clue's Wednesday, September 16, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Full of guile
  2. 5Bit parts?
  3. 9Miles per hour, e.g.
  4. 141973 French Open champ Nastase
  5. 15Openly state
  6. 16Egg producer
  7. 17Celebrated Southern chef Lewis
  8. 18“State Fair” setting
  9. 19Ring around a watch face
  10. 20Magnet for controversy
  11. 23Sought-after
  12. 24Animated greetings, often
  13. 28Playfully pick on
  14. 29Eight, to Augustus
  15. 31Deposit in some banks
  16. 32Important acid type
  17. 35A+ student
  18. 37Brother of Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael
  19. 38Having a faraway dreamy look
  20. 39Campbell of “Scream”
  21. 40Rainbow-colored treats
  22. 42Acclivities
  23. 43Academic extension
  24. 44Flight records
  25. 45Close-mouthed
  26. 462022 World Series champs
  27. 48Overcome, as an upsetting experience
  28. 52Spy satellites, and a hint to 20-, 35- and 40-Across, given their second halves
  29. 55Somewhat
  30. 58Ammonia feature
  31. 59Redecorate
  32. 60Bolt with speed
  33. 61Exclusion anxiety, briefly
  34. 62Gendered suffix
  35. 63What you might go out with
  36. 64Bass line?
  37. 65Hockey fake-out

Down

  1. 1Catch flies, say
  2. 2“My Girl,” e.g.
  3. 3Places for peds
  4. 4“So you’ve said”
  5. 5Made headway
  6. 6Duck, say
  7. 7Promgoer’s purchase
  8. 8Gala giveaway
  9. 9Titular 1987 cyborg
  10. 10Vegan cosmetics brand
  11. 11Whirling Looney Tunes character, for short
  12. 12Seething state
  13. 13Olive with a skinny shape
  14. 21Rush, e.g.
  15. 22Take another crack at
  16. 25Ring borders
  17. 26Ambition
  18. 27French Open champ of 1990, 1991 and 1992
  19. 29Some native Nebraskans
  20. 30Recycling bin items
  21. 32Befuddled
  22. 33Pays attention to
  23. 34Words after slug, spit or sweat
  24. 35“My Girl,” e.g.
  25. 36Like an aerial view
  26. 38Cause of hundreds of collisions in Alaska annually
  27. 41Sickly sweet
  28. 42Namesake of baseball’s postseason MVP award
  29. 45Chevy subcompacts discontinued in 2001
  30. 47Sticky stuff
  31. 48Garden figure
  32. 49United
  33. 50Real stinker
  34. 51Melville’s first novel
  35. 53Remote location, perhaps
  36. 54Revered one
  37. 55Sine ___ non
  38. 56Charger standard
  39. 57Help for some breakdown sufferers

The answer to “Pays attention to” in the Wall Street Journal crossword is MINDS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 16, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle, at 33-Down. 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.

“Pays attention to” answer

MINDS (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 MINDS.

What does MINDS mean?

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

(noun)

  • the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought
  • a person's ability to think and reason; the intellect
  • a person's attention

When else has “Pays attention to” appeared?

Wall Street Journal 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.

September 16, 2026 (most recent) → MINDS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Pays attention to”?

The answer is MINDS, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 16, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Pays attention to”?

5 letters: MINDS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 16, 2026 (a Wednesday puzzle), at 33-Down.

Can “Pays attention to” have a different answer?

Yes — Wall Street Journal 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 WSJ answers?

The full grid for September 16, 2026 is on the WSJ answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

Wall Street Journal Crossword is published by The Wall Street Journal; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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