Sunday, October 18, 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.
FALL · OUT
nightfall · fallout · outset — at least 2 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Main
7 letters, then 3 letters.
THROUGH · OUT
breakthrough · throughout · outpost — other legal bridges may also count.
Challenge
4 letters, then 4 letters.
DOWN · SIDE
rundown · downside · sidekick — at least 3 different legal bridges exist for this one, so a different answer may well have counted too.
Day 87 ran on Sunday, October 18, 2026. Its three bridges were NIGHT to SET, BREAK to POST and RUN to KICK. 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 FALL then OUT, which gives nightfall, fallout and outset. 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 THROUGH then OUT, which gives breakthrough, throughout and outpost. The first gap is 7 letters, the second is 3.
Only one pair in the KEYSTONE word bank joins BREAK to POST, so this bridge had a single accepted answer. The narrow end is usually the one to solve first.
The answer is DOWN then SIDE, which gives rundown, downside and sidekick. 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: WAY · SIDE and OFF · SIDE 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.
FALL, OUT, DOWN and SIDE 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.