Friday, August 28, 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 · backstage — at least 3 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
4 letters, then 4 letters.
BACK · FIRE
setback · backfire · firearm — 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.
DAY · TIME
sunday · daytime · timetable — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Day 36 ran on Friday, August 28, 2026. Its three bridges were OUT to STAGE, SET to ARM and SUN to TABLE. 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 backstage. 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: SET · BACK and RUN · 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.
The answer is BACK then FIRE, which gives setback, backfire and firearm. 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: BACK · SIDE 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 DAY then TIME, which gives sunday, daytime and timetable. 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: DOWN · 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.
BACK, FIRE, DAY and TIME 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.