Harsh light

Latest answer — August 12, 2026

29 Down

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Clue explained

GLARE is harsh, uncomfortable light, especially when it reflects directly into someone’s eyes. It functions as a noun here.

Clue type:
Definition
Bright sunlight producing glare in a person’s eyes

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Wednesday, August 12, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

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Across

  1. 1Witnessed
  2. 4Triumph
  3. 7Brazilian dances
  4. 13"Watch this space!" letters
  5. 14LSD
  6. 16Not too bright?
  7. 17Outdated
  8. 19Reacted to injustice
  9. 20Chain reaction in which small actions create a big impact
  10. 22Southwestern formations
  11. 23___ Sremmurd (hip-hop duo)
  12. 24"The Silence of the Lambs" org.
  13. 27Experiment spot
  14. 29Beaut
  15. 30"Frozen" snowman
  16. 31The "L" of LACMA
  17. 34Young horses
  18. 36"The March King"
  19. 37High-fiber baked good
  20. 40Cries out in surprise
  21. 41Cookie-selling group
  22. 42Travel by plane
  23. 43Stretches of timelines
  24. 44Grape ___ (rhyming drink)
  25. 45One sample ___ customer
  26. 47Pet that might have ruby-colored eyes
  27. 48He's generally associated with chicken?
  28. 49"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" detective Diaz
  29. 52People who work behind the scenes
  30. 57Person-shaped board game token
  31. 60Chilaquiles ingredient
  32. 61Stay
  33. 62Notion
  34. 63"I'm ___" ("Ready to hear the gossip")
  35. 64Dry spell
  36. 65Visionary
  37. 66Versatile card

Down

  1. 1Seattle WNBA team
  2. 2"Jack Ryan" actress Cornish
  3. 3Paper nest builders
  4. 4They might be hidden behind portraits
  5. 5Carbonated frozen drink
  6. 6Late hours, in ads
  7. 7___ Queen (horror icon)
  8. 8Disney girl with a surreal imagination
  9. 9Irrelevant
  10. 10"He's a 10, ___ . . ."
  11. 11Refreshing drink suffix
  12. 12"The Bear" chef
  13. 15"4 sure!"
  14. 18Birthstone for some Libras
  15. 21Red chili pepper
  16. 24Marshmallow ___
  17. 25Caprese salad ingredient
  18. 26". . . though none may exist"
  19. 28Animated dad who loves making burgers
  20. 29Harsh light
  21. 30"Yikes"
  22. 31Wedding cake part
  23. 32"The Phantom of the ___"
  24. 33Water balloon sound
  25. 35Music genre with striking visuals
  26. 36Highly successful person
  27. 38Vinyl records
  28. 39Floor-cleaning tool
  29. 44Source of many matches
  30. 46___ canai (flatbread)
  31. 48Blooming bulb
  32. 50It might be a dip, or include a dip
  33. 51Duck sound in some insurance ads
  34. 52Unwanted texts, e.g.
  35. 53R&B singer Redding
  36. 54Participated in RAGBRAI
  37. 5544-Down, e.g.
  38. 56What meeting your soulmate might feel like
  39. 57"Mr. and ___. Smith"
  40. 58Slippery fish
  41. 59Australian bird

The answer to “Harsh light” in the USA Today crossword is GLARE — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 12, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle, at 29-Down. 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.

“Harsh light” answer

GLARE (5 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 GLARE.

What does GLARE mean?

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

(verb)

  • stare in an angry or fierce way
  • (of the sun or an electric light) shine with a strong or dazzling light

When else has “Harsh light” appeared?

USA Today 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.

August 12, 2026 (most recent) → GLARE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Harsh light”?

The answer is GLARE, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 12, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Harsh light”?

5 letters: GLARE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on August 12, 2026 (a Wednesday puzzle), at 29-Down.

Can “Harsh light” have a different answer?

Yes — USA Today 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 USA Today answers?

The full grid for August 12, 2026 is on the USA Today answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

USA Today Crossword is published by USA Today; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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