WSJ Crossword Answers (August 2026)

You’ve reached the full answer key for today’s Wall Street Journal crossword. If you only need one square unstuck, don’t scroll. Use the interactive grid at the top of the page instead. Tap any numbered cell and its answer reveals on its own, so you can fix a single stubborn corner and keep the rest of the puzzle to yourself. 

Prefer to scan? The Across and Down lists sit right beside the grid, each clue paired with its answer, so you can jump straight to the one that’s got you stuck. And because a crossword shares so many crossings, we list each entry separately on purpose. One wrong letter shouldn’t cost you a whole section.

Everything on this page reflects today’s official puzzle and updates the moment the new grid goes live.

About the Wall Street Journal Crossword

The WSJ crossword runs Monday through Friday as a standard American 15×15 grid, with a larger 21×21 puzzle on the weekend edition. Like most daily crosswords, it eases you in early in the week and tightens the screws as the days go on. Monday tends to be the friendliest and the puzzles grow trickier toward Friday.

Friday is also where the WSJ does its signature trick: the contest puzzle, better known as the “meta.” Solving the grid is only step one. The finished puzzle hides a second answer( a word or phrase you have to tease out of the completed grid) which solvers then submit as a contest entry. It’s the paper’s best-known quirk and a favorite among people who like puzzle after puzzle.

The crossword has been edited by Mike Shenk since 1998. Shenk, a longtime constructor and one of the most respected names in the field, sets a house style that leans polished and fair rather than punishing: lots of wordplay, a recognizable business-and-finance streak in the cluing and themes that reward spotting the trick early. Individual puzzles are built by a rotating roster of guest constructors, with Shenk editing (and sometimes constructing) throughout. That mix is a big part of why it’s become one of the most-solved daily crosswords in the country.

Is it Hard to Solve WSJ Crossword? These Are the Steps You must follow

A few habits make the WSJ noticeably easier without spoiling the fun. None of these hand you the answers. They just help you find them faster on your own.

Start With the Fill-in-the-Blanks

Clues like “___ avis” or “Das Herz pumps it” usually have one obvious answer and they’re the quickest points on the board. Every letter you lock in early gives you free crossings elsewhere. Therefore, knock these out first and build outward from what you already know.

Crack the Theme Early

Most WSJ dailies are built around a central idea and the longest answers are almost always the theme entries. Figure out the trick behind one and the pattern often hands you the others. The puzzle’s title, when there is one, is frequently a clue to the theme itself.

Lean on the Short Crosses

When a long answer won’t come, the three- and four-letter words crossing it will. Get a couple of those letters in place and the big entry frequently reveals itself. Short fill is the WSJ’s most reliable foothold, so work the crossings when a marquee answer stalls.

Mind the Week’s Difficulty Curve

The WSJ eases you in on Monday and tightens the screws toward Friday. If a Tuesday clue feels brutal, you may be overthinking it. If a Friday clue feels too easy, double-check for a twist. Calibrating to the day keeps you from second-guessing a fair answer.

Use the Grid When You’re Truly Stuck

When a corner just won’t budge, that’s what the interactive grid above is for. Reveal a single letter, get your foothold back, and finish the rest yourself, no need to spoil the whole puzzle over one square.

Past WSJ Crossword Answers: How can I find Them

Missed a day or checked a puzzle from earlier in the week? Use the date picker at the top of the page to pull up any previous WSJ crossword. Every past grid is archived with its complete Across and Down solutions, exactly as it appeared. Just choose the date and the full solved puzzle loads.

How We Keep WSJ Answers Accurate

Every set of answers here is checked against the official puzzle after it is published in the Wall Street Journal, then posted. We don’t guess ahead of release or work from leaks. Solutions go up once the real grid is live and each entry is verified clue by clue against the published puzzle. If the WSJ issues a correction, we update to match. Our goal is simple: when you check an answer here, you can trust it’s the one that actually ran.

WSJ Crossword FAQ

What days is the WSJ crossword published?

Six days a week. A 15×15 daily runs Monday through Friday, and a larger 21×21 puzzle appears in the weekend edition. The puzzle usually skips major holidays.

Is the WSJ crossword free?

Yes. You can play it for free at wsj.com’s games section without a paid subscription — one of the few marquee daily crosswords that doesn’t sit behind a paywall.

What’s the hardest WSJ crossword day?

Like most dailies, difficulty climbs through the week, so Friday is generally the toughest of the standard grids. Friday is also the contest (“meta”) puzzle, which adds an extra layer beyond just filling the grid.

Where can I see yesterday’s WSJ answers?

Use the date picker at the top of this page and select the date you want. Every recent puzzle is archived with its full solution.

What is the Friday meta puzzle?

The meta is the WSJ’s contest crossword. After you solve the grid normally, there’s a hidden second answer (a word or phrase concealed in the completed puzzle) that you extract and submit as your contest entry. It’s a puzzle within the puzzle and the WSJ’s signature feature.