Chainle Answer Today
Puzzle #86 · today’s official rounds · permanent page for #86
All five official answers for today’s Chainle, each with an explanation of why the word links the clues,
other guesses that still earn points, and the tempting wrong answers that score almost nothing.
Want to solve it yourself first? Play at chainle.io , or open the spoiler-free hints.
Today’s answers at a glance
Show all five answers
- powder · pan → flour
- paper · staff → editorial
- membership · entrance → admission
- dad · operator · office → boss
- cave → den
Today’s five rounds, explained
For each round: why the official word links the clues, other answers that likely
earn partial points, and common wrong answers. Chainle scores any word by meaning, so near misses
still count; the official data only names the 1,000-point word. Links and near misses come from public dictionary and
word-association data: senses and synonyms from WordNet 3.1, related words from Datamuse, and phrases checked against
Google Books (a phrase is only called common if it is, and proper names never count).
Round 1 · Two-word bridge
powder·pan
Reveal round 1 answer
flour
Why flour is the link
Flour is the one word that serves both clues together.
Flour is among the words closest in meaning to powder — close, though the dictionary does not call them synonyms.
Pan and flour turn up together often in ordinary writing, so the association is a natural one.
Start from this sense of flour: fine powdery foodstuff obtained by grinding and sifting the meal of a cereal grain
.
Other answers that can score
No other accepted words are published for this round, but near misses still earn partial credit. Likely candidates (exact points are the game’s call):
- meal — close to flour in meaning, but weaker on the clues.
Common wrong answers
One-sided guesses score almost nothing, because the weakest clue drags the round down:
- ash — fits powder, but not pan.
- continental — fits pan, but not powder.
- Any clue word or a form of one (like powders) — rejected outright.
Round 2 · Two-word bridge
paper·staff
Reveal round 2 answer
editorial
Why editorial is the link
Editorial has to work with both clues at once.
An editorial is part of a paper, so the two belong to the same whole.
“editorial staff” is an everyday phrase (about 160 uses per billion words in Google Books), which is the bridge on this side.
The main dictionary sense to work from: an article giving opinions or perspectives
.
Other answers that can score
No other accepted words are published for this round, but near misses still earn partial credit. Likely candidates (exact points are the game’s call):
- column — a near-synonym of editorial, likely the closest runner-up.
- publication, essay — close to editorial in meaning, but weaker on the clues.
Common wrong answers
One-sided guesses score almost nothing, because the weakest clue drags the round down:
- composition — fits paper, but not staff.
- faculty — fits staff, but not paper.
- Any clue word or a form of one (like papers) — rejected outright.
Round 3 · Two-word bridge
membership·entrance
Reveal round 3 answer
admission
Why admission is the link
Admission is the one word that serves both clues together.
Admission is among the words closest in meaning to membership — close, though the dictionary does not call them synonyms.
Admission is a kind of entrance, a straight category link.
Start from this sense of admission: the act of admitting someone to enter
.
Other answers that can score
No other accepted words are published for this round, but near misses still earn partial credit. Likely candidates (exact points are the game’s call):
- admittance — a near-synonym of admission, likely the closest runner-up.
- attendance, revenue, enrollment — related to membership and entrance, but less tightly.
Common wrong answers
One-sided guesses score almost nothing, because the weakest clue drags the round down:
- rank — fits membership, but not entrance.
- capture — fits entrance, but not membership.
- Any clue word or a form of one (like memberships) — rejected outright.
Round 4 · Three-word bridge
dad·operator·office
Reveal round 4 answer
boss
Why boss is the link
Boss is the one word that serves all three clues together.
Dad is the weak link: read boss as the person in charge; a dad is the head of a household the way a boss heads a team.
On the operator side: one dictionary sense of operator is someone who owns or operates a business, which overlaps with boss.
As for office: the boss is the person in charge at the office.
Start from this sense of boss: a person who exercises control over workers
.
Plenty of words fit two of the three; boss is the one that keeps all three chains strong.
Other answers that can score
No other accepted words are published for this round, but near misses still earn partial credit. Likely candidates (exact points are the game’s call):
- supervisor, manager, proprietor, owner — close to boss in meaning, but weaker on the clues.
Common wrong answers
One-sided guesses score almost nothing, because the weakest clue drags the round down:
- supplier — fits operator, but not dad or office.
- authority — fits office, but not dad or operator.
- Any clue word or a form of one (like dads) — rejected outright.
Round 5 · Closest connection
cave
Reveal round 5 answer
den
Why den is the link
One clue, cave, and the task is its nearest partner in meaning, not just something associated with it. Den is the official 1,000-point word.
Den is among the words closest in meaning to cave — close, though the dictionary does not call them synonyms. The matching dictionary sense of den: a hiding place; usually a remote place used by outlaws
.
Start from this sense of den: the habitation of wild animals
.
Other answers that can score
No other accepted words are published for this round, but near misses still earn partial credit. Likely candidates (exact points are the game’s call):
- lair, hideout — near-synonyms of den, likely the closest runners-up.
- abyss, hole — near cave in meaning, but not as close as den.
Common wrong answers
Related is not the same as closest in meaning:
- limestone — goes with cave, but doesn’t mean the same thing.
- Any clue word or a form of one (like caves) — rejected outright.
How Chainle works
Chainle is a daily word game with five rounds, the same for everyone. Rounds 1–3 are two-word bridges: find one
word that belongs with both clues. Round 4 is a three-word bridge. Round 5 asks for the word closest in meaning
to a single clue. You get one guess per round, scored up to 1,000 points by how close your word is in meaning to
every clue, for a perfect day of 5,000.
Chainle FAQ
What time does the new Chainle puzzle come out?
A new Chainle puzzle arrives every day at midnight US Eastern time (12:00 a.m. ET). Right now (Eastern Standard Time) that is 05:00 UTC, 9:00 pm Pacific the evening before, and 1:00 pm in China; the UTC time shifts by an hour when daylight saving time starts or ends. Everyone in the world gets the same five rounds. This site updates automatically after the reset; the new answers usually appear within 15–30 minutes, occasionally later if the automated job is delayed.
How does Chainle scoring work?
Each of the five rounds is worth up to 1,000 points, so a perfect day is 5,000. There is no single right answer: any dictionary word is scored on how close it is in meaning to every clue at once. Match the strongest link the game knows and you get the full 1,000. A word that fits one clue but not the other scores almost nothing. After each guess the game also shows where your word ranks among all the words it knows.
Do wrong guesses count against you?
There are no strikes or lives. You get one guess per round, and whatever you enter is scored and locked in, so a weaker word simply earns fewer points. Entries the game cannot accept are not counted: a clue word itself, another spelling or form of a clue, plurals, names, and filler words are rejected with a message, and you can type a different word.
How do you get a high score in Chainle?
Pick a word that works with every clue, not just the easiest one, because the weakest link drags the round down. In the three-word round, test your guess against the clue that fits it worst. In the closest-connection round, use a tight synonym rather than something you merely associate with the clue. If a clue has more than one meaning, go with the sense that makes the strongest connection, and prefer common everyday words.
Can you replay Chainle?
Each daily puzzle is played once; when you finish, the game tells you a new one arrives tomorrow. You can still play earlier days from the official archive on chainle.io, where every date is its own game, and there is a Chainle Unlimited mode for extra practice. The answers for past days are in this site's archive.
What is the difference between Chainle and Wordle?
Wordle is about spelling: you find one hidden five-letter word in up to six tries, guided by colored letter clues. Chainle is about meaning: five rounds a day, one guess per round, and each guess is scored from 0 to 1,000 by how well it connects the clue words. There is no single correct word, so close answers still earn points. Both are daily games with a shareable grid of colored squares.
What kinds of rounds are in Chainle?
Every day has three two-word bridges (one word that belongs with both clues), one three-word bridge (one word that fits all three clues), and a closest-connection round (the word nearest in meaning to a single clue).
Is chainle.co the official Chainle site?
No. chainle.co is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with the makers of Chainle. The official game is at chainle.io; play there first, then come here for answers, hints, and explanations.
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