Makeup for a model?

Latest answer — September 20, 2026

25 Across

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Clue explained

Balsa is a very light wood often used to build miniature models, so it can be “makeup” or material for a model. The question mark signals this playful interpretation of “makeup.”

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay
A lightweight balsa-wood model airplane

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Sunday, September 20, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1"Right now, please!"
  2. 5Island strings, for short
  3. 8Engrave in glass
  4. 12Conga formation
  5. 13"The end is ___"
  6. 15Spiced latte choice
  7. 16Spot to boogie
  8. 19___ browns
  9. 20"Yours truly is fully committed!"
  10. 21Country inside South Africa
  11. 23___-country (music genre)
  12. 24Snuck a quick look
  13. 25Makeup for a model?
  14. 28Ballpark snacks that usually require a lot of napkins
  15. 31Flames that have since fizzled
  16. 32___ rather than later
  17. 33Time period worthy of a name
  18. 34Like an awesome party
  19. 35"I Think You Should Leave" star Robinson
  20. 36World Series mo.
  21. 37Lose to gravity
  22. 38The "L" of UCLA
  23. 39"No, actually . . ."
  24. 41Bread for a gyro
  25. 42"Good decision!"
  26. 44Lavishes affection
  27. 45"Only Murders in the Building" star Gomez
  28. 46Frame, for short
  29. 47Quebec's time zone
  30. 49"How adorbs!"
  31. 53Water at a taqueria
  32. 54"Oh, I didn't want it anyway" attitude
  33. 56Final Four matchup
  34. 57"This is so much fun!"
  35. 58Put your foot down
  36. 59Idyllic locale
  37. 60"You there!"
  38. 61One of 11 for "Hamilton"

Down

  1. 1Discount grocery chain
  2. 2Thailand, once
  3. 3"___ Karenina" (Tolstoy novel)
  4. 4H.S. course you wouldn't say is no sweat
  5. 5Not qualified
  6. 6Oven that turns clay into ceramics
  7. 7A big one might be fragile
  8. 8Reverberated
  9. 9"Enough!"
  10. 10Dough or lettuce
  11. 11___! Cherry-O
  12. 14Result of a gorgeous drive
  13. 17"___ Enchanted" (Anne Hathaway film)
  14. 18Put back in office
  15. 22Go around
  16. 24Soup that might be served with Thai basil and cilantro
  17. 25___ and whistles
  18. 26It's a given
  19. 27"So, hypothetically . . ."
  20. 28"You've gotta be kidding me!"
  21. 29Feature of many fireplaces
  22. 30Sprawling stories
  23. 32Gets ready to bubble
  24. 35Spine feature
  25. 40"Selma" director DuVernay
  26. 41"Office Ladies," for one
  27. 43Hold on to
  28. 44It's always stuck in a jamb (dad joke)
  29. 46Two more than a birdie
  30. 47Mitigate
  31. 48Like some cheese
  32. 49It has bark but no bite
  33. 50Until
  34. 51What you are for seven years of your life
  35. 52One of seven for Simone Biles
  36. 55"Not sure . . ."

The answer to “Makeup for a model?” in the USA Today crossword is BALSA — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 20, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 25-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.

“Makeup for a model?” answer

BALSA (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 BALSA.

What does BALSA mean?

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

(noun)

  • very lightweight wood used chiefly for making models and rafts
  • the fast-growing tropical American tree from which balsa is obtained

When else has “Makeup for a model?” 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.

September 20, 2026 (most recent) → BALSA. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Makeup for a model?”?

The answer is BALSA, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 20, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Makeup for a model?”?

5 letters: BALSA.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on September 20, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 25-Across.

Can “Makeup for a model?” 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 September 20, 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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