Princess Leia, e.g.

Crossword Answer — July 29, 2026

Answer

A brave leading lady in the story, not just the sidekick. 👑

WaPo Crossword

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

By Sala Wanetick & Dena R. Verkuil · Edited by Patti Varol

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

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

WaPo Crossword Clues

Across

  1. 1Daytona 500 org.
  2. 7Poetic measure
  3. 11Hushed "Hey!"
  4. 15Musical interval
  5. 16Enunciate poorly
  6. 17Stratford-__-Avon
  7. 18*Book series with a character in red-and-white stripes
  8. 20Café or thé lightener
  9. 21"When pigs fly!"
  10. 22Gender-specific pronoun
  11. 23Florence of Florence and the Machine
  12. 25Stage award
  13. 26*"Olly olly oxen free" game
  14. 29More spent
  15. 31R&R provider for GIs
  16. 32Steamed bun
  17. 33Play-__: Fun Factory maker
  18. 34Tally
  19. 36Garment worn with a choli
  20. 37*Presentation tool that doubles as a cat toy
  21. 41Nautical call
  22. 43Decide (to)
  23. 44Ecol. monitor
  24. 45Gun, as an engine
  25. 46Actress Thurman
  26. 48"Spoon River Anthology" poet Edgar Lee __
  27. 52*Document in some pirate stories
  28. 56Radar image
  29. 57Proprietor
  30. 58Diarist Anaïs
  31. 59Orchestral pace
  32. 60Kristen of "Bridesmaids"
  33. 61"Gotcha!," and what can be said about the answers to the starred clues
  34. 64Cozy quarters
  35. 65Japanese noodle
  36. 66"That's a lie!"
  37. 67Put through the paces
  38. 68Petty quarrels
  39. 69Goes back to zero

Down

  1. 1"There, there"
  2. 2"Things Fall Apart" novelist Chinua
  3. 3Aspartame alternative
  4. 4Opportunity for students to consider their futures
  5. 5State definitively
  6. 6Hi-__ monitor
  7. 7"To repeat ... "
  8. 8"I'll take complete credit, thanks"
  9. 9Mess around a sty
  10. 10Cleveland team
  11. 11Drawer handles
  12. 12Long key
  13. 13"That's the word on the street"
  14. 14Demolition letters
  15. 19Sound like a fan
  16. 24Tokyo, long ago
  17. 26"lol"
  18. 27A5 and Q5 automaker
  19. 28Colorful carp
  20. 30Safari platform
  21. 34Mobile download
  22. 35Polka __
  23. 36Vehicle safety devices
  24. 37LGBTQ+ rights slogan
  25. 38Sound like fans
  26. 39Quarter-moon tide
  27. 40Covers with sheets?
  28. 41__ deco
  29. 42Princess Leia, e.g.
  30. 46Word before "force" or "the Force"
  31. 47Cooing sound
  32. 48Quite a few
  33. 49Blues guitarist __ James
  34. 50Remove, as knitted stitches
  35. 51Rods in bike wheels
  36. 53High anxiety
  37. 54Supply funding for
  38. 55Attitudes
  39. 59Song
  40. 60Wisdom partner
  41. 62Fuss
  42. 63Possessive word

Crossword clues, hints, and answers

Across

  1. 1. Daytona 500 org. — Answer: NASCAR. Hint: Stock-car racing's big-league organizer puts on the Daytona 500 🏁
  2. 7. Poetic measure — Answer: IAMB. Hint: A classic rhythm used in many sonnets and plays, with a gentle da-DUM beat 🎭
  3. 11. Hushed "Hey!" — Answer: PSST. Hint: A very quiet way to get someone’s attention 😊
  4. 15. Musical interval — Answer: OCTAVE. Hint: A big eight-note leap in music 🎵
  5. 16. Enunciate poorly — Answer: SLUR. Hint: Speak in a way that makes every word a little mushy 😵
  6. 17. Stratford-__-Avon — Answer: UPON. Hint: The little word that bridges Stratford and Avon in Shakespeare’s hometown 🌉
  7. 18. *Book series with a character in red-and-white stripes — Answer: WHERESWALDO. Hint: A classic seek-and-find series where a striped traveler keeps slipping into the crowd 👓
  8. 20. Café or thé lightener — Answer: LAIT. Hint: What you stir into a cup to mellow it out ☕
  9. 21. "When pigs fly!" — Answer: NEVER. Hint: A classic way to say something won’t happen anytime soon 😄
  10. 22. Gender-specific pronoun — Answer: HIM. Hint: A pronoun you’d use when talking about a male friend 😊
  11. 23. Florence of Florence and the Machine — Answer: WELCH. Hint: She’s the fiery frontwoman behind the band, with a surname that sounds a bit like a Celtic nod 🎤
  12. 25. Stage award — Answer: OBIE. Hint: A little off-Broadway honor for a standout performance 🎭
  13. 26. *"Olly olly oxen free" game — Answer: HIDEANDSEEK. Hint: A classic backyard chase where everyone vanishes and one person hunts them down 👀
  14. 29. More spent — Answer: WEARIER. Hint: Feeling even more worn out than before, like a pair of shoes on their last legs 👟
  15. 31. R&R provider for GIs — Answer: USO. Hint: The place that kept servicemembers entertained and rested during wartime ✨
  16. 32. Steamed bun — Answer: BAO. Hint: A fluffy little dumpling from the dim sum steamer, often filled and folded with care 🥟
  17. 33. Play-__: Fun Factory maker — Answer: DOH. Hint: The classic squishy modeling stuff that kids mold into anything they imagine 🍩
  18. 34. Tally — Answer: ADD. Hint: A quick way to pile up numbers in your head 📈
  19. 36. Garment worn with a choli — Answer: SARI. Hint: A classic drape that pairs beautifully with a choli at celebrations and weddings 👗
  20. 37. *Presentation tool that doubles as a cat toy — Answer: LASERPOINTER. Hint: A tiny beam that can wow a crowd and send a feline into full chase mode 🔦
  21. 41. Nautical call — Answer: AHOY. Hint: A cheerful cry from one ship to another, matey 🚢
  22. 43. Decide (to) — Answer: OPT. Hint: Make a choice and go for it 🙂
  23. 44. Ecol. monitor — Answer: EPA. Hint: U.S. agency that keeps an eye on pollution and environmental rules 🌿
  24. 45. Gun, as an engine — Answer: REV. Hint: Give it the old car-enthusiast rev-up 🚗
  25. 46. Actress Thurman — Answer: UMA. Hint: A stylish actress with a famously short first name. 🎬
  26. 48. "Spoon River Anthology" poet Edgar Lee __ — Answer: MASTERS. Hint: He wrote the famed collection of epitaph-like poems about a tiny town’s buried secrets 📚
  27. 52. *Document in some pirate stories — Answer: TREASUREMAP. Hint: A swashbuckling guide to where the loot is buried 🏴‍☠️
  28. 56. Radar image — Answer: BLIP. Hint: A tiny blurt on the screen when something briefly shows up 📡
  29. 57. Proprietor — Answer: OWNER. Hint: The one calling the shots and holding the keys to the place 🔑
  30. 58. Diarist Anaïs — Answer: NIN. Hint: French-born writer whose short journals became famously intimate ✍️
  31. 59. Orchestral pace — Answer: TEMPO. Hint: The speed a conductor keeps the whole ensemble moving at 🎼
  32. 60. Kristen of "Bridesmaids" — Answer: WIIG. Hint: This comedy star steals scenes in a bridesmaid dress 😄
  33. 61. "Gotcha!," and what can be said about the answers to the starred clues — Answer: MADEYOULOOK. Hint: A playful taunt for the eye-catching reveal in the puzzle’s starred entries 👀
  34. 64. Cozy quarters — Answer: INNS. Hint: Where travelers tuck in for the night 🛏️
  35. 65. Japanese noodle — Answer: UDON. Hint: A comforting bowlful often served in hot broth 🍜
  36. 66. "That's a lie!" — Answer: UNTRUE. Hint: A quick way to call out a fib 👀
  37. 67. Put through the paces — Answer: TEST. Hint: A way to see how something performs under pressure 🧪
  38. 68. Petty quarrels — Answer: ROWS. Hint: Little arguments that keep things mildly tense 😅
  39. 69. Goes back to zero — Answer: RESETS. Hint: Starts over from scratch after a fresh beginning 🔄

Down

  1. 1. "There, there" — Answer: NOWNOW. Hint: A soothing phrase for calming someone in the moment, repeated for extra comfort 🙂
  2. 2. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Chinua — Answer: ACHEBE. Hint: Nigerian author of a classic novel about colonial clash and cultural upheaval 📚
  3. 3. Aspartame alternative — Answer: STEVIA. Hint: A plant-based sweetener that steps in when sugar wants a break 🍃
  4. 4. Opportunity for students to consider their futures — Answer: CAREERDAY. Hint: A school event where students explore possible paths after graduation 📚
  5. 5. State definitively — Answer: AVER. Hint: State it with certainty and no wiggle room 🤝
  6. 6. Hi-__ monitor — Answer: RES. Hint: The little trio that rounds out a monitor’s greeting. 🖥️
  7. 7. "To repeat ... " — Answer: ISAID. Hint: A way of quoting yourself when you’re reminding someone you already spoke up 🎤
  8. 8. "I'll take complete credit, thanks" — Answer: ALLME. Hint: A boastful way to claim every bit of the glory for yourself 😏
  9. 9. Mess around a sty — Answer: MUD. Hint: What pigs roll in when they’re playing dirty 🐷
  10. 10. Cleveland team — Answer: BROWNS. Hint: Ohio football crew in orange and brown colors 🏈
  11. 11. Drawer handles — Answer: PULLS. Hint: What you do to open a drawer, after a little tug of course 😉
  12. 12. Long key — Answer: SPACEBAR. Hint: The big bar on a keyboard that gives your fingers a break 😄
  13. 13. "That's the word on the street" — Answer: SOIHEAR. Hint: A phrase for “that’s what I’ve been told” when gossip is doing the talking. 👂
  14. 14. Demolition letters — Answer: TNT. Hint: A trio of letters known for making things go boom 💥
  15. 19. Sound like a fan — Answer: WHIR. Hint: A breezy little noise you hear from a fan spinning fast 💨
  16. 24. Tokyo, long ago — Answer: EDO. Hint: Old-school name for Japan’s capital before it became Tokyo 🏯
  17. 26. "lol" — Answer: HEHE. Hint: A giggle that sounds like it’s trying not to giggle 😄
  18. 27. A5 and Q5 automaker — Answer: AUDI. Hint: Luxury German wheels with a famous four-ring badge 🚗
  19. 28. Colorful carp — Answer: KOI. Hint: A pond celebrity known for its bright patterns and calm glide 🐟
  20. 30. Safari platform — Answer: IOS. Hint: Apple’s mobile operating system often carries the animal-themed app world 🦁
  21. 34. Mobile download — Answer: APP. Hint: A little thing you tap to get something onto your phone 📱
  22. 35. Polka __ — Answer: DOT. Hint: Tiny circular pattern you’d spot on a dress or wallpaper 🎯
  23. 36. Vehicle safety devices — Answer: SEATBELTS. Hint: The kind of straps that keep you snug when the ride gets bumpy 🚗
  24. 37. LGBTQ+ rights slogan — Answer: LOVEWINS. Hint: A cheerful rallying cry about equality and pride prevails. 🌈
  25. 38. Sound like fans — Answer: ROAR. Hint: What a crowd does when the excitement really builds up 📣
  26. 39. Quarter-moon tide — Answer: NEAP. Hint: The tide that plays it small when the moon is at half power 🌙
  27. 40. Covers with sheets? — Answer: TPS. Hint: A tidy way to talk about paper cut into office-sized pieces 📄
  28. 41. __ deco — Answer: ART. Hint: A stylish little prefix for a design movement 🎨
  29. 42. Princess Leia, e.g. — Answer: HEROINE. Hint: A brave leading lady in the story, not just the sidekick. 👑
  30. 46. Word before "force" or "the Force" — Answer: USE. Hint: It’s the little verb that turns up in both “___ force” and “___ the Force” 🙂
  31. 47. Cooing sound — Answer: MURMUR. Hint: A soft, repetitive whisper-like sound that seems to come from a crowd or the wind 🌬️
  32. 48. Quite a few — Answer: MANY. Hint: A lot, but not too many—just enough to notice 😉
  33. 49. Blues guitarist __ James — Answer: ELMORE. Hint: Think of the legendary bluesman whose first name sounds a bit like a tree-lined meadow. 🎸
  34. 50. Remove, as knitted stitches — Answer: RIPOUT. Hint: What you do when you carefully undo a row of knitting 🧶
  35. 51. Rods in bike wheels — Answer: SPOKES. Hint: They connect the hub to the rim and keep the wheel true 🚲
  36. 53. High anxiety — Answer: ANGST. Hint: A tight knot of worry that sits in your chest 😬
  37. 54. Supply funding for — Answer: ENDOW. Hint: Provide the money that keeps something going long-term 💰
  38. 55. Attitudes — Answer: MIENS. Hint: Facial expressions that quietly reveal what someone’s thinking 🙂
  39. 59. Song — Answer: TUNE. Hint: A catchy little melody you can hum along to 🎵
  40. 60. Wisdom partner — Answer: WIT. Hint: The kind of partner that keeps a joke sharp and a conversation clever 🤓
  41. 62. Fuss — Answer: ADO. Hint: A little unnecessary excitement over something minor 😅
  42. 63. Possessive word — Answer: OUR. Hint: A tiny word that says something belongs to all of us together 🤝

The answer to “Princess Leia, e.g.” in the The Washington Post crossword is HEROINE — a 7-letter word. This clue ran in the The Washington Post crossword on July 29, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle, at 42-Down. If it's the entry standing between you and a clean grid, that's the word you need — and below you'll find why it fits, plus links to the day's other clues if more than one square is giving you trouble.

“Princess Leia, e.g.” answer

HEROINE (7 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 HEROINE.

Why the answer is HEROINE

A brave leading lady in the story, not just the sidekick. 👑

When else has “Princess Leia, e.g.” 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 before, and what the answer was each time — handy if you landed here from a puzzle on another date.

July 29, 2026 (this puzzle) → HEROINE. We haven't indexed an earlier appearance of this exact clue yet.

More clues from the WaPo Crossword on July 29, 2026

Stuck elsewhere in the grid? Here are some of the crossing and nearby clues from the same puzzle — tap any for its answer and explanation.

Want every clue in one place? The full The Washington Post answer list for July 29, 2026 is on that day's grid page, and today's live WaPo Crossword answers are always one tap from the today page.

About the WaPo Crossword

The Washington Post Crossword is a classic American daily 15×15 (larger on Sunday), free to play online and known for fair, conversational cluing. This page covers a Wednesday puzzle. Theme answers and mid-length fill trade places in importance; when a theme clue stalls you, a confirmed crossing entry usually breaks the corner open.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Princess Leia, e.g.”?

The answer is HEROINE, a 7-letter word. It appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on July 29, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Princess Leia, e.g.”?

7 letters: HEROINE.

Where did this clue appear?

In the The Washington Post crossword on July 29, 2026 (a Wednesday puzzle), at 42-Down.

Can “Princess Leia, e.g.” 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 July 29, 2026 is on the WaPo Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

NYT Crossword Answers NYT Mini Crossword Answers WaPo Crossword Answers — Jul 29 Wordle Hint Today Connections Hint Today Strands Hint Today Quordle Hint Today Contexto Hint Today Spotle Hint Today Pips Hint Today Jumble Answers Today 7 Little Words Answers