If you’re looking to flex your vocabulary muscles beyond the standard crossword, The Missing Letter crossword puzzle by Merriam-Webster is a daily brain teaser! This puzzle is not just filling in a grid, but an alphabetical hunt. With the clues, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet, the real challenge is figuring out which single letter has been left out. Here are the answers and the crucial missing letter for today’s puzzle, January 10, 2026.
The Missing Letter Answers Today: January 10, 2026
The Missing Letter is: S
By solving the clues provided, the letter S is the only one not utilised as a starting letter for an answer.
1 Across : ADJECTIVE: “enjoyably exciting” – ZINGY
6 Across : Middle part of OOO or XXX – TAC
9 Across : “___ in peace” – INCOME
10 Across : Greeting in Rio de Janeiro – OLA
11 Across : Coffee break time – TENAM
12 Across : GEOGRAPHICAL NAME: “city in eastern Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany population 117,000” – ULM
13 Across : Suffix with rad or gen – IUS
14 Across : Sandwich alternative – WRAP
15 Across : NOUN: “an act or an instance of disloyalty” – PERFIDY
18 Across : VERB: “to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear” – QUAKE
19 Across : VERB: “to show to have had a sufficient legal reason” – JUSTIFY
21 Across : Way of walking – GAIT
22 Across : NOUN: “a musical instrument of the lute family used in southwest Asia and northern Africa” – OUD
24 Across : ADJECTIVE: “excellent; exciting” – LIT
25 Across : BIOGRAPHICAL NAME: “Edmund 1729–1797 British statesman and orator” – BURKE
27 Across : NOUN: “a swift-running Australian ratite bird” – EMU
28 Across : “___ a Diver” (1980 Steve Winwood album) – ARCOF
29 Across : Ending for ballad or profit – EER
30 Across: Wee – TEENY
1 Down : Pasta often baked – ZITI
2 Down : PHRASAL VERB: “to become covered with [frozen water]” – INCEUP
3 Down : NOUN: “a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said” – NONSEQUITUR
4 Down : ABC morning show, briefly – GMA
5 Down : Saudi Arabia neighbor (abbr.) – YEM
6 Down : NOUN: “a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity” – TOURDEFORCE
7 Down : VERB: “to make quiet; calm” – ALLAY
8 Down : NOUN: “a place usually in the country for recreation or instruction often during the summer” – CAMP
14 Down : NOUN: “a website that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections” – WIKI
16 Down : NOUN: “the reddish brittle coating formed on iron especially when chemically attacked by moist air” – RUST
17 Down : NOUN: “animal tissue consisting chiefly of cells distended with greasy or oily matter” – FAT
19 Down : Escalante portrayed in “Stand and Deliver” – JAIME
20 Down : GEOGRAPHICAL NAME: “territory of northwestern Canada between Alaska and British Columbia bordering on the Arctic Ocean; capital Whitehorse” – TUKON
21 Down : NOUN: “exultant high-spirited joy” – GLEE
23 Down : VERB: “to confront with assured power of resistance” – DEFY
25 Down : Step up to the plate – BAT
26 Down : Ending for fail or fig – URE
This one was a really fun mix of straight definitions and clever fill, from the enjoyably exciting adjective to that Rio greeting and even the coffee break time entry. I liked how the grid wandered through varied trivia like the Baden-Württemberg city, the lute family instrument, and the statesman and orator, while still keeping things solvable with fair clueing. The longer technical ones (like the baked pasta and the non logical statement) added a satisfying challenge without feeling unfair. And the final twist that only one starting letter never appears gives it a neat meta finish. 4 out of 5
How to Play ‘The Missing Letter’
If you’re new to this Merriam-Webster classic, here’s how the “alphabetical twist” works:
- The Goal: Fill the grid using 25 words that each begin with a unique letter of the alphabet.
- Identify the Gap: Once the grid is complete, determine which of the 26 letters was not used as a starting letter.
- Weekly Reward: Keep track of each daily missing letter; at the end of the week, you can unscramble them to solve the Weekly Mystery Word .
