Saturday, September 19, 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 3 letters.
DOOR · MAN
outdoor · doorman · mankind — at least 4 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
5 letters, then 4 letters.
BREAK · DOWN
heartbreak · breakdown · downtown — other legal bridges may also count.
Challenge
5 letters, then 4 letters.
HOUSE · WORK
madhouse · housework · workshop — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 58 ran on Saturday, September 19, 2026. Its three bridges were OUT to KIND, HEART to TOWN and MAD to SHOP. 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 DOOR then MAN, which gives outdoor, doorman and mankind. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 3.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 4 different pairs here and every one of them scores: HOUSE · MAN, LAW · MAN and POST · MAN 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 BREAK then DOWN, which gives heartbreak, breakdown and downtown. The first gap is 5 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins HEART to TOWN, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
The answer is HOUSE then WORK, which gives madhouse, housework and workshop. The first gap is 5 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins MAD to SHOP, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
DOOR, MAN, BREAK, DOWN, HOUSE and WORK 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.