Word Salad answers — today's grid and full archive
Today's verified Word Salad theme, the 4×4 letter grid, and the complete word list. Plus the full daily archive going back through every published puzzle.
Today's Word Salad
Today's theme — tap for full word list
They Come After Red (But Not Blue)
View today's grid & answers →
Play the puzzle
Open Word Salad on wordsalad.solutions →
About Word Salad
Word Salad is a daily word-finding puzzle built around a 4×4 grid of letters. Each puzzle has a theme — the day's hint — and the goal is to find every word hidden in the grid that fits that theme. Words can connect in any direction (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), and each letter can be used once per word.
The puzzle blends spatial pattern recognition with category recall. Some themes are concrete ("Elements", "World Capitals"), others are looser ("Things in a kitchen", "Words that sound like emotions"). Players who recognize the theme quickly can find longer answers that hide in plain sight — and longer answers are typically worth more.
This archive contains every Word Salad we've indexed. Each daily page shows the theme, the 4×4 grid, and the complete word list with letter counts. You can also search by theme or by individual answer using the search bar on our homepage.
How to play Word Salad
Open wordsalad.solutions. Each puzzle shows a 4×4 grid of letters and a theme at the top.
Read the theme. Every word you submit must fit that theme — random English words don't count, even if you can spell them in the grid.
Trace a path through the grid. You can move from any letter to any of its 8 neighbors (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). Each letter can be used at most once per word, but the same letter can appear in multiple words.
Submit your word. If it fits the theme and is in the puzzle's accepted list, it's added to your found-words and you score points based on length. Longer words are worth more.
Find as many words as you can. Each puzzle has a fixed accepted-word list — typically 10–20 themed answers. A new puzzle is published every day.
Recent Word Salad answers
Strategy & tips
Theme first
Brainstorm the category before scanning
Before you look at the grid, spend 30 seconds listing words that fit the theme in your head. Then scan the grid for those specific words — it's far faster than free-searching for any path.
Diagonals
Don't forget diagonal connections
Most players naturally scan horizontally and vertically. Diagonal paths are where the longer themed answers tend to hide. After finding all the obvious words, run a second pass focused on diagonals.
Long words pay
Hunt 6+ letter answers
Each additional letter increases your score. A single 8-letter word often outscores three short ones. Once you have the theme, scan for letter combinations that suggest a long answer (-ATION, -ING, -NESS).
Letter pairs
Spot common starting pairs
English words often start with ST-, CH-, TH-, BR-, or end in -ER, -LY, -ED. Find these pairs in the grid first, then test whether they can extend into themed words.
Single use
Each tile is once-per-word
A letter can be in multiple words across the puzzle, but never twice in the same word. If a word would require visiting the same tile twice (like EERIE with only one E), it's not playable in that grid.
Stuck?
Use the verified word list here
If you've found most words but a few are still missing, check today's Word Salad solution. Each daily page lists every accepted answer with its letter count.
Frequently asked questions
What is today's Word Salad answer?
Today's Word Salad (May 13, 2026) has the theme They Come After Red (But Not Blue). The full grid and complete word list are on the daily archive page.
What is Word Salad?
Word Salad is a daily word-finding puzzle on a 4×4 letter grid. Each puzzle has a theme, and the goal is to find every themed word hidden in the grid by tracing paths between adjacent letters in any direction.
It's available at wordsalad.solutions as a free daily puzzle.
How big is the Word Salad grid?
The grid is 4×4 — 16 letters total. That sounds small, but with diagonal connections, the number of possible paths is enormous. A typical puzzle has 10–20 valid themed answers hidden among hundreds of possible letter sequences.
How do letters connect?
You can move from any letter to any of its 8 neighbors — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Each letter can be used at most once per word, but the same letter can appear in multiple words across your solve.
This makes diagonal paths an underused tool — most solvers default to scanning rows and columns and miss the diagonals.
How is scoring calculated?
Scoring is based on word length — longer words earn more points. The exact formula varies, but each additional letter typically increases the score, and 6+ letter answers are worth significantly more than 4-letter words.
The fastest path to a high score is finding the longest themed answers first.
When does a new Word Salad release?
A new Word Salad is published every day. We post the verified theme, grid, and full word list shortly after each new puzzle goes live.
Is Word Salad free to play?
Yes — Word Salad is free on the official site. You don't need an account or subscription to play the daily puzzle.
This site indexes verified answers for every past puzzle as a free reference if you want to look up a specific date.
Are these answers official?
No. AppWalkthrough is an independent fan site. We're not affiliated with the publisher of Word Salad.
We solve and verify each daily puzzle ourselves before publishing.