Extra Word Sudoku (Paraprosdokian Sudoku!) Puzzles for Tuesday, April 21, 2026

I gather each morning with friends at the local coffee shop to solve the world's problems (only to completely forget those obviously easy solutions before we each get back home). We laugh; we whine; sometimes we mourn those who leave us. So: We live, in easy companionship.

One member of this coffee cabinet, Scott, remembers jokes. Many jokes. Seemingly all jokes. I don't know how. He had me choking on my coffee yesterday morning, with a pun that fits right in with my weekend theme of paraprosdokians—jokes that start you off in one direction, and then make you double back and reconsider what you thought you heard.

Here's the joke, in two parts: The setup, and then the rejoinder, complete with (hopefully unexpected) twist. Enjoy!

FIDGET
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

BACKER
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

HYMN
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

PLOW
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid to spell out the quote

SPYING
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

COBALT
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

DRUM
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

THEW
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid to spell out the quote

Solution tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Tuesday, 4/21/2026

HEN LOT + SIX
9x9 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and 3x3 square contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells down the diagonal

Solution first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to Monday's Word Sudoku Puzzles

Yesterday's 4x4 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in ET + IX (EXIT) and the 6x6 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in LEA + SIX (ALEXIS).

More puzzles in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Monday, 4/20/2026

ET + IX
4x4 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and 2x2 square contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells out in the shaded cells

LEA + SIX
6x6 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and 2x3 rectangle contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells down the diagonal

Solutions first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to the Sunday (Did you hear?) Sudoku Puzzles

Yesterday’s Qudoku puzzle set spelled out a Did you hear? joke.

Did you hear about …

New puzzles in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku (Did you hear?) Puzzles for Sunday, 4/19/2026

Did you hear about the sandwich who went to the doctor? He visited the mayo clinic.

A Did you hear? joke is really a bad Dad joke in disguise. The badder, the better! Every other Sunday in 2026, I'll challenge you to groan even louder.

FABRIC
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once

DEPUTY
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once

HOWL
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid

Did you hear about …

HEMP
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once

KILT
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once

GNAW
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains these letters exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid

Solutions first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

(All puzzles and text contained in this blog are copyright © 2008-2026, David H. Thompson. All rights reserved. Please tell your puzzle-loving friends to follow this blog. Thank you!)

 

Solutions to the Saturday Paraprosdokian Sudoku Puzzles

Yesterday’s Qudoku puzzle sets spelled out wordplay known as a paraprosdokian.

The Sunday Challenge in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku (Paraprosdokian Sudoku!) Puzzles for Saturday, 4/18/2026

Its the least I can do … and I always like to do the least.

A paraprosdokian is wordplay where the latter part of a statement forces you to reinterpret the first part. The phrase intentionally leads you in one direction—misleads you into thinking one way—and then abruptly changes direction, ending with the unexpected twist. The origin of the word is Greek, meaning "against expectation."

Most of the statements in these weekly blog posts are actual paraprosdokians; you might possibly dispute a few. But since they’re still fun plays on words, I’m sharing them anyway.

Because paraprosdokians come in two parts, I present each part as a separate quote, each revealed by solving its own set of word Sudoku puzzles.

COSIGN
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

LEND
4x4 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x2 square and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid to spell out the quote

SCRIPT
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once

VALUED
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle and set of circled cells contains the letters in the word exactly once
Copy circled letters to the corresponding numbered cells in the quote grid to spell out the quote

Solutions first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to Friday's Word Sudoku Puzzles

Yesterday's 5x5 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in NAE + IX (XENIA) and the 7x7 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in EAT W + SIX (TAXWISE).

The Saturday paraprosdokian in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Friday, 4/17/2026

NAE + IX
5x5 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and enclosed shape contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells out in the shaded cells

EAT W + SIX
7x7 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, diagonal and enclosed shape contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells out in the shaded cells

Solutions first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solution to Thursday's Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday's 10x10 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in GOT ACRE + SIX (EXOGASTRIC).

Another set of puzzles in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Thursday, 4/16/2026

GOT ACRE + SIX
10x10 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and 2x5 rectangle contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells down the diagonal

Solution first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

(A reminder that weekday puzzles in 2026 are based on words or phrases containing at least two of the letters in SIX, a puzzle form I call Missing Letter, Hidden Word Sudoku. Please see my amazon puzzle page www.bit.ly/WordSudokuBooks for a series of nine puzzle collections of this form that span the entire alphabet.)

 

Solution to Wednesday's Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday's 8x8 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in CLONE + SIX (LEXICONS).

A new puzzle in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave