Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress

Latest answer — August 13, 2026

49 Across

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Clue explained

PEA is the vegetable hidden beneath the mattresses in *The Princess and the Pea*. The clue uses “fairy-tale” to point to that familiar story detail.

Clue type:
Pop culture
Illustration of a pea beneath stacked mattresses in The Princess and the Pea

USA Today Crossword

This clue's Thursday, August 13, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Zoom background effect
  2. 5"The West Wing" actor Alan
  3. 9Moves like a rope bridge
  4. 14Tiny bit
  5. 15Friendship bracelet bit
  6. 16Drink aka hot chocolate
  7. 17Gradually becoming more popular, like a trend
  8. 20Home of the WNBA's Dream (Abbr.)
  9. 21Place for chickens
  10. 22Not pro
  11. 23Bout "souvenir," perhaps
  12. 251-1, for one
  13. 26Through
  14. 29High-fat diet
  15. 30La Scala's home
  16. 33Basketball player Sue
  17. 34Surface for tree pose
  18. 36Affirmatives
  19. 37Current that brings warm water into the Atlantic
  20. 39Implicitly understood
  21. 42Give in
  22. 43Tooth or head trouble
  23. 44"___ what I'm thinking . . ."
  24. 45Tablet with a Mini version
  25. 49Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress
  26. 50Tell a fib
  27. 51Mat in a ryokan
  28. 53Reason to cancel a barbecue
  29. 55"Zip it!"
  30. 57Opposites of 36-Across
  31. 58Where the New England Revolution play their home games
  32. 62Vulcan, e.g.
  33. 63Cookie with a Firecracker Pop flavor
  34. 64"A Simple Favor" star Kendrick
  35. 65"___ your heart!"
  36. 66Bend out of shape
  37. 67Feel sorry for

Down

  1. 1Huge favor
  2. 2Totally cannot stand
  3. 3Monopoly property without fixed rents
  4. 4Published in a paper
  5. 5Out of the ordinary
  6. 6Toy brand discussed on Brickipedia
  7. 7Like a used towel, perhaps
  8. 8Kerfuffle
  9. 9Part of a play
  10. 10"Thanks, but that ___ be necessary"
  11. 11It might involve protests, marches or community organizing
  12. 12Second-person pronoun
  13. 13"Unholy" singer Smith
  14. 18"Rocks" in a drink
  15. 19Primary conduit
  16. 24Knuckle-headed move?
  17. 25Spill the beans
  18. 27Wrath
  19. 28Some might pop up
  20. 31"That time works for me"
  21. 32___-focused
  22. 33"Scram!"
  23. 35Prep for a major renovation, say
  24. 36Currency in Kyoto
  25. 38Place to take a break on a road trip
  26. 39Bar spout
  27. 40Unreturnable serve
  28. 41Third letter of the NATO alphabet
  29. 44Clue
  30. 46Grilled sandwich with Italian bread
  31. 47Quantity
  32. 48Feeling of shock and confusion
  33. 50Property claims
  34. 52"That's it!"
  35. 54Some craft beers
  36. 55Queen of Mount Olympus
  37. 56App operator
  38. 58Yap or yammer
  39. 59Under the weather
  40. 60AAA service
  41. 61Handshake alternative

The answer to “Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress” in the USA Today crossword is PEA — a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 13, 2026, a Thursday 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.

“Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress” 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 “Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress” 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 13, 2026 (most recent) → PEA. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress”?

The answer is PEA, a 3-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on August 13, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress”?

3 letters: PEA.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the USA Today crossword on August 13, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 49-Across.

Can “Veggie under a fairy-tale mattress” 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 August 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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