WSJ Contest — Friday, July 10, 2026 |

WSJ (Contest) Grid: untimed; Meta: 30 minutes rate it

Matt Gaffney’s Wall Street Journal contest crossword, “Let’s Change Places” — Conrad’s writeup

This week we’re looking for two answers in this grid, one three letters and one five letters, that would together make a good sixth theme entry. As the puzzle note inferred, there were five theme entries:

• CAVEVERSE: Poetry found hidden in a mountain?
• LASTTIMER: The final kitchen device on a store’s shelves?
• BURKINIFAST: Not eating anything while covered from top to bottom?
• HOSTARICE: Side dish cooked in a garden plant’s leaves?
• SADMARINE: Elite soldier who’s feeling blue?

WSJ Contest – 07.12.2026

I spotted CAPE VERDE (CAPE VERSE) first, because I loved watching Cabo Verde in the World Cup. Switch one letter in each word of the two-word themers to match a country. The rest followed quickly:

• CAPE VERDE -> CAPE VERSE
• EAST TIMOR ->LAST TIMER
• BUKINA FASO -> BURKINI FAST
• COSTA RICA -> HOSTA RICE
• SAN MARINO -> SAD MARINE

The country SRI LANKA maps to the grid entries that form our contest solution SKI LANKY. Solvers: please share your thoughts.