Monday, August 17, 2026 — three word bridges.
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
3 letters, then 5 letters.
OUT · BREAK
layout · outbreak · breakdown — at least 5 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
3 letters, then 4 letters.
ONE · SELF
someone · oneself · selfless — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Challenge
4 letters, then 3 letters.
HAND · OUT
offhand · handout · outcast — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 25 ran on Monday, August 17, 2026. Its three bridges were LAY to DOWN, SOME to LESS and OFF to CAST. 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.
The answer is OUT then BREAK, which gives layout, outbreak and breakdown. The first gap is 3 letters, the second is 5.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 5 different pairs here and every one of them scores: OVER · TAKE, OVER · RUN, OUT · LET and OUT · RUN 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.
The answer is ONE then SELF, which gives someone, oneself and selfless. The first gap is 3 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: DAY · TIME 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.
The answer is HAND then OUT, which gives offhand, handout and outcast. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins OFF to CAST, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
OUT, BREAK and HAND 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.