WSJ Crossword Contest October 9 2026 Answers (10/9/26)

Here are all of the answers to today's Wall Street Journal Crossword Contest puzzle for October 9 2026 to help you finish it up!

Our WSJ Crossword October 9, 2026 answers guide should help you finish today’s crossword if you’ve found yourself stuck on a crossword clue. The Wall Street Journal Crossword is a well-known and respected puzzle that appeals to solvers looking for a challenging and thought-provoking experience. The puzzles are created by a team of skilled constructors and are known for their clever clues, intricate wordplay, and challenging themes. The WSJ Crossword is published daily and offers solvers the opportunity to exercise their minds while enjoying a classic form of entertainment.

WSJ Crossword October 9, 2026 Answers

If you need help solving the WSJ Crossword on 10/9/26, we’ve listed all of the crossword clues below so you can find the answer(s) you need. You can search for the clue and then select the appropriate clue to get the answer. We have done it this way so that if you’re just looking for a handful of clues, you won’t spoil other ones you’re working on!

Looking for answers to another WSJ Crossword puzzle? Check out our archive of WSJ Crossword Answers. Our WSJ Crossword Hints for October 9, 2026 are also available if you prefer not to be immediately spoiled.

About the date: The Wall Street Journal now publishes each crossword online the afternoon before it runs in the print edition, so WSJ's site may list this Crossword Contest puzzle under Thursday, October 8. We go by the print date, Friday, October 9, 2026, since that's the date most solvers know it by. The date at the top of this page is when we posted these answers.

WSJ Crossword Contest Meta Answer

Friday's WSJ puzzle is the weekly Crossword Contest. Filling in the grid is only the first step: the puzzle's instructions point to a hidden "meta" answer, found by spotting a pattern in the completed grid, and that answer is what solvers submit to the WSJ before the weekend deadline. Our answer below is unofficial until the WSJ confirms it after the contest closes.

This week's puzzle: Endless Discussion
Instructions: The answer to this week’s contest crossword is a four-letter word.

Meta answer: LONG

How it works: 'Endless' = strip the ends (first and last letter) from each word of the four 10-letter theme entries. What remains is a new word: EMERY CLOTH -> MER+LOT = MERLOT; FAIRY RINGS -> AIR+ING = AIRING; CRAZY HORSE -> RAZ+ORS = RAZORS; SPADE PRESS -> PAD+RES = PADRES. Each of those words appears in another entry's clue: 'Merlot vat waste' = LEES (3D), 'Airing' = ONTV (19A), 'Razors may make them' = NICKS (31D), 'Padres Hall of Famer Tony' = GWYNN (52A). The first letters of those four entries, in grid order (which is also the theme-entry order), spell LONG - a fitting description of an endless discussion.

Search
# Clue
1A Bold poker bet
6A Handle hard times
10A Novel on which “Clueless” is based
14A “___ Evil”: (1971 Mia Farrow movie)
15A Rock great Clapton
16A Pacer pace
17A Metal-polishing material
19A Airing
20A Considered intrinsically
21A Four duos
23A Elite Navy group
26A Anvil site
27A Utterance from Homer
29A Circles of mushrooms thought to be magical in folklore
34A Arg. neighbor
35A Sicilian peak
36A Chapel topper
37A Zealous
39A Goes under
41A Do a checkout chore
42A “On the Beach” author Shute
44A Diamond with many hits
45A Set of tools
46A Lakota leader at Little Bighorn
48A “Tic Tac Dough” channel, familiarly
49A Where the wild things are
50A Hardly trustworthy
52A Padres Hall of Famer Tony
54A Rum cocktail
58A Apple Intelligence assistance
59A Old wool-packing tool resembling a shovel
63A Secluded area
64A Keep out of sight
65A Suffer defeat, slangily
66A Pixar’s Dory is a blue one
67A Campus south of Golden Gate Pk.
68A Flea market business
1D Between ports
2D NASA landed six of them on the moon
3D Merlot vat waste
4D Sudden arrival
5D “The Quiet American” director Phillip
6D Animation collectible
7D Material for los doblones
8D Quarry
9D Like caves and canyons
10D Bouts of self-indulgence
11D Lion’s pride
12D Aid for working at home
13D Dirt bike’s cousin
18D Gets exasperated
22D Train units
24D Like many Telemundo viewers
25D Oscar-nominated 2025 film
27D Capital founded by William Penn
28D Twins Hall of Famer Tony
30D Devil-may-care
31D Razors may make them
32D Wood feature
33D Dispatched
34D Perch in le parc
38D Like many op art posters
40D Sordid stuff
43D Largest city on the Rhône
47D Osaka’s island
48D Juicer, maybe
51D Airheads
52D River to the Colorado
53D Carolina singer
55D Still buggy, perhaps
56D “God ___ the details”
57D Cornerstone abbr.
58D USMC rank
60D Snap
61D Streaming interruptions
62D Dict. snippet

More WSJ Crossword Answers

If you’re looking for solutions from other puzzles, check out:

You can also browse our full WSJ Crossword Answers archive for even more puzzles!

The WSJ Crossword is a daily crossword puzzle that is published in The Wall Street Journal newspaper and on its website. The puzzle is known for its challenging difficulty level, clever wordplay, and witty themes.

WSJ Crossword
Imaged via WSJ Crossword

The WSJ Crossword was first introduced in 2008, and has since become a popular source of entertainment and mental stimulation for crossword enthusiasts around the world. The puzzle is created by a team of experienced crossword constructors, who are known for their creativity and skill in the field of crossword puzzles.

WSJ Crossword
Image via Wall Street Journal

One of the unique features of the WSJ Crossword is its emphasis on finance and business-related themes. The puzzle often includes clues and answers related to the world of economics, investing, and business news.

If you’ve enjoyed this crossword, consider playing one of the other popular crosswords we cover, including: New York Times Crossword (and Mini), Daily Themed Crossword (and Mini), LA Times Crossword, and USA Today Crossword.

Christine Mielke

Christine Mielke

Christine Mielke has been an avid fan of word games and puzzles for over two decades. She loves to unscramble words, challenge herself to crossword puzzles and try out the latest word games. As a published author and database architect, it was natural for her to take her love for all things word games to the next level!

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