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 6, 2026.
The Missing Letter Answers Today: January 6, 2026
The Missing Letter is: F
By solving the clues provided, the letter F is the only one not utilised as a starting letter for an answer.
1 Across: GEOGRAPHICAL NAME: “city in central Delaware population 36,047…the capital of Delaware” — DOVER
6 Across: Sunday seating, sometimes — PEW
9 Across: NOUN: “the…last letter of the Greek alphabet” — OMEGA
10 Across: Granny, in Germany — OMA
11 Across: NOUN: “an Englishman or lowlander as distinguished from a Welshman, Irishman, or Highlander” — SAXON
12 Across: NOUN: “official credit to a [baseball player] for driving [a teammate home]” — RBI
13 Across: Trendy tuna — AHI
14 Across: Without delay, on “ER” — STAT
15 Across: NOUN: “a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold” — ALCHEMY
18 Across: NOUN: “any of a genus…of wild or domesticated, long-necked, South American ruminant mammals related to the camels but smaller and without a hump” — LLAMA
19 Across: ADJECTIVE: “growing or expanding very quickly” — BOOMING
21 Across: Shock — JOLT
22 Across: COMBINING FORM: “having three elements or parts” — TRI
24 Across: Reversible brand of kitchen appliances — OXO
25 Across: Sam of golf fame — SNEAD
27 Across: NOUN: “a small cask or barrel having a capacity of 30 gallons or less” — KEG
28 Across: Keaton or Sawyer — DIANE
29 Across: Ending for mock or station — ERY
30 Across: Taters — SPUDS
1 Down: Savory crepe — DOSA
2 Down: City two hours west of Des Moines — OMAHA
3 Down: NOUN: “the study of flags” — VEXILLOLOGY
4 Down: NOUN: “the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world” — EGO
5 Down: Sought office — RAN
6 Down: NOUN: “a word or part of a word made by combining the spellings and meanings of two or more other words or word parts (such as smog from smoke and fog)” — PORTMANTEAU
7 Down: Keep bottled up in a harbor, as wind might a sailboat — EMBAY
8 Down: VERB: “to remain stationary in readiness or expectation” — WAIT
14 Down: Prefix with formal or pro — SEMI
16 Down: NOUN: “a roundish viscous lump formed by coagulation of a portion of liquid or by melting” — CLOT
17 Down: NOUN: “an actor performing in an exaggerated theatrical style” — HAM
19 Down: Mike Tyson or Tyson Fury, e.g. — BOXER
20 Down: NOUN: “a thousand dollars” — GRAND
21 Down: NOUN: “something said or done to provoke laughter” — JOKE
23 Down: NOUN: “the 15th day of March, May, July, or October or the 13th day of any other month in the ancient Roman calendar” — IDES
25 Down: 1960s campus org. — SDS
26 Down: NOUN: “a small quantity of liquor” — NIP
Today’s puzzle offered a sophisticated blend of specialized terminology and accessible cultural references. The grid was anchored by impressive long-form entries, including a deep-dive into the study of flags and the linguistic art of blending words. While technical terms like the ancient Roman calendar and specific liquid measurements provided a stiff challenge for the vocabulary-inclined, the presence of legendary golfers and iconic actresses helped maintain a steady solving rhythm. The difficulty felt perfectly calibrated for a Tuesday, offering a smooth path to identifying the one elusive letter left out of the alphabetical hunt. I would rate this puzzle 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 .
