Spy Sudoku for 7/18/2026: BLUEY

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

Today’s keyword is BLUEY.
Drop "B" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "R" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words may be less familiar; Sudoku logic will reveal them!

-B

BLUEY

+R

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: EXURB
4x4 (EXURB - X): RUBE
6x6 (EXURB + D): BRUXED

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku (Paraprosdokian Sudoku!) Puzzles for Saturday, 7/18/2026

A fly was very close to being called a land … because that’s what it does half the time.

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.

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

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

ETCH
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

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

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

OVUM
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 EPY + SX (PYXES) and the 7x7 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in TO BE + SIX (BOXIEST).

The Saturday paraprosdokian in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Spy Sudoku for 7/17/2026: EXURB

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

This month I am introducing a new word game based on Word Sudoku that I'm calling Spy Sudoku. After you ferret out what letters to use, solve two Word Sudoku puzzles to discover two hidden words.

Each day, you're given a 5-letter word, and told which letter to take away or add, to solve a 4x4 and 6x6 Word Sudoku puzzle. On Sundays, you'll also be challenged to solve a 5x5 puzzle spelling out an anagram of the 5-letter word. I believe this is unique: I haven't seen anyone else providing 5x5 Word Sudoku puzzles.

I've constructed several years of daily puzzle sets I hope to syndicate. I'd love your feedback! I may play with wording or puzzle alignment, etc., to try to make it as visually obvious as possible how to play the game. Please use the blog comment feature to let me know what works for you, and what doesn't.

Today’s keyword is EXURB.
Drop "X" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "D" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words may be unfamiliar; Sudoku logic will reveal them!

-X

EXURB

+D

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: BLENT
4x4 (BLENT - L): BENT
6x6 (BLENT + U): UNBELT

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Friday, 7/17/2026

EPY + 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

TO BE + 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 NAP HOUR + SIX (XIPHOSURAN).

Another set of puzzles in a few hours.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Spy Sudoku for 7/16/2026: BLENT

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

Today’s keyword is BLENT.
Drop "L" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "U" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words should be familiar to most players.

-L

BLENT

+U

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: BILKS
4x4 (BILKS - B): SILK
6x6 (BILKS + N): BLINKS

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Thursday, 7/16/2026

NAP HOUR + 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 N FOUL + SIX (FLUXIONS).

A new puzzle in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Spy Sudoku for 7/15/2026: BILKS

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

Today’s keyword is BILKS.
Drop "B" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "N" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words should be familiar to most players.

-B

BILKS

+N

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: BIKED
4x4 (BIKED - B): DIKE
6x6 (BIKED + L): BILKED

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Wednesday, 7/15/2026

N FOUL + 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 first thing in the morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solution to Tuesday's Word Sudoku Puzzle

Yesterday's 9x9 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in NOT LYE + SIX (XYLONITES).

A new puzzle in just a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Spy Sudoku for 7/14/2026: BIKED

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

Today’s keyword is BIKED.
Drop "B" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "L" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words should be familiar to most players.

-B

BIKED

+L

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: BROKE
4x4 (BROKE - K): BORE
6x6 (BROKE + N): BROKEN

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzle for Tuesday, 7/14/2026

NOT LYE + 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 EY + SX (SEXY) and the 6x6 Hidden Word Sudoku puzzle was based on the letters in NATO + SX (SAXTON).

More puzzles in a bit.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Spy Sudoku for 7/13/2026: BROKE

Add a letter. Drop a letter. Solve the Sudoku puzzles to discover the hidden words.

Today’s keyword is BROKE.
Drop "K" and use the remaining letters to solve the 4x4 puzzle.
Add "N" to the keyword to supply the letters to solve the 6x6 puzzle.

Today’s hidden words should be familiar to most players.

-K

BROKE

+N

Solutions tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
--Dave

 

Solutions to yesterday's Spy Sudoku puzzles

Yesterday's Spy Sudoku keyword: APTLY
4x4 (APTLY - Y): PLAT
6x6 (APTLY + R): PALTRY
5x5: TYPAL

Thanks,
--Dave

 

New Word Sudoku Puzzles for Monday, 7/13/2026

EY + SX
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

NATO + SX
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

(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 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