KEYSTONE · Day 44

Saturday, September 5, 2026 — three word bridges. Answers appear here once the day is over.

Every neighbouring pair has to make one word. 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

OUT????????GROUND

4 letters, then 4 letters.

Main

QUARTER?????????WAY

4 letters, then 5 letters.

Challenge

FIRE?????????SHOP

5 letters, then 4 letters.

What day 44 asks you to do

Day 44 is live right now. The three bridges are OUT to GROUND, QUARTER to WAY and FIRE to SHOP. Each one needs two middle words, and every neighbouring pair has to read as a single ordinary word once you push them together.

Warm-up — OUT to GROUND. The first gap takes a 4-letter word and the second takes a 4-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind OUT and once in front of your second word.

Main — QUARTER to WAY. The first gap takes a 4-letter word and the second takes a 5-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind QUARTER and once in front of your second word.

Challenge — FIRE to SHOP. The first gap takes a 5-letter word and the second takes a 4-letter word. Whatever you put in the first gap has to work twice: once behind FIRE and once in front of your second word.

The fastest way in is usually to think in hinge words: words that can attach on both sides, like HOUSE in GREENHOUSE and HOUSEBOAT, or OUT in BLACKOUT and OUTDOOR. Our reference list of 141 compound word hinges shows which words attach to each one on either side.

4 of today's prompt words are heavy hinges in their own right and have a page each: OUT, GROUND, WAY and FIRE. Those pages list every compound those words take part in, which is a legitimate way in — they say nothing about which pairs are today's answers.

Answers for day 44 are published on this page after the day ends. Nothing above gives them away. If you want worked answers now, the archive has every finished day.

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