Tug of ___

The answer to “Tug of ___” in the USA Today crossword is WAR — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 22, 2026, a Saturday puzzle, at 22-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.

“Tug of ___” answer

WAR (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 WAR.

What does WAR mean?

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

When else has “Tug of ___” 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 22, 2026 (most recent) → WAR. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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