Sunday, August 23, 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 4 letters.
OUT · DOOR
workout · outdoor · doorstep — other legal bridges may also count.
Main
4 letters, then 4 letters.
OVER · COME
leftover · overcome · comeback — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Challenge
6 letters, then 4 letters.
FRIEND · SHIP
girlfriend · friendship · shipyard — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 31 ran on Sunday, August 23, 2026. Its three bridges were WORK to STEP, LEFT to BACK and GIRL to YARD. 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 DOOR, which gives workout, outdoor and doorstep. The first gap is 3 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins WORK to STEP, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
The answer is OVER then COME, which gives leftover, overcome and comeback. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: OVER · THROW 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 FRIEND then SHIP, which gives girlfriend, friendship and shipyard. The first gap is 6 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins GIRL to YARD, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
OUT, DOOR, OVER and SHIP 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.