Games

Today's crossword: a medium-difficulty grid from Catherine Young

A 15x15 puzzle with a theme linking five words via the same three-letter prefix, plus solving tips and access to the archive.

By Wendell Ochoa · July 10, 2026

Today's crossword puzzle is a 15x15 grid of medium difficulty, constructed by Catherine Young, a longtime contributor to the Pioneer Valley Gazette. This puzzle features a mix of common crossword tropes and fresh cluing angles, making it accessible to beginners while offering some satisfying wordplay for experienced solvers.

Puzzle Information

Grid Size: 15x15 squares
Difficulty Level: Medium
Constructor: Catherine Young
Theme: Five words that can all be preceded by the same three-letter word

Sample Clues

Across

1. Breakfast grain (5 letters)
6. Computer key (3 letters)
9. River in France (5 letters)
14. Actress Ryan (4 letters)
15. Cozy retreat (3 letters)
16. Feeling of joy (4 letters)
24. Cooking vessel (3 letters)
31. Exclamation of surprise (3 letters)
38. New York baseball team (4 letters)
42. Maple product (5 letters)

Down

2. Heavy metal (4 letters)
3. British exclamation (4 letters)
4. Flower part (5 letters)
7. Singing voice (6 letters)
11. Common car brand (5 letters)
18. Ocean mammal (5 letters)
25. Biblical garden (4 letters)
33. Opposite of cold (3 letters)
37. Frozen dessert (5 letters)
40. Consume food (3 letters)

Solving Tips

If you get stuck, remember that the theme can provide helpful hints. All five theme answers share a common prefix, so once you identify one, you can work backward to find the others. Look for short, high-frequency words like THE, AND, or FOR as entry points into the grid. Don't overlook abbreviations and proper nouns—they're fair game in crosswords. And if you're really stuck on a clue, try working the perpendicular answers instead.

A complete answer key will be published online tomorrow morning and in print in Sunday's edition. For access to our full crossword archive, including puzzles from the past two years, visit pioneervalleygazette.com/crosswords. You can also download our crossword app to solve on your phone or tablet.