WSJ Crossword Answers - Jul 28

Bird Is the Word

By Jay Silverman · Edited by Mike Shenk

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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. Like a phone at 0% — Answer: DEAD. Hint: Totally drained and out of juice 📱
5. Fortunate — Answer: LUCKY. Hint: Blessed by good fortune and smiling outcomes 🍀
10. How children might describe dad jokes — Answer: LAME. Hint: A kid might roll their eyes and call these painfully corny 😬
14. Cockney greeting — Answer: ELLO. Hint: A casual London hello, minus the first sound 👋
15. Ladybug prey — Answer: APHID. Hint: Tiny sap-suckers that make a ladybug’s lunch 🐞
16. From the thrift shop, say — Answer: USED. Hint: Like something that’s had a previous owner 🛍️
17. Good competitor? — Answer: EVIL. Hint: A rival who really plays dirty 😈
18. Mortarboard flingers — Answer: GRADS. Hint: They’re the ones tossing caps at graduation 🎓
19. Really small — Answer: MINI. Hint: Tiny in size, like a pocket-sized version of the real thing 😊
20. Summer genre — Answer: DISCO. Hint: Groovy dance music that ruled the hottest nights 🌞
22. Like 1999 but not 2000 — Answer: ODD. Hint: The year that feels a little off-kilter compared with its partner in the pair 😏
23. Teasing tribute — Answer: ROAST. Hint: A playful salute that pokes a little fun at the guest of honor 🔥
24. Audiophile’s investment — Answer: STEREO. Hint: What a music lover might splurge on for better sound at home 🎶
26. “Lemme! Lemme!” — Answer: IWANNA. Hint: A pleading little chant for permission, if you’re begging to get your way. 🙏
28. FBI staffer — Answer: AGT. Hint: A bureau regular who helps keep the case moving along 🕵️
29. Speech stumbles — Answer: ERS. Hint: A tiny trio of sounds that can slip out when a sentence goes off track 😅
30. Places that draw crowds — Answer: MECCAS. Hint: They’re the go-to spots everyone seems drawn to like magnets 🎯
33. African expanse — Answer: SAHARA. Hint: Vast desert stretching across North Africa 🌵
37. Glover of “Atlanta” — Answer: DONALD. Hint: A certain comedian-rapper wears this last name on his credits and on his music. 🎭
38. Word on old maps of China — Answer: PEKING. Hint: A classic old-school name for China’s capital shows up on vintage maps 🗺️
40. Confuse — Answer: ADDLE. Hint: Make someone’s brains feel a bit scrambled 🥴
41. Do the wrong thing — Answer: ERR. Hint: Make a mistake instead of hitting the mark 😅
44. Hardly form-fitting — Answer: SAGGY. Hint: A little loose and droopy, like clothes that have given up the fight 😅
45. Early auto make — Answer: REO. Hint: A once-popular car brand from the dawn of motoring 🚗
46. Noteworthy — Answer: SALIENT. Hint: Standing out enough to catch everyone’s eye 👀
49. “I’m With ___” (2016 campaign slogan) — Answer: HER. Hint: A rallying cry that backed a woman in the presidential race 👩
50. Warning letters on some racy forwards — Answer: NSFW. Hint: A common online warning for content you probably shouldn’t open at work 📎
52. Goalie’s goals — Answer: SAVES. Hint: What a keeper prevents from going in the net ⚽
53. Houston player, informally — Answer: STRO. Hint: A nickname for the Astros’ city squad’s shortstop? ⚾
54. Metaphorical component of being organized, and what’s found three times in this grid — Answer: DUCKSINAROW. Hint: Like keeping your life tidy in a very particular line, and this phrase is hidden three times here 🦆
57. Millipede maker — Answer: ATARI. Hint: Old-school arcade name behind a hundred-legged classic 🕹️
59. New Year in Hanoi — Answer: TET. Hint: Vietnam’s lunar New Year celebration brings the city alive 🎉
60. Antipasto bit — Answer: OLIVE. Hint: A little briny bite that often shows up before the main course 😋
63. Lovers’ rendezvous — Answer: TRYST. Hint: A secret romantic meeting away from prying eyes 💕
64. Rage — Answer: IRE. Hint: A sharp burst of anger fits this old-fashioned word for fury. 😠
65. Actor’s delivery — Answer: LINES. Hint: What an actor says on stage, not how they say it 🎭
66. Difficult to make out — Answer: MISTY. Hint: Like looking through a fogged-up window 🌫️
67. Vacation rental — Answer: CAR. Hint: A place you might book for a getaway on wheels 🚗
68. Beats by a whisker — Answer: EDGES. Hint: Wins narrowly, like a photo finish at the track 🐎

Down

1. Electric Company card, e.g. — Answer: DEED. Hint: A little legal slip of paper proving who owns the place 📄
2. Much-impersonated entertainer — Answer: ELVIS. Hint: The King of rock ’n’ roll was a magnet for imitators. 🎤
3. Met Gala guests, e.g. — Answer: ALIST. Hint: The kind of crowd that gets the red carpet buzzing ✨
4. Gabbana’s partner in fashion — Answer: DOLCE. Hint: Think of the other half of the famous Italian design duo 🍬
5. Annoyance in some gaming — Answer: LAG. Hint: The kind of delay that makes a game feel a beat behind 😅
6. Displaces — Answer: UPROOTS. Hint: Knocks something from its place, as if pulling it out by the roots 🌱
7. Landlocked African country — Answer: CHAD. Hint: A small central African nation that shares its name with a famously uncool guy 😎
8. Little ones — Answer: KIDDIES. Hint: A playful word for tiny children running around the house 👶
9. LPGA measures — Answer: YDS. Hint: Golf stats often come in this unit on the scorecard ⛳
10. Company in “Severance” — Answer: LUMON. Hint: The mysterious workplace behind the mind-splitting drama is the one you’re after 🏢
11. Indian or Indonesian — Answer: ASIAN. Hint: A person from a huge continent stretching from the Middle East to the Pacific 🌏
12. High-IQ crew — Answer: MENSA. Hint: Brainy club with a famously selective membership list 🧠
13. Polish prose — Answer: EDIT. Hint: What writers do before anything gets published ✍️
21. Infallible authorities — Answer: ORACLES. Hint: Wise voices people consulted for sure guidance in ancient times 🔮
23. Most impulsive — Answer: RASHEST. Hint: A superlative for the most rash, like acting before thinking 🤭
25. “Zounds!” — Answer: EGAD. Hint: An old-fashioned cry of surprise, fit for a Victorian drama. 😲
27. Finish filming — Answer: WRAP. Hint: Call it a day once the cameras stop rolling 🎬
30. Techniques — Answer: MODES. Hint: Ways of doing things, in more than one style 🎛️
31. 1999 film with Gabriel Byrne as Satan — Answer: ENDOFDAYS. Hint: Apocalyptic action flick where Schwarzenegger battles the Devil himself 🔥
32. Ripken of baseball fame — Answer: CAL. Hint: Think of the Iron Man Hall of Famer whose first name is a simple nickname for a California classic. ⚾
34. Alias letters — Answer: AKA. Hint: This abbreviation is often used to introduce a different name or title! 🕵️‍♂️
35. Gordie Howe’s position — Answer: RIGHTWING. Hint: A hockey spot for a legend who loved the boards ⚡
36. Rage — Answer: ANGER. Hint: A hot-headed feeling that bubbles up when you’re really mad 🔥
37. “Bummer!” — Answer: DARN. Hint: A mild word you might blurt when something goes sideways 😣
39. Sandwich topped with tzatziki — Answer: GYRO. Hint: A handheld Greek favorite that’s usually piled high with savory meat and cool sauce 🥙
41. Adaptable — Answer: ELASTIC. Hint: Bends without breaking and stretches to fit many situations 🧩
42. Cannes setting — Answer: RIVIERA. Hint: French coastline glamour where movie stars go to soak up the sun 🌴
43. Come back from space, say — Answer: REENTER. Hint: Return from orbit, for instance, with a second go-around 🚀
47. Stop wondering, maybe — Answer: ASK. Hint: A polite way to make a question instead of just mulling it over 🤔
48. Org. with a cryptologic museum — Answer: NSA. Hint: Spy agency with a museum full of code-breaking history 🕵️
51. Oktoberfest fare — Answer: WURST. Hint: A classic brat’s German cousin often shows up with beer 🍺
53. Well-built — Answer: SOLID. Hint: Firm, dependable, and not easy to shake off balance 💪
55. Washington or Lincoln — Answer: CITY. Hint: A famous place-name can share this label with a president, but it’s also a type of settlement 😊
56. Part of a picture? — Answer: ROLE. Hint: A performer’s job can be one part they play in the bigger picture 🎭
57. Source of bills — Answer: ATM. Hint: Cash dispenser at the bank, for when your wallet needs a refill 💵
58. Ironman contest, familiarly — Answer: TRI. Hint: A grueling endurance race, cut down to its nickname form 🏊
61. Migratory formation — Answer: VEE. Hint: A classic wedge shape for flying birds on the move 🐦
62. Mountain road shape — Answer: ESS. Hint: A zigzag on the map can look just like this little mountain path. 🏔️

Here are the WSJ Crossword answers for Tuesday, July 28, 2026 — every solution for that day's Wall Street Journal puzzle, listed at the top of this page. Whether you're catching up on a puzzle you missed, settling a “what was the answer on July 28?” question, or checking a grid you finished that day, the complete clue-by-clue solution is right here. Looking for today's puzzle instead? Head to our live WSJ Crossword answers page.

WSJ Crossword answers for July 28, 2026

The full solution for the July 28 WSJ Crossword is shown above, laid out clue by clue — every Across answer followed by every Down answer, exactly as that day's grid read. Each answer is listed separately, so you can check just the clue you were stuck on and leave the rest. This is the confirmed grid as published on Tuesday, July 28.

Full WSJ Crossword answer list for July 28, 2026

Every clue from the July 28 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	Like a phone at 0%	DEAD
5	Fortunate	LUCKY
10	How children might describe dad jokes	LAME
14	Cockney greeting	ELLO
15	Ladybug prey	APHID
16	From the thrift shop, say	USED
17	Good competitor?	EVIL
18	Mortarboard flingers	GRADS
19	Really small	MINI
20	Summer genre	DISCO
22	Like 1999 but not 2000	ODD
23	Teasing tribute	ROAST
24	Audiophile’s investment	STEREO
26	“Lemme! Lemme!”	IWANNA
28	FBI staffer	AGT
29	Speech stumbles	ERS
30	Places that draw crowds	MECCAS
33	African expanse	SAHARA
37	Glover of “Atlanta”	DONALD
38	Word on old maps of China	PEKING
40	Confuse	ADDLE
41	Do the wrong thing	ERR
44	Hardly form-fitting	SAGGY
45	Early auto make	REO
46	Noteworthy	SALIENT
49	“I’m With ___” (2016 campaign slogan)	HER
50	Warning letters on some racy forwards	NSFW
52	Goalie’s goals	SAVES
53	Houston player, informally	STRO
54	Metaphorical component of being organized, and what’s found three times in this grid	DUCKSINAROW
57	Millipede maker	ATARI
59	New Year in Hanoi	TET
60	Antipasto bit	OLIVE
63	Lovers’ rendezvous	TRYST
64	Rage	IRE
65	Actor’s delivery	LINES
66	Difficult to make out	MISTY
67	Vacation rental	CAR
68	Beats by a whisker	EDGES

Down

#	Clue	Answer
1	Electric Company card, e.g.	DEED
2	Much-impersonated entertainer	ELVIS
3	Met Gala guests, e.g.	ALIST
4	Gabbana’s partner in fashion	DOLCE
5	Annoyance in some gaming	LAG
6	Displaces	UPROOTS
7	Landlocked African country	CHAD
8	Little ones	KIDDIES
9	LPGA measures	YDS
10	Company in “Severance”	LUMON
11	Indian or Indonesian	ASIAN
12	High-IQ crew	MENSA
13	Polish prose	EDIT
21	Infallible authorities	ORACLES
23	Most impulsive	RASHEST
25	“Zounds!”	EGAD
27	Finish filming	WRAP
30	Techniques	MODES
31	1999 film with Gabriel Byrne as Satan	ENDOFDAYS
32	Ripken of baseball fame	CAL
34	Alias letters	AKA
35	Gordie Howe’s position	RIGHTWING
36	Rage	ANGER
37	“Bummer!”	DARN
39	Sandwich topped with tzatziki	GYRO
41	Adaptable	ELASTIC
42	Cannes setting	RIVIERA
43	Come back from space, say	REENTER
47	Stop wondering, maybe	ASK
48	Org. with a cryptologic museum	NSA
51	Oktoberfest fare	WURST
53	Well-built	SOLID
55	Washington or Lincoln	CITY
56	Part of a picture?	ROLE
57	Source of bills	ATM
58	Ironman contest, familiarly	TRI
61	Migratory formation	VEE
62	Mountain road shape	ESS

Hints for the July 28 puzzle

Not ready for the full answer? Here are lighter, spoiler-free nudges for that day's grid, above the solutions. The July 28 Wall Street Journal Crossword was a Tuesday puzzle, which matters more than it does at most papers: the WSJ runs a clean 15×15 midweek, a larger themed grid at the end of the week, and a Friday contest puzzle whose real answer hides inside the finished grid. Editor Mike Shenk keeps the cluing fair rather than punishing, so a stuck corner usually breaks open on one confirmed crossing. Use the hints for the trickiest clues, then reveal the answers above only if you need them.

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Frequently asked questions

What were the WSJ Crossword answers on July 28, 2026?

Every answer for the Tuesday, July 28, 2026 Wall Street Journal Crossword is listed at the top of this page — the confirmed grid as published that day.

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