Hardly hard

Latest answer — September 16, 2026

10 Across

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

Clue explained

SOFT means “hardly hard,” with “hardly” functioning as a playful way to negate “hard.”

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay
A soft pillow positioned beside a hard rock.

LA Times Crossword

This clue's Wednesday, September 16, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Image in a botanical print
  2. 5Feminist Frequency founder Sarkeesian
  3. 10Hardly hard
  4. 14Jessica of "Sin City"
  5. 15__ New Year
  6. 16Wagon rod
  7. 17Prohibition of some single-use products
  8. 20__ Domingo: Caribbean capital
  9. 21Permit
  10. 22Grinds to a halt
  11. 23German article
  12. 24Earth-friendly prefix
  13. 25Female moose
  14. 26Spiral burners that deter biting pests
  15. 30Bottled, as emotions
  16. 31Add to an email
  17. 33Subject of a miner dispute, maybe
  18. 34Shuns
  19. 38Splash of color in an ornamental pond
  20. 39Ties the knot
  21. 41Granola bar fleck
  22. 42Groks
  23. 43Liquid in a vampire slayer's vial
  24. 48Home of the College World Series
  25. 50Cover story
  26. 53"Later, chumps!," or what can be said while putting 17-, 26-, and 43-Across to good use?
  27. 57Actor James __ Jones
  28. 58Liquid-Plumr rival
  29. 59Battery unit
  30. 61Distort
  31. 62Shoutout to a parent
  32. 63__ out a living
  33. 64Like muted colors
  34. 65Ukrainian port on the Black Sea
  35. 66Tennis match units

Down

  1. 1Track circuits
  2. 2Spanish pronoun
  3. 3Like ghost towns
  4. 4Like a race winner
  5. 5Boxer Muhammad
  6. 6Atomic centers
  7. 7Bug
  8. 8Bit of henna art
  9. 9Train board abbr.
  10. 10Took care of a situation
  11. 11U-shaped body formed by a river diversion
  12. 12Cardboard carton part
  13. 13Till stack
  14. 18Rotational force
  15. 19Broad neckties
  16. 26Trifling
  17. 27Company with brown trucks
  18. 28Cry from a crow's nest
  19. 29Glaswegian, e.g.
  20. 30"Ka-blammo!"
  21. 32The "H" of HMS
  22. 35Demure
  23. 36Hem and __
  24. 37Greek vowel
  25. 40"Ready to get moving?"
  26. 42Mourns
  27. 44"Well, well, well!"
  28. 45Cry from a crow's nest
  29. 46Puget Sound city
  30. 47Large deer
  31. 48Financial center in Honshu
  32. 49Gourmet mushroom
  33. 51Insolvent
  34. 52Typically uninhabited key
  35. 54Sudoku diagram
  36. 55"I feel seen!"
  37. 56Chicago-style pizza chain, familiarly
  38. 57Seer's gift
  39. 60Scores equal to two FGs

The answer to “Hardly hard” in the LA Times crossword is SOFT — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the LA Times crossword on September 16, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle, at 10-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Hardly hard” answer

SOFT (4 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is SOFT.

What does SOFT mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of SOFT is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(adjective)

  • easy to mould, cut, compress, or fold; not hard or firm to the touch
  • having a pleasing quality involving a subtle effect or contrast rather than sharp definition
  • sympathetic, lenient, or compassionate, especially to a degree perceived as excessive; not strict or sufficiently strict

When else has “Hardly hard” appeared?

LA Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 16, 2026 (most recent) → SOFT. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Hardly hard”?

The answer is SOFT, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the LA Times crossword on September 16, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Hardly hard”?

4 letters: SOFT.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the LA Times crossword on September 16, 2026 (a Wednesday puzzle), at 10-Across.

Can “Hardly hard” have a different answer?

Yes — LA Times sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's LA Times answers?

The full grid for September 16, 2026 is on the LA Times answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

LA Times Crossword is published by Los Angeles Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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