Quick Answer
The New York Times crossword clue “What’s spoken into a fast-food intercom” has the answer “ORDER”, which is a 5-letter Down entry.
Clue: “What’s spoken into a fast-food intercom”
Answer: ORDER
Length: 5 letters
Clue number and direction: 2-Down
In the grid, you enter it as ORDER.
Why ORDER Is the Right NYT Answer
- At a drive-thru, the main thing you speak into the intercom is your order—what food and drinks you want. Answer pages that track the NYT Mini list ORDER as the 5-letter solution for this clue, matching both definition and length.
- The clue uses a straightforward, literal description (“what’s spoken”), so no wordplay is involved; it’s simply naming the type of speech that goes into the intercom: an order.
What ORDER Means in Plain English
- In this context, an order is a request for food or drink that you want prepared and sold to you at a restaurant or fast-food place. Saying “I’ll have a burger and fries” into the speaker is you placing your order.
- More generally, ORDER can also mean a command or an arrangement, but the fast-food intercom setting makes the “food request” meaning crystal clear.
Crossword-Specific Help: Pattern, Crossings, and Recurrence
- ORDER is a common grid entry for clues about restaurants, waiters, customers, menus, or takeout.
- You’ll often see it clued as “Request at a restaurant,” “Ask for food,” or “Ticket at a diner.”
- Once you have O_R_E_ from crossings, ORDER is the natural completion in any food-service clue.
- Because it’s simple, thematic, and letter-rich, constructors like using ORDER in both Minis and full-size NYT puzzles.
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
- When a clue mentions intercoms, waiters, menus, or delivery apps, think of what a customer actually provides: an ORDER.
- For 5-letter restaurant-related answers, ORDER should be high on your shortlist alongside items like STEAK or FRIES; crossings will distinguish which one works.
If the clue is phrased as “What you give” or “What you place” at a restaurant, ORDER is usually the go-to fill.
More NYT Mini Crossword Answers for February 03, 2026
| Clue | Answer | |
| 1A | ‘That’s incredible!’ | View |
| 4A | Makes a mistake | View |
| 6A | “Piece of cake” or “spill the beans” | View |
| 8A | Cool in a throwback kind of way | View |
| 9A | See 1-Down | View |
| 1D | With 9-Across, something you might wake up from and go “Huh?!” | View |
| 2D | What’s spoken into a fast-food intercom | View |
| 3D | Pen | View |
| 5D | OpenAI product that creates video clips based on prompts | View |
| 7D | 1-Across, flipped upside down | View |
