KEYSTONE · Day 23

Saturday, August 15, 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

ART???????FIT

4 letters, then 3 letters.

Show an answer

WORK · OUT

artwork · workout · outfit — other legal bridges may also count.

Main

MEAT????????MATE

4 letters, then 4 letters.

Show an answer

BALL · ROOM

meatball · ballroom · roommate — other legal bridges may also count.

Challenge

OVER???????SCREEN

4 letters, then 3 letters.

Show an answer

TAKE · OFF

overtake · takeoff · offscreen — at least 3 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.

How day 23 worked out

Day 23 ran on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Its three bridges were ART to FIT, MEAT to MATE and OVER to SCREEN. 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: ART to FIT

The answer is WORK then OUT, which gives artwork, workout and outfit. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.

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

Main: MEAT to MATE

The answer is BALL then ROOM, which gives meatball, ballroom and roommate. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.

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

Challenge: OVER to SCREEN

The answer is TAKE then OFF, which gives overtake, takeoff and offscreen. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.

This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 3 different pairs here and every one of them scores: RUN · OFF and TURN · OFF work 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.

Every compound word in day 23

WORK, OUT, BALL, ROOM, TAKE and OFF 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 23 yourself