Gone badly?

Latest answer — September 07, 2026

27 Down

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Clue explained

Someone who has gone AWOL is absent without leave, or “gone” in the sense of having improperly disappeared from duty. The question mark signals this playful military interpretation of “gone badly.”

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay
A military setting suggesting a soldier absent from assigned duty.

WSJ Crossword

This clue's Monday, September 07, 2026 appearance

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Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1Neutral and reverse, e.g.
  2. 6“Get out!”
  3. 10Rascally kids
  4. 14Barreled toward
  5. 15Animated character
  6. 16Shopper’s aid
  7. 17*Namesake of the world’s largest tennis stadium
  8. 19Sharif of “Funny Girl”
  9. 20“The Doors” star Kilmer
  10. 21Ernie’s buddy
  11. 22Mumbai’s nation
  12. 23Coats a cake
  13. 25*“Master of None” star who was the first Asian-American man to win a Golden Globe for TV acting
  14. 28Adrenaline rush
  15. 30Offensively smutty
  16. 31Small criticism
  17. 32Binary question type
  18. 33Diet high in fat
  19. 34Cobbler’s kin
  20. 35*With 37-Across, “M*A*S*H” star with six Emmy wins
  21. 37See 35-Across
  22. 39Life force, in Chinese philosophy
  23. 41Luau souvenirs
  24. 43Photo-sharing site, for short
  25. 47Soccer great Hamm
  26. 48Dance unit
  27. 49Oust from office
  28. 50*Landscape photographer awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter
  29. 53Call out
  30. 54Take another stab at
  31. 55Marcel Duchamp’s genre
  32. 57In the style of
  33. 58Possible nickname for the starred answers, considering their initials
  34. 59Another possible nickname for the starred answers, considering their initials
  35. 62Food drive donations
  36. 63Grave
  37. 64No longer fashionable
  38. 65Kind of D.A.
  39. 66Strong smell
  40. 67Vet visit deliveries

Down

  1. 1It keeps people grounded
  2. 2Swimmer’s woe
  3. 3Dancer’s toppers?
  4. 4Cheer from the bleachers
  5. 5Paltry pencil
  6. 6“P-Valley” network
  7. 7Antagonistic
  8. 8“I know the answer!”
  9. 9Lunch hour, for some
  10. 10Tap targets on a phone
  11. 11New York mayor Zohran
  12. 12Grassy tract
  13. 13Connector of seas
  14. 18Honest-to-goodness
  15. 22Not Rep. or Dem.
  16. 24Gaza neighbor
  17. 26Letters after epsilons
  18. 27Gone badly?
  19. 29Texting guffaw
  20. 33Jointly attacked?
  21. 34Violet’s kin
  22. 36Utah ski resort
  23. 38Racket
  24. 39Multiplexes
  25. 40Speeds up
  26. 42Tablet with an Ultra Retina XDR display
  27. 44Cross-referencing phrase
  28. 45Like the Burj Khalifa, among the world’s buildings
  29. 46Books with legends
  30. 47Rattly instrument
  31. 48Cunning
  32. 49Meat-grading org.
  33. 51Eponymous physicist Mach
  34. 52Political comedian Bill
  35. 56Ratchets (up)
  36. 59Agitation
  37. 60Travel mug part
  38. 61Spa sound

The answer to “Gone badly?” in the Wall Street Journal crossword is AWOL — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 7, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 27-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.

“Gone badly?” answer

AWOL (4 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 AWOL.

What does AWOL mean?

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

(adjective)

  • absent without official leave but without intent to desert

When else has “Gone badly?” appeared?

Wall Street Journal 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 7, 2026 (most recent) → AWOL. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Gone badly?”?

The answer is AWOL, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 7, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Gone badly?”?

4 letters: AWOL.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 7, 2026 (a Monday puzzle), at 27-Down.

Can “Gone badly?” have a different answer?

Yes — Wall Street Journal 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 WSJ answers?

The full grid for September 7, 2026 is on the WSJ answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

Wall Street Journal Crossword is published by The Wall Street Journal; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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