Chainle Answer November 13, 2026
Puzzle #86 · Friday · today’s puzzle · unofficial answer page
The five official answers for Chainle #86 on Friday, November 13, 2026 were
flour, editorial, admission, boss and den.
Below, each round explains why the word connects its clues, which other guesses would still have earned points,
and the tempting wrong answers that score almost nothing.
Haven’t played yet? Solve it first at chainle.io or start with the hints.
Chainle #86 answers at a glance
| Round | Type | Clues | Answer |
|---|
| 1 | Two-word bridge | powder, pan | flour |
| 2 | Two-word bridge | paper, staff | editorial |
| 3 | Two-word bridge | membership, entrance | admission |
| 4 | Three-word bridge | dad, operator, office | boss |
| 5 | Closest connection | cave | den |
Every round 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
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
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
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
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
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.
About this puzzle
Like every Chainle, #86 had three two-word bridges, one three-word bridge, and a closest-connection
round. Each round was worth up to 1,000 points, for a perfect score of 5,000. The official game scores any
dictionary word by meaning, so the near misses above earn partial credit, while one-sided guesses barely score.
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