Turns to pulp

Latest answer — September 13, 2026

8 Down

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Clue explained

MASHES means turns something into a soft pulp by crushing or pressing it. The answer is a third-person singular present-tense verb matching “turns.”

Clue type:
Word form
Fruit being crushed into soft pulp

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Sunday, September 13, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Leo the Lion's studio
  2. 4Candied veggie
  3. 7Dishwasher brand found in "Florida manatee"
  4. 12United ___ Emirates
  5. 14Saga
  6. 15Plays some Mario Kart
  7. 16Streaming device brand with a 24/7 "Murder, She Wrote" channel
  8. 17Supply-and-demand class, for short
  9. 18Old Russian rulers
  10. 19It's half a day's work?
  11. 22Pre-Easter period
  12. 23Organ with a lid
  13. 24Rumi, Mira and Zoey hunt them
  14. 27Astronaut Grissom
  15. 29___ down (resign)
  16. 33Precise
  17. 34Effortlessness
  18. 35Charlottesville school (Abbr.)
  19. 36Treating everyone to lunch, say
  20. 40Shout during a flamenco show
  21. 41Fleece-lined boots
  22. 422, 4, 6, 8, etc.
  23. 43Give a quiz to
  24. 45Whiskey and ___ ("American Pie" drink)
  25. 46Most crafty
  26. 47"That ship ___ sailed"
  27. 49"Sick" poet Silverstein
  28. 50What you have direct authority over
  29. 58Zoox alternative
  30. 59Warthog relative
  31. 60Sanitizing item
  32. 61Pinnacles
  33. 62Nine-___ battery
  34. 63Covered with frosting
  35. 64Keyed up
  36. 65French for "island"
  37. 66Leakes who played Matron "Mama" Morton in "Chicago"

Down

  1. 1Gas station store
  2. 2Sprout up
  3. 3Earn, like money
  4. 4___ rock (genre with breezy, smooth sounds)
  5. 5___ masala (potato dish)
  6. 6Dessert list
  7. 7Creative in a pretentious way
  8. 8Turns to pulp
  9. 9Purple berry
  10. 10Manufacturer of foam darts
  11. 11CEO's staffer
  12. 13"The Net" star Sandra
  13. 14Many high schoolers, age-wise
  14. 20Large Starbucks size
  15. 21Stopwatch button
  16. 24Railroad terminal
  17. 25Taylor Swift song featuring Bon Iver
  18. 26Clublike medieval weapons
  19. 27Assess
  20. 28"Change My Address" org.
  21. 30Student getting mentored
  22. 31"The Avengers" star Chris
  23. 32The "P" of PBR
  24. 34Like custard, often
  25. 37Doctor's colleague
  26. 38"The Odyssey" role for Lupita Nyong'o
  27. 39Classic villain in a soap opera
  28. 44Features of some crosswords (including this one)
  29. 46YouTube's version of an Instagram Reel
  30. 48Came up
  31. 49Part of some musical warmups
  32. 50Whack
  33. 51Marathoner's speed
  34. 52Church song
  35. 53"Well, duh"
  36. 54Pull a fast one on
  37. 55Feijoada side
  38. 56Ready for customers
  39. 57Bury the ___

The answer to “Turns to pulp” in the USA Today crossword is MASHES — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 13, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 8-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.

“Turns to pulp” answer

MASHES (6 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 MASHES.

What does MASHES mean?

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

(verb)

  • reduce (food or other substance) to a soft mass by crushing it
  • (in brewing) mix (powdered malt) with hot water to form wort
  • (with reference to tea) brew or infuse

When else has “Turns to pulp” 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 13, 2026 (most recent) → MASHES. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Turns to pulp”?

The answer is MASHES, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on September 13, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Turns to pulp”?

6 letters: MASHES.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on September 13, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 8-Down.

Can “Turns to pulp” 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 13, 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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