New Word Sudoku (Did you hear?) Puzzles for Sunday, 2/8/2026

Did you hear about the cyber criminal who got away? They ransomware.

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.

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

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

THROWN
6x6 Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column, 2x3 rectangle 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 …

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

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

DEAF
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, 2/7/2026

Silence is golden … duct tape is silver.

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.

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

CHAINS
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

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

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

YAWN
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

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 ELU + SX (LUXES) and the 7x7 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in DARE + SIX (RADIXES).

The Saturday paraprosdokian in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Friday, 2/6/2026

ELU + SX
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

DARE + SIX
7x7 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column 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 BY PANEL + SIX (EXPANSIBLY).

New puzzles in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Thursday, 2/5/2026

BY PANEL + 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

 

Solution to Wednesday's Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday's 8x8 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in B COPE + SIX (SPICE BOX).

A new puzzle in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Wednesday, 2/4/2026

B COPE + SIX
8x8 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle
Each row, column and 2x4 rectangle contains these letters exactly once
The hidden word spells down the diagonal

Solution tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solution to Tuesday's Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday's 9x9 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in CAR PLOY + SX (XYLOCARPS).

A new puzzle in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Tuesday, 2/3/2026

CAR PLOY + SX
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

(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.)

 

Solutions to Monday's Word Sudoku Puzzles

Yesterday's 4x4 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in AL + SI (LISA) and the 6x6 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in ARBS + IX (SIXBAR).

A new set of puzzles in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Monday, 2/2/2026

AL + SI
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

ARBS + IX
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

 

Solution to the Sunday Challenge Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday’s Sunday Challenge 12x12 Hidden Word Sudoku Puzzle was based on the letters in BECKON GAP + SIX (PACKING BOXES).

New puzzles in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave