Back on the straight and narrow

Latest answer — August 13, 2026

40 Down

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Clue explained

Someone who is REFORMED has returned to proper or morally acceptable behavior—the “straight and narrow.” The past-participial adjective fits “back” in the sense of having changed course.

Clue type:
Phrase or idiom
A person choosing a straight road at a crossroads

WaPo Crossword

This clue's Thursday, August 13, 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. 1Biblical queen's land
  2. 6"Hurry!" letters
  3. 10Mojito garnish
  4. 14Cultured sort?
  5. 15Interpretation
  6. 16Chimps and gorillas
  7. 17Like 11-Down and 27-Across, often
  8. 18Reply when Mr. Nicholson asks, "How do you like your coffee?"
  9. 20Lode load
  10. 21Bam Adebayo's team
  11. 23Merchant stalls
  12. 24Reply when Mr. Garfunkel asks how everyone is doing?
  13. 26Beloved
  14. 27Beer with a Grillo's Pickles flavor, briefly
  15. 28Short clip?
  16. 29Warbled
  17. 33Bicycle spokes, essentially
  18. 36Grand-scale tales
  19. 38Battle (for)
  20. 39Reply when Mr. Nye asks why there are so many wind turbines?
  21. 42Yahoo! alternative
  22. 43Midsize car
  23. 44Great Grandma?
  24. 45Lat neighbor
  25. 47"Mean Girls" screenwriter Tina
  26. 48Center prefix
  27. 49Big bustles
  28. 51Reply when Ms. Deeley mentions her new TV gig?
  29. 55One with an eye for dotting i's
  30. 58Downsides
  31. 59Director DuVernay
  32. 60Reply when Mr. Hamill says, "May the Force be with you"?
  33. 62Along for the ride, say
  34. 64Nerve
  35. 65Lake at the Detroit River's end
  36. 66Track star Bolt
  37. 67Fashion monthly
  38. 68Informal claim
  39. 69Moore of "This Is Us"

Down

  1. 1"Weird Al" specialty
  2. 2Postimpressionist painter Rousseau
  3. 3All finished, say
  4. 4Wacoal garment
  5. 5Cereal that once featured a crossword puzzle in magazine ads
  6. 6Currently hitting
  7. 7Curing agent
  8. 8Otherwise called
  9. 9Like a bird feeder
  10. 10College paths
  11. 11Some craft pours, for short
  12. 12Make out
  13. 13Tuts
  14. 19Korean automaker
  15. 22Go amiss
  16. 25Grand-scale tale
  17. 26"Bon appetit!"
  18. 28Short trip?
  19. 30Rental car giant
  20. 31River near the Great Pyramid
  21. 32Meshes well
  22. 33Interpretation
  23. 34Spiky succulent
  24. 35"Hi-ho, the derry-o" locale
  25. 36Heads and tails
  26. 37Academic gathering
  27. 40Back on the straight and narrow
  28. 41Fume
  29. 46Be a rat
  30. 48One billion years
  31. 50"Yabba-dabba-__!"
  32. 51Classic colas
  33. 52Board game with settlers
  34. 53Dance around
  35. 54Like some port
  36. 55Perimeter
  37. 56Body wash brand
  38. 57"C'mon, __ be fun"
  39. 58Spot for a tot
  40. 61Cal. neighbor
  41. 63Codebreaker Challenge org.

The answer to “Back on the straight and narrow” in the The Washington Post crossword is REFORMED — a 8-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on August 13, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 40-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.

“Back on the straight and narrow” answer

REFORMED (8 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 REFORMED.

What does REFORMED mean?

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

(adjective)

  • having been changed in such a way as to be improved

When else has “Back on the straight and narrow” appeared?

The Washington Post 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) → REFORMED. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Back on the straight and narrow”?

The answer is REFORMED, a 8-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on August 13, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Back on the straight and narrow”?

8 letters: REFORMED.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Washington Post crossword on August 13, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 40-Down.

Can “Back on the straight and narrow” have a different answer?

Yes — The Washington Post 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 WaPo Crossword answers?

The full grid for August 13, 2026 is on the WaPo Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

The Washington Post Crossword is published by The Washington Post; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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