Thursday, September 3, 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 5 letters.
MAN · POWER
bowman · manpower · powerless — other legal bridges may also count.
Main
5 letters, then 4 letters.
NIGHT · FALL
goodnight · nightfall · fallout — 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.
OVER · TAKE
moreover · overtake · takeoff — at least 3 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Day 42 ran on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Its three bridges were BOW to LESS, GOOD to OUT and MORE to OFF. 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 MAN then POWER, which gives bowman, manpower and powerless. The first gap is 3 letters, the second is 5.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins BOW to LESS, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
The answer is NIGHT then FALL, which gives goodnight, nightfall and fallout. The first gap is 5 letters, the second is 4.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: NIGHT · 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.
The answer is OVER then TAKE, which gives moreover, overtake and takeoff. 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: OVER · RUN and OVER · TURN 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.
MAN, POWER, NIGHT, FALL, OVER and TAKE 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.