Sunday, September 20, 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
7 letters, then 3 letters.
THROUGH · OUT
breakthrough · throughout · outdoor — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
3 letters, then 4 letters.
SET · BACK
sunset · setback · background — 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 · HEAR
hangover · overhear · hearsay — other legal bridges may also count.
Day 59 ran on Sunday, September 20, 2026. Its three bridges were BREAK to DOOR, SUN to GROUND and HANG to SAY. 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 THROUGH then OUT, which gives breakthrough, throughout and outdoor. The first gap is 7 letters, the second is 3.
This bridge is not unique. KEYSTONE accepts 2 different pairs here and every one of them scores: OUT · 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 SET then BACK, which gives sunset, setback and background. 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: SCREEN · PLAY 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 HEAR, which gives hangover, overhear and hearsay. The first gap is 4 letters, the second is 4.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins HANG to SAY, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
OUT, SET, BACK and OVER 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.