Stains with ash

The answer to “Stains with ash” in the The Washington Post crossword is SOOTS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on July 26, 2026, a Sunday 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.

“Stains with ash” answer

SOOTS (5 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 SOOTS.

Why the answer is SOOTS

Something that can blacken your hands and surfaces if you're not careful! 🖤

What does SOOTS mean?

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

When else has “Stains with ash” 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.

July 26, 2026 (most recent) → SOOTS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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