Monday, August 31, 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
overcome · comeback · backbone — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
4 letters, then 3 letters.
FALL · OUT
downfall · fallout · outlet — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Challenge
4 letters, then 4 letters.
HAND · BOOK
firsthand · handbook · bookstore — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 39 ran on Monday, August 31, 2026. Its three bridges were OVER to BONE, DOWN to LET and FIRST to STORE. 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 overcome, comeback and backbone. 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: THROW · 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 FALL then OUT, which gives downfall, fallout and outlet. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: TIME · OUT 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 BOOK, which gives firsthand, handbook and bookstore. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins FIRST to STORE, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
BACK, FALL, OUT, HAND and BOOK 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.