KEYSTONE · Day 21

Thursday, August 13, 2026 — three word bridges.

Every neighbouring pair has to make one word. 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

WHEEL????????POWER

5 letters, then 3 letters.

Show an answer

CHAIR · MAN

wheelchair · chairman · manpower — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.

Main

WATER???????FIT

4 letters, then 3 letters.

Show an answer

FALL · OUT

waterfall · fallout · outfit — other legal bridges may also count.

Challenge

FEAR???????DREAMING

4 letters, then 3 letters.

Show an answer

SOME · DAY

fearsome · someday · daydreaming — other legal bridges may also count.

How day 21 worked out

Day 21 ran on Thursday, August 13, 2026. Its three bridges were WHEEL to POWER, WATER to FIT and FEAR to DREAMING. Between them they build nine compound words, all listed at the bottom of this page. Below is the answer to each bridge and what makes it fit.

Warm-up: WHEEL to POWER

The answer is CHAIR then MAN, which gives wheelchair, chairman and manpower. The first gap is 5 letters, the second is 3.

This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: HOUSE · MAN works just as well as the pair above. Ends like these sit in the crowded part of the compound-word network, which is why several routes cross them.

Main: WATER to FIT

The answer is FALL then OUT, which gives waterfall, fallout and outfit. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.

Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins WATER to FIT, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.

Challenge: FEAR to DREAMING

The answer is SOME then DAY, which gives fearsome, someday and daydreaming. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.

Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins FEAR to DREAMING, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.

Every compound word in day 21

MAN, FALL, OUT, SOME and DAY have a page listing every compound built on them and the other chains you can run through them.

Every one of those nine compounds turns on a hinge word doing double duty. If you want to see the whole set KEYSTONE draws from, the reference list of 141 compound word hinges gives the words that attach in front of and behind each one.

Play day 21 yourself