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 11, 2026.
The Missing Letter Answers Today: January 11, 2026
The Missing Letter is: D
By solving the clues provided, the letter S is the only one not utilised as a starting letter for an answer.
1 Across : NOUN: “an atmosphere of despondency” – GLOOM
6 Across : VERB: “to emerge from an egg, chrysalis, or pupa” – HATCH
11 Across : Cook, as potatoes – FRY
14 Across: GEOGRAPHICAL NAME: “island group in the western Pacific Ocean that comprises a republic…population 21,500” – PALAU
15 Across : Play ___ in (affect) – AROLE
16 Across : 2016 Olympics city – RIO
17 Across : PLURAL NOUN: “marks used to express especially skepticism or derision concerning the use of the enclosed word or phrase” – SCAREQUOTES
19 Across : Euro precursor – ECU
20 Across : Elvis Presley’s “Blue ___ Shoes” – SUEDE
21 Across : “It ___ hand…” (“Romeo and Juliet” quote) – ISNOR
23 Across : NOUN: “one who commits…the crime of entering a structure (such as a house or commercial building) with the intent to commit a felony (such as theft)” – BURGLAR
27 Across : Facial hair, briefly – STACHE
28 Across : ADJECTIVE: “constituting…the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning” – IRONIC
29 Across : Quarterback called “Broadway Joe” – NAMATH
31 Across : NOUN: “a Tibetan Buddhist monk” – LAMA
32 Across : NOUN: “either of two pieces of each color in a set of chessmen having the power to make an L-shaped move” – KNIGHT
34 Across : ___ Mahal (Indian brand of beer) – TAJ
37 Across : Send to cloud nine – ELATE
39 Across : “Caught you red-handed!” – OHO
40 Across : Undermine, as political support – ERODE
42 Across : Nine-digit ID – SSN
43 Across : NOUN: “an idyllic, exotic, or luxurious place” – XANADU
46 Across : Pet food brand with a pawprint logo – IAMS
47 Across : NOUN: “a largely grayish-brown European bird …that is a parasite given to laying its eggs in the nests of other birds which hatch them and rear the offspring” – CUCKOO
49 Across : Creme de ___ (liqueur) – CASSIS
51 Across : Mysterious Christie – AGATHA
53 Across : “Gigi” novelist – COLETTE
54 Across : Tax form spot, often – LINEA
55 Across : Tom Petty’s “___ Back Down” – IWONT
57 Across : State bordering O. and Mich. – IND
58 Across : VERB: “to invest control or ownership of in the [federal] government” – NATIONALIZE
64 Across : ABBREVIATION: “the degree of loudness” – VOL
65 Across : Move across the rink – GLIDE
66 Across : Indian flatbreads – ROTIS
67 Across : Ending with Canton or Senegal – ESE
68 Across : Made less stressful – EASED
69 Across : One-for-one trades – SWAPS
1 Down: Car feature – GPS
2 Down: Fond du ___ (city near Milwaukee) – LAC
3 Down: Pay or Cray ending – OLA
4 Down: NOUN: “a long pole with a broad blade at one end used for propelling or steering a boat” – OAR
5 Down: NOUN: “a breakfast cereal of Swiss origin consisting of rolled oats, nuts, and fruit” – MUESLI
6 Down: Rutger in “Blade Runner” – HAUER
7 Down: AL MVP of 2003, 2005, and 2007 – AROD
8 Down: VERB: “to carry by hand” – TOTE
9 Down: Baseball’s Indians, on scoreboards – CLE
10 Down: Freeze at the critical moment – HESITATE
11 Down: NOUN: “bread dipped in a mixture of egg and milk and sautéed” – FRENCHTOAST
12 Down: Printer brand – RICOH
13 Down: CONTRACTION: [contraction using the second person] – YOURE
18 Down: NOUN: “an ignorant, misinformed, or dishonest practitioner of medicine” – QUACK
22 Down: Took a chair – SAT
23 Down: Gymnastics great Simone – BILES
24 Down: Range dividing Europe and Asia – URALS
25 Down: NOUN: “a cylindrical firework that discharges at intervals balls or stars of fire” – ROMANCANDLE
26 Down: Tiny buzzer – GNAT
27 Down: “Can’t believe it,” in three letters – SMH
29 Down: Beijing greeting – NIHAO
30 Down: “You’re ___” (1999 Vertical Horizon hit) – AGOD
33 Down: Forbidden behavior – NONO
35 Down: VERB: “to concede as true or valid” – ADMIT
36 Down: NOUN: “the father of David, king of Israel” – JESSE
38 Down: VERB: “to give and receive reciprocally” – EXCHANGE
41 Down: Get out of bed – RISE
44 Down: Letters before a pseudonym – AKA
45 Down: Home to the Huskies, briefly – UCONN
48 Down: NOUN: “a member of an Indigenous people originally ranging through [four Western states]” – UTE
50 Down: Wedding locales – ALTARS
51 Down: Kicking’s partner – ALIVE
52 Down: Palazzolo and Marchetti, for two – GINOS
53 Down: Made dove sounds – COOED
55 Down: “Affirmative” – ITIS
56 Down: ADJECTIVE: “extending over a vast area” – WIDE
59 Down: In the manner of – ALA
60 Down: Disappointing, as a bid – LOW
61 Down: Call ___ day (stop working) – ITA
62 Down: NOUN: “nothing; zero” – ZIP
63 Down: Suffix with lion or leopard – ESS
This was a really satisfying clue set overall, with a nice mix of straightforward fill (like common abbreviations and short entries) and a few fun, more vivid answers that added personality. The variety in clue styles kept the solve feeling fresh, and the longer entries helped anchor the grid nicely. A couple of the shorter clues felt a bit plain compared to the stronger themed ones, but nothing dragged the puzzle down. Overall, it’s a smooth, enjoyable solve with a good balance of difficulty and flow. 3 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 .
