Wednesday, August 26, 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.
COME · BACK
outcome · comeback · backyard — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
6 letters, then 4 letters.
FATHER · LAND
grandfather · fatherland · landlady — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Challenge
3 letters, then 4 letters.
RUN · DOWN
overrun · rundown · download — at least 5 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Day 34 ran on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Its three bridges were OUT to YARD, GRAND to LADY and OVER to LOAD. 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 COME then BACK, which gives outcome, comeback and backyard. 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: SET · BACK 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 FATHER then LAND, which gives grandfather, fatherland and landlady. The first gap is 6 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: MOTHER · LAND 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 RUN then DOWN, which gives overrun, rundown and download. The first gap is 3 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 5 different pairs here and every one of them scores: TAKE · OFF, TAKE · DOWN, 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.
BACK, FATHER, LAND, RUN and DOWN 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.