One might be paid to change the locks?

Editorially verified for the Oct 18, 2026

12 Down

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A stylist cutting a client's hair.

Clue explained

The joke turns on “locks”: they can mean the locks on a door or, informally, someone’s hair. A stylist changes a person’s hairstyle, so this paid professional can change “the locks” without touching a door.

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Sunday, October 18, 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"So?"
  2. 4Baby buggy?
  3. 9"___ Gotta Have It"
  4. 13TV explorer
  5. 15Pandemonium
  6. 16Layer of paint
  7. 17"The Woman King" and "How to Get Away With Murder" star considered to be one of the greatest actors of all time
  8. 19___-bitty
  9. 20Changes the subject, perhaps?
  10. 21Passover ritual
  11. 23I've got your number! (Abbr.)
  12. 24Renovates
  13. 26Soy sauce alternative
  14. 28Some undergrad degrees
  15. 29Neon garments for crossing guards
  16. 33Rolled corn chip brand
  17. 34Had a big fight
  18. 36___-cute (rom-com trope)
  19. 37California Eagle owner-editor who foiled a KKK plot and ran for U.S. vice president
  20. 40Very damp crawl space?
  21. 41Dangers
  22. 42Dogs and cats, but not puppies and kittens
  23. 45Like stags and roosters
  24. 46Many a wall flower?
  25. 49Parts of courses
  26. 51Stew made with dal and tamarind
  27. 53"Firstly . . ."
  28. 54Floor plan sections
  29. 57Like the joke "What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta!"
  30. 58Face coverings
  31. 60"All About Love" and "The Will To Change" author who paved the way for intersectional feminism
  32. 62Friend, in Spanish
  33. 63Radiate
  34. 64"The Price of ___"
  35. 65Matching groups
  36. 66Skip it!
  37. 67___ Moines, IA

Down

  1. 1Part of speech of "truly"
  2. 2"I don't know!"
  3. 3"Star Wars" robots
  4. 4TV type
  5. 5Exfoliant ingredients, for short
  6. 6Party with kandi bracelets
  7. 7Null and ___
  8. 8That's useful!
  9. 9The S in STEM (Abbr.)
  10. 10Some unpopular opinions
  11. 11Filling stations?
  12. 12One might be paid to change the locks?
  13. 14Palo ___, CA
  14. 18Letter sign-off
  15. 22Pet rodent
  16. 25Peddle
  17. 27Some parents
  18. 30Pig food
  19. 31Sacred clan symbol
  20. 32Kama ___
  21. 34Takes a tumble
  22. 35Word yelled before a coin flip
  23. 37Spy's moniker
  24. 38Take care of someone's place
  25. 39It lightens things up
  26. 40Grapefruit cocktails
  27. 43Trunk
  28. 44Word before "Caps" and "Balls"
  29. 46In another country
  30. 47Irritate
  31. 48Lovers' meetups
  32. 50Not drunk
  33. 52Sounds from stock characters?
  34. 55Officewide email
  35. 56Piece of paper for parental permission
  36. 59Metric units of weight (Abbr.)
  37. 614G ___

The answer to “One might be paid to change the locks?” in the USA Today crossword is STYLIST — a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on October 18, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 12-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.

“One might be paid to change the locks?” answer

STYLIST (7 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 STYLIST.

What does STYLIST mean?

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

(noun)

  • a designer of fashionable styles of clothing
  • a person whose job is to arrange and coordinate food, clothes, etc. in a stylish and attractive way in photographs or films
  • a writer noted for taking great pains over their writing style

When else has “One might be paid to change the locks?” 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.

October 18, 2026 (most recent) → STYLIST. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “One might be paid to change the locks?”?

The answer is STYLIST, a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on October 18, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “One might be paid to change the locks?”?

7 letters: STYLIST.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on October 18, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 12-Down.

Can “One might be paid to change the locks?” 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 October 18, 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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