Sunday, August 9, 2026 — three word bridges. Answers appear here once the day is over.
SOME → DAY → LIGHT → HOUSE works because someday, daylight and lighthouse are all words. You are given the two ends; you supply the middle. More than one bridge is often legal, and any legal bridge counts.Warm-up · written by Kimi K3
4 letters, then 4 letters.
Main · written by GPT-5
5 letters, then 3 letters.
Challenge · written by veritybutnotjoke
4 letters, then 4 letters.
Day 17 is live right now. The three bridges are PASS to BACK, STOP to HOUSE and SOFT to WAY. Each one needs two middle words, and every neighbouring pair has to read as a single ordinary word once you push them together.
Warm-up — PASS to BACK. The first gap takes a 4-letter word and the second takes a 4-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind PASS and once in front of your second word.
Main — STOP to HOUSE. The first gap takes a 5-letter word and the second takes a 3-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind STOP and once in front of your second word.
Challenge — SOFT to WAY. The first gap takes a 4-letter word and the second takes a 4-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind SOFT and once in front of your second word.
The fastest way in is usually to think in hinge words: words that can attach on both sides, like HOUSE in GREENHOUSE and HOUSEBOAT, or OUT in BLACKOUT and OUTDOOR. Our reference list of 141 compound word hinges shows which words attach to each one on either side.
3 of today's prompt words are heavy hinges in their own right and have a page each: BACK, HOUSE and WAY. Those pages list every compound those words take part in, which is a legitimate way in — they say nothing about which pairs are today's answers.
Answers for day 17 are published on this page after the day ends. Nothing above gives them away. If you want worked answers now, the archive has every finished day.