A different practice route each day

Clue Clinic · August 29, 2026

Today's set is organized by how each clue works, with the largest round focused on language tricks. Reveal any answer immediately or use its tailored cue first.

10 meaning warm-up · 13 language tricks · 3 short forms · 6 knowledge clues

Meaning warm-up

Direct definitions and familiar senses to establish the day's solving rhythm.

10 clues
01
Crossword clue · 5 letters

Wordle and Scrabble, for two

Meaning cue

Use the five-letter plural category for activities such as Wordle and Scrabble.

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02
Crossword clue · 9 letters

Dubious sighting in the night sky

Meaning cue

Use a nine-letter two-word term for a supposed extraterrestrial craft.

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03
Direct definition · 6 letters

Unstressed vowel sounds

Meaning cue

Use the six-letter plural term for reduced mid-central vowel sounds often written with /ə/.

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07
Crossword clue · 8 letters

Contributes to

Meaning cue

Use an eight-letter three-word phrase for joining someone else in paying or participating.

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10
Crossword clue · 9 letters

Inverse of an exponential function

Meaning cue

Think of the operation that asks which exponent produced the given result.

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Language tricks

Punctuation, double meanings, and clue turns that reward a second look.

13 clues
19
Crossword clue · 9 letters

Large restaurant vessel shaped like another vessel

What to notice

Think of a nine-letter restaurant platter whose name describes its nautical shape.

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Short forms

Abbreviations, informal usage, and compact entries whose form is part of the solve.

3 clues

Knowledge clues

Names, titles, places, and facts where one precise detail confirms the fill.

6 clues
27
Fact clue · 7 letters

The University of Michigan has the largest one in the U.S., seating over 107,000 people

Identity cue

Name the seven-letter kind of venue nicknamed the Big House in Ann Arbor.

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28
Name or title · 5 letters

Skin-care brand known for its pore strips

Identity cue

The five-letter brand name ends in E and is commonly written with an accent on that final letter.

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