I didn't expect that a word I see often in video games would help me solve the clue "defrost" in today's NYT Mini Crossword. Although it seems like a difficult word to find, it is actually quite common when things are frozen in video games like Pokémon.

As a huge Pokémon fan, I remembered the word used to indicate that something is no longer frozen. If you are not a Pokémon fan or do not play video games, here are some tips to help you find the right answer quickly.

You can see the final answer below, but if you don't want to be spoiled yet, you can skip this part or try to find the answer yourself first.

The answer to "thaws" in today's crossword puzzle is "THAWS". It's a word I often see in games when a monster or character is frozen and then unfrozen. They say the character is thawed, so I remembered it. However, it's not a common word for melting ice in our everyday lives, which makes this crossword tricky, because the most common word is not the answer. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "thaw" means "to be warm enough to melt ice and snow".