Pattern
Words Before
Each clue can sit in front of the answer to make a familiar word or phrase. The answer is the shared second part.
Example. Playing, Greeting, and Report all come before Card. The answer is Card: playing card, greeting card, report card.
How Words Before works
Recognition guide
Words Before puzzles feel like fill-in-the-blank until the blank stops moving. Try saying your candidate out loud after each clue. If four clues sound natural and the fifth sounds invented, the candidate is wrong.
Most answers here are short and common: card, work, house, light, board. Long or technical answers almost never work in this pattern, so do not force a rare word just because it fits one clever clue.
Matching puzzles
Puzzles using Words Before
Solve these cold first, then compare your reasoning with the explanation on each page.
| # | Date | Category | Difficulty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 912 | Oct 29, 2026 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 891 | Oct 08, 2026 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 880 | Sep 27, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 872 | Sep 19, 2026 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 871 | Sep 18, 2026 | Places | medium | Open |
| 868 | Sep 15, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 865 | Sep 12, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 862 | Sep 09, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 858 | Sep 05, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 856 | Sep 03, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 838 | Aug 16, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 822 | Jul 31, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 808 | Jul 17, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 799 | Jul 08, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 793 | Jul 02, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 787 | Jun 26, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 780 | Jun 19, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 773 | Jun 12, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 768 | Jun 07, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 767 | Jun 06, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 765 | Jun 04, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 760 | May 30, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 752 | May 22, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 746 | May 16, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 730 | Apr 30, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 717 | Apr 17, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 712 | Apr 12, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 710 | Apr 10, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 702 | Apr 02, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 690 | Mar 21, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 688 | Mar 19, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 684 | Mar 15, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 681 | Mar 12, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 678 | Mar 09, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 661 | Feb 20, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 639 | Jan 29, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 633 | Jan 23, 2026 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 632 | Jan 22, 2026 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 625 | Jan 15, 2026 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 601 | Dec 22, 2025 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 597 | Dec 18, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 588 | Dec 09, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 574 | Nov 25, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 545 | Oct 27, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 543 | Oct 25, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 542 | Oct 24, 2025 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 540 | Oct 22, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 538 | Oct 20, 2025 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 537 | Oct 19, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 532 | Oct 14, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 530 | Oct 12, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 527 | Oct 09, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 525 | Oct 07, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 519 | Oct 01, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 514 | Sep 26, 2025 | Wordplay | medium | Open |
| 507 | Sep 19, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 498 | Sep 10, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 491 | Sep 03, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 468 | Aug 11, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 460 | Aug 03, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 454 | Jul 28, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 450 | Jul 24, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 446 | Jul 20, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 441 | Jul 15, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 438 | Jul 12, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 416 | Jun 20, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 396 | May 31, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
| 388 | May 23, 2025 | Wordplay | easy | Open |
Related on this site
Study this shape further
The eight patterns, named
A recognition lesson covering every pattern page on this site.
How the five clues are built
Why clue order feels deceptive and how to re-rank it in your head.
Flip the lens: categories
Same puzzles, different question: what is this round about.
Difficulty levels
See how hard each twist lands across the database.
Today's puzzle
Test the pattern you just studied on the live round.