Source of a certain princess's insomnia

Latest answer — September 11, 2026

49 Across

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Clue explained

In “The Princess and the Pea,” a pea hidden beneath many mattresses causes the princess’s insomnia, making PEA the source of her sleeplessness.

Clue type:
Pop culture
An illustration of a princess atop a tall stack of mattresses with a pea beneath them.

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Friday, September 11, 2026 appearance

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

Across

  1. 1Snow day vehicle with runners
  2. 5CBD source
  3. 9Modify
  4. 14Person with "pants on fire"
  5. 15Type of gemstone or apple
  6. 16Indiana WNBA team
  7. 17Golden rule preposition
  8. 18"High Priestess of Soul" singer Simone
  9. 19A little out of whack
  10. 20Gadget often lost between sofa cushions
  11. 23Pony up in advance
  12. 24MLK's title
  13. 25Mauna ___ (Hawaiian peak)
  14. 28Student's stat
  15. 30Common rental car choices
  16. 33"It was a joke"
  17. 37Apt name for a florist
  18. 40Tactile sense
  19. 41"The gloves are off!"
  20. 44Mary Poppins' role
  21. 45"Mmhmm"
  22. 46Pronoun used as a song title by Jelly Roll and Harry Styles
  23. 47Grilled corn snacks with cotija
  24. 49Source of a certain princess's insomnia
  25. 51Rodent in some Banksy art
  26. 52One ___ million
  27. 552009 blockbuster set on Pandora
  28. 60Chun-Li's Lightning Kick, for one
  29. 64Color of the sky on a bluebird day
  30. 66"Your mileage may ___"
  31. 67Lumberjills' tools
  32. 68Snoopy vs. the Red ___
  33. 69Ship in Greek mythology
  34. 70Word before "dish" or "effect"
  35. 71Totally beat
  36. 72Stead
  37. 73Improvise like Ella Fitzgerald

Down

  1. 1Enjoy ramen audibly
  2. 2Passenger ship
  3. 3Tempting words on a Wonderland cake
  4. 4What thirsty plants do
  5. 5Sweet term of endearment
  6. 6"That's legendary!"
  7. 7Wayne ___ (Batman's estate)
  8. 8Neither a bird nor Superman
  9. 9A long way off
  10. 10Brief note
  11. 11Sinister-sounding cackle
  12. 12Super Mario Bros. console
  13. 13OB-GYNs and ENTs
  14. 21"You're it!" game
  15. 22Best Buy buys
  16. 26Promptly?
  17. 27Like air near a fire
  18. 29BTS fandom
  19. 31"Yadda, yadda, yadda"
  20. 32"What ___ that mean?"
  21. 33___ child (common therapy subject)
  22. 34Eucalyptus-eating marsupial
  23. 35"Who knows"
  24. 36"Stop that!"
  25. 38Intense anger
  26. 39Applaud a slam poet
  27. 42Pumpernickel grain
  28. 43"That's totally valid"
  29. 48What's wrong?
  30. 50Park, in NYC
  31. 53Like a submarine
  32. 54Its best-selling game is Pac-Man
  33. 56Stockpile
  34. 57"My ___ trait is . . ."
  35. 58Vegan beauty brand
  36. 59Unplug and plug back in, say
  37. 61De-crease?
  38. 62Chivalrous chap
  39. 63Impulse
  40. 64Situp targets
  41. 65It's shocking!

The answer to “Source of a certain princess's insomnia” in the USA Today crossword is PEA — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 11, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 49-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.

“Source of a certain princess's insomnia” answer

PEA (3 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 PEA.

What does PEA mean?

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

(noun)

  • a spherical green seed that is eaten as a vegetable or as a pulse when dried
  • the hardy Eurasian climbing plant which yields pods containing peas
  • used in names of plants or seeds that are similar or related to the pea, e.g. chickpea, sweet pea

When else has “Source of a certain princess's insomnia” 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 11, 2026 (most recent) → PEA. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Source of a certain princess's insomnia”?

The answer is PEA, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 11, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Source of a certain princess's insomnia”?

3 letters: PEA.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on September 11, 2026 (a Friday puzzle), at 49-Across.

Can “Source of a certain princess's insomnia” 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 11, 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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