WSJ Crossword Answers Today
Brief Exchange
By Mat Holmes · Edited by Mike Shenk
Tap a square to reveal a letter.
Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.
WSJ Crossword Clues
Across
Down
Crossword clues, hints, and answers
Across
- 1. On the level — Answer: LEGIT. Hint: Totally aboveboard and nothing shady going on here 😉
- 6. Palindromic address — Answer: MADAM. Hint: A title of respect that reads the same in reverse—how neat is that? 🪞
- 11. Barnyard bleat — Answer: BAA. Hint: A sheepish little sound from the farmyard 🐑
- 14. Triatomic oxygen — Answer: OZONE. Hint: The atmosphere’s spicier cousin that helps block UV rays 🌍
- 15. Solo — Answer: ALONE. Hint: By yourself, with nobody else around 🌟
- 16. Lend a hand — Answer: AID. Hint: Give a little help when someone’s in a bind 🤝
- 17. “Sir, yes sir!” — Answer: PRIVATECHAT. Hint: A soldier’s way of saying he’ll keep it under wraps 🤫
- 19. Neither’s partner — Answer: NOR. Hint: The other half of a neither/nor pair 🙂
- 20. Right in the head — Answer: SANE. Hint: Mentally sound and steady, not off-kilter 🧠
- 21. ___ toast (trendy brunch item of the 2010s) — Answer: AVO. Hint: The millennial brunch darling spread on bread and photographed to perfection 🥑
- 22. Symbol on USPS trucks — Answer: EAGLE. Hint: A patriotic bird keeps watch on the mail route 🦅
- 24. “I hear they’re totally into Nutella” — Answer: SPREADGOSSIP. Hint: That’s the kind of rumor that gets passed around by people who love to spread the word 🍯
- 28. Prepare for the big race — Answer: RESTUP. Hint: Take a break and recharge before the starting gun 🔋
- 31. Belonging to us — Answer: OURS. Hint: What’s ours is shared among the group 🙂
- 32. Set of moral principles — Answer: ETHIC. Hint: A code for what’s right and wrong, in singular form 😊
- 33. High-end camera letters — Answer: DSLR. Hint: A photographer’s prized shorthand for a sleek interchangeable-lens rig 📷
- 35. Supporting stance — Answer: PRO. Hint: A solid backing position in an argument or debate 🙂
- 38. “Let’s decide if we want sauerkraut and mustard” — Answer: FRANKDISCUSSION. Hint: A frank chat over lunch about toppings could settle it 🌭
- 42. Put in stitches — Answer: SEW. Hint: What a tailor does with needle and thread 🧵
- 43. Skye of 2025’s “Anaconda” — Answer: IONE. Hint: A veteran actress with a dreamy first name from the 90s gets another screen turn in a snake tale 🐍
- 44. Piano practice piece — Answer: ETUDE. Hint: A musician’s warm-up drill for the keyboard 🎹
- 45. Blown away — Answer: AWED. Hint: Left speechless by something impressive 😮
- 47. Winds down — Answer: CEASES. Hint: It gradually comes to a stop, like a machine powering down 🛑
- 48. “I need to slip into something more comfortable” — Answer: BEDTIMESTORY. Hint: A cozy tale that helps you drift off to dreamland 😴
- 53. Larsson who wrote “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” — Answer: STIEG. Hint: A Swedish crime novelist who kicked off a famous Millennium series 😎
- 54. Tyke — Answer: TOT. Hint: A tiny little kid, not yet a big deal 👶
- 55. Medical provider grps. — Answer: HMOS. Hint: Health plans that keep costs in check by sticking to a network 😄
- 59. Cubs outfielder Happ — Answer: IAN. Hint: Think of the Cubs’ switch-hitting outfielder by his first name, not his surname ⚾
- 60. “I love trash!” — Answer: OSCARSPEECH. Hint: A very glamorous acceptance moment for a not-so-glamorous confession 🎬
- 64. Cutting comment — Answer: DIG. Hint: A sharp little remark that can leave a mark 🪓
- 65. Lieutenant on the Enterprise — Answer: UHURA. Hint: The communications officer who keeps the bridge talking 🎙️
- 66. Make an address — Answer: ORATE. Hint: Give a speech with flair, like a polished public speaker 🎤
- 67. Chicago trains — Answer: ELS. Hint: The elevated kind that keeps Chicago moving overhead 🚆
- 68. Saw things? — Answer: TEETH. Hint: What a mouthful these little cutters are 😁
- 69. City known for its salami — Answer: GENOA. Hint: Italian port famous for its namesake sauce and deli meat 🏙️
Down
- 1. Prunes — Answer: LOPS. Hint: A gardener’s way of trimming things down ✂️
- 2. Pound of poems — Answer: EZRA. Hint: A famous poet shares his name with a bit of currency and was once a controversial literary giant 📚
- 3. Enter — Answer: GOIN. Hint: Head out or step in—this word captures that move 😄
- 4. Buy shares of, say — Answer: INVESTIN. Hint: Put money into a company for a piece of the action 📈
- 5. Boba or chai, e.g. — Answer: TEA. Hint: A cozy cup that can be boba, chai, or plain old comfort ☕
- 6. Bestselling author Binchy — Answer: MAEVE. Hint: Irish novelist with a warm, popular voice 📚
- 7. Major metals manufacturer — Answer: ALCOA. Hint: Big name in aluminum, not a tiny metal shop 🏭
- 8. Shout from Homer — Answer: DOH. Hint: A classic exasperated cry from Springfield’s favorite dad 😩
- 9. Santa ___ winds — Answer: ANA. Hint: These warm winds might make you think of holiday cheer! 🎅
- 10. Item in a shower — Answer: METEOR. Hint: A flashy visitor from the sky that streaks through the atmosphere 🌠
- 11. Forehead concealer — Answer: BANGS. Hint: A stylish fringe that hangs right over the brow 😄
- 12. Dip for fries in a gastropub — Answer: AIOLI. Hint: Creamy garlic sauce that elevates fries in a trendy pub 🍟
- 13. Person who might put you in a spot — Answer: ADREP. Hint: Someone who handles publicity can really leave you under the spotlight 📣
- 18. Diamond protector — Answer: TARP. Hint: A simple cover that shields things from the weather or a messy worksite 🛡️
- 23. Pompous person — Answer: ASS. Hint: A self-important donkey of a person 🫏
- 25. Shakespeare sprite — Answer: PUCK. Hint: A mischievous little fairy from the Bard’s forest play 🌲
- 26. Like gelato — Answer: DOLCE. Hint: Sweet, in a very Italian way 🍦
- 27. Trusted teacher — Answer: GURU. Hint: A go-to guide whose advice people swear by 🧠
- 28. Game callers — Answer: REFS. Hint: They keep the action fair and blow the whistle when things get messy 🏀
- 29. Raison d’___ — Answer: ETRE. Hint: A French phrase for the reason for existing—very existential, very chic ✨
- 30. “Pygmalion” playwright — Answer: SHAW. Hint: A sharp-witted Irish dramatist who loved sparring with society 🖋️
- 33. Phone flash part — Answer: DIODE. Hint: Tiny electronic gatekeeper that helps a camera light burst the right way 📱
- 34. ID on IRS forms — Answer: SSN. Hint: It's the number that follows you through tax season like a shadow 🧾
- 35. Name chosen by twelve popes — Answer: PIUS. Hint: A very papal pick that’s been worn by a dozen successors 😇
- 36. Came by horse — Answer: RODE. Hint: A classic way to travel in the saddle, not on foot 🐎
- 37. Change for a five — Answer: ONES. Hint: What you get back when a five is broken down into smaller bills 💵
- 39. Carpe ___ — Answer: DIEM. Hint: Seize the day with a little Latin flair 🌞
- 40. Cassandra, e.g. — Answer: SEER. Hint: A prophetess who sees trouble coming before anyone else does 🔮
- 41. “Don’t move!” — Answer: STAYHERE. Hint: A command to hold your ground and not budge one bit 🚦
- 45. Put away — Answer: ATE. Hint: Think about what you do with food when you're finished! 🍽️
- 46. Freak — Answer: WIGOUT. Hint: A wild burst of over-the-top behavior can leave you looking a little unhinged 🎭
- 47. Barracks sights — Answer: COTS. Hint: Where soldiers sleep on base, these are the bunks you’d spot 😴
- 48. Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” e.g. — Answer: BSIDE. Hint: A classic record-store extra that often hides on the flip side of the main attraction 🎶
- 49. Amazon and Etsy biz — Answer: ETAIL. Hint: Online selling, not a brick-and-mortar hustle 🛒
- 50. Used car features, often — Answer: DINGS. Hint: Little dents and door-bell marks that come with a car’s second life 🚗
- 51. Kick off — Answer: START. Hint: Like the opening move in a game or a fresh beginning. 🚀
- 52. It consists of five books — Answer: TORAH. Hint: A central text of Judaism made up of five books 📚
- 56. Average — Answer: MEAN. Hint: Another word for “average” when you’re talking statistics, not being rude 🙂
- 57. Twice quadri- — Answer: OCTO. Hint: Think of the prefix for eight, since it’s double four. 🧠
- 58. Former home of the Mets — Answer: SHEA. Hint: Queens’ old baseball cathedral once echoed with orange and blue cheers ⚾
- 61. ___/her pronouns — Answer: SHE. Hint: This pronoun is often used to refer to someone in the feminine form! 🌸
- 62. Word with card or stick — Answer: CUE. Hint: A little nudge in a game or a cue for action 🎯
- 63. Excellent, in Twitch slang — Answer: POG. Hint: A hype exclamation for a very impressive play on stream 🎮
Looking for today's WSJ Crossword answers? The full solution to today's Wall Street Journal puzzle — dated July 27, 2026 — is at the top of this page, updated the moment the new grid goes live. The WSJ crossword is a free daily 15×15 edited by Mike Shenk, known for polished, fair cluing with a business and finance streak, plus a Friday contest puzzle with a hidden meta answer. Whether you're checking a finished grid, unlocking one stubborn square, or want the whole answer key, every across and down solution is listed below.
Full WSJ Crossword answer list for today
Every clue from today's grid next to its solution — the same answers as the board above, in one plain list you can scan without tapping.
Across
| # | Clue | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | On the level | LEGIT |
| 6 | Palindromic address | MADAM |
| 11 | Barnyard bleat | BAA |
| 14 | Triatomic oxygen | OZONE |
| 15 | Solo | ALONE |
| 16 | Lend a hand | AID |
| 17 | “Sir, yes sir!” | PRIVATECHAT |
| 19 | Neither’s partner | NOR |
| 20 | Right in the head | SANE |
| 21 | ___ toast (trendy brunch item of the 2010s) | AVO |
| 22 | Symbol on USPS trucks | EAGLE |
| 24 | “I hear they’re totally into Nutella” | SPREADGOSSIP |
| 28 | Prepare for the big race | RESTUP |
| 31 | Belonging to us | OURS |
| 32 | Set of moral principles | ETHIC |
| 33 | High-end camera letters | DSLR |
| 35 | Supporting stance | PRO |
| 38 | “Let’s decide if we want sauerkraut and mustard” | FRANKDISCUSSION |
| 42 | Put in stitches | SEW |
| 43 | Skye of 2025’s “Anaconda” | IONE |
| 44 | Piano practice piece | ETUDE |
| 45 | Blown away | AWED |
| 47 | Winds down | CEASES |
| 48 | “I need to slip into something more comfortable” | BEDTIMESTORY |
| 53 | Larsson who wrote “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” | STIEG |
| 54 | Tyke | TOT |
| 55 | Medical provider grps. | HMOS |
| 59 | Cubs outfielder Happ | IAN |
| 60 | “I love trash!” | OSCARSPEECH |
| 64 | Cutting comment | DIG |
| 65 | Lieutenant on the Enterprise | UHURA |
| 66 | Make an address | ORATE |
| 67 | Chicago trains | ELS |
| 68 | Saw things? | TEETH |
| 69 | City known for its salami | GENOA |
Down
| # | Clue | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prunes | LOPS |
| 2 | Pound of poems | EZRA |
| 3 | Enter | GOIN |
| 4 | Buy shares of, say | INVESTIN |
| 5 | Boba or chai, e.g. | TEA |
| 6 | Bestselling author Binchy | MAEVE |
| 7 | Major metals manufacturer | ALCOA |
| 8 | Shout from Homer | DOH |
| 9 | Santa ___ winds | ANA |
| 10 | Item in a shower | METEOR |
| 11 | Forehead concealer | BANGS |
| 12 | Dip for fries in a gastropub | AIOLI |
| 13 | Person who might put you in a spot | ADREP |
| 18 | Diamond protector | TARP |
| 23 | Pompous person | ASS |
| 25 | Shakespeare sprite | PUCK |
| 26 | Like gelato | DOLCE |
| 27 | Trusted teacher | GURU |
| 28 | Game callers | REFS |
| 29 | Raison d’___ | ETRE |
| 30 | “Pygmalion” playwright | SHAW |
| 33 | Phone flash part | DIODE |
| 34 | ID on IRS forms | SSN |
| 35 | Name chosen by twelve popes | PIUS |
| 36 | Came by horse | RODE |
| 37 | Change for a five | ONES |
| 39 | Carpe ___ | DIEM |
| 40 | Cassandra, e.g. | SEER |
| 41 | “Don’t move!” | STAYHERE |
| 45 | Put away | ATE |
| 46 | Freak | WIGOUT |
| 47 | Barracks sights | COTS |
| 48 | Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” e.g. | BSIDE |
| 49 | Amazon and Etsy biz | ETAIL |
| 50 | Used car features, often | DINGS |
| 51 | Kick off | START |
| 52 | It consists of five books | TORAH |
| 56 | Average | MEAN |
| 57 | Twice quadri- | OCTO |
| 58 | Former home of the Mets | SHEA |
| 61 | ___/her pronouns | SHE |
| 62 | Word with card or stick | CUE |
| 63 | Excellent, in Twitch slang | POG |
Today's WSJ Crossword answers
Today's solution appears above, laid out clue by clue — every Across answer followed by every Down answer, exactly as the grid reads. Because a full crossword shares so many crossings, one wrong letter can block a whole corner, so we list each answer separately: reveal only the one you need and keep solving the rest yourself. The grid is confirmed and refreshed daily as soon as the puzzle is published.
What is the WSJ Crossword?
The Wall Street Journal Crossword is the paper's daily puzzle, free to play at wsj.com/games/crosswords with no subscription needed. Edited by Mike Shenk, it runs a classic American 15×15 through the week and a larger themed grid at the end of it. The house style is polished and fair rather than punishing — plenty of wordplay, a recognisable business and finance streak in the cluing, and themes that reward spotting the trick early. That combination has made it one of the most-solved daily crosswords in the country, and the reason solvers so often want just one answer confirmed without seeing the rest of the grid.
The Friday contest crossword
The WSJ's best-known quirk is its Friday contest puzzle, or “meta.” Solving the grid is only step one: the finished puzzle hides a further answer — a word or phrase you have to extract from it — which you then submit as your contest entry. Because entries stay open until Sunday night, the Journal doesn't publish the solution until the contest closes, so a freshly-released contest grid genuinely has no answers available anywhere yet. We publish the full grid on this page as soon as the WSJ releases it, which means contest days fill in a few days after the puzzle first appears.
How the WSJ Crossword compares to other dailies
It shares the same 15×15 shape as the other big American dailies, with its own voice and cadence:
| WSJ | NYT (main) | Washington Post | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid size | 15×15 (larger end of week) | 15×15 (21×21 Sunday) | 15×15 (larger Sunday) |
| Difficulty | Fair, polished | Ramps to a hard Saturday | Accessible, fair |
| Cost | Free online | Games subscription | Free online |
| Signature | Friday contest meta | Thursday rebus tricks | Conversational themes |
Tips for solving the WSJ Crossword
- Read the title. WSJ puzzles are titled, and the title is a genuine hint at the theme — often the fastest way into the long answers.
- Expect the business angle. Market, company and finance references show up more here than at other papers, so lean into them when a clue feels ambiguous.
- Start with the fill-in-the-blanks. They're the quickest points and flood the grid with crossing letters.
- On contest Fridays, watch the theme entries. The meta answer is usually extracted from them, so they repay a second look once the grid is full.
- Use the solver for one answer. Our crossword solver reveals a single clue's answer from your known letters, without spoiling the rest.
Browse past WSJ Crossword answers
Every previous WSJ Crossword is archived on this page by date, with its full across and down solutions — handy for checking yesterday's grid or one you set aside. The archive updates automatically each day, so it stays complete without spoiling the current day. Stuck on a single clue, our crossword solver will reveal just that answer.
Browse more puzzles on the crossword solver, or use it to crack any clue from any publication.
Frequently asked questions
What are today's WSJ Crossword answers?
The full Across and Down solution for today's puzzle (July 27, 2026) is listed at the top of this page, updated as soon as the Wall Street Journal releases it.
Is the WSJ Crossword free?
Yes — the Journal's daily crossword is free to play at wsj.com/games/crosswords without a subscription, and our answers and clues are free too.
What is the WSJ Friday contest crossword?
Every Friday the WSJ runs a contest (meta) puzzle: you solve the grid, then extract a hidden word or phrase from it and submit that as your entry. The contest stays open until Sunday night, so the Journal withholds the solution until it closes — we publish the full grid here as soon as it does.
How hard is the WSJ Crossword?
It's a fair, polished 15×15 midweek with a larger themed grid at the end of the week. Editor Mike Shenk keeps the cluing clean rather than brutal, so it's generally friendlier than a late-week NYT while still leaning on business and finance references.
Where can I find past WSJ Crossword answers?
Every previous puzzle is in the archive on this page, listed by date with full solutions, updated automatically each day.