Tuesday, August 18, 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
4 letters, then 4 letters.
DOWN · SIDE
letdown · downside · sidewalk — other legal bridges may also count.
Main
4 letters, then 4 letters.
DOWN · FALL
breakdown · downfall · fallout — at least 3 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Challenge
4 letters, then 4 letters.
OVER · HEAR
leftover · overhear · hearsay — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 26 ran on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Its three bridges were LET to WALK, BREAK to OUT and LEFT to SAY. 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 DOWN then SIDE, which gives letdown, downside and sidewalk. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins LET to WALK, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
The answer is DOWN then FALL, which gives breakdown, downfall and fallout. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 3 different pairs here and every one of them scores: DOWN · TIME and OUT · LOOK 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 OVER then HEAR, which gives leftover, overhear and hearsay. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins LEFT to SAY, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
DOWN, SIDE, FALL and OVER 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.