Work through the levels. Reveal the Spangram only when you’re truly ready.
Today’s clue: “Suite re-lease”
A gentle direction — no specifics.
Closer — the category is coming into focus.
Near-direct — only read if you’re stuck.
Direction only.
Getting closer.
Near-direct.
6 theme words — lengths in random order
Spaces not counted in total
All theme words — shuffled
These words fit the theme on the surface, but aren’t part of today’s solution. Knowing them ahead of time can save you minutes of searching.
The clue's 're-lease' suggests a rental transaction, but the puzzle focuses on types of dwellings, not payments.
Similarly, a lease is an agreement tied to renting an apartment, but it isn't a housing style.
'Suite' in the clue is a pun; it means a set of rooms and can describe a hotel unit, but it's not one of today's answers.
a textbook decoy
The difficulty lands at 4.5 because the clue 'Suite re-lease' is a playful pun that only fully clicks once you've already identified the theme, making early search somewhat unguided. After finding CONDO or LOFT, the rest of the apartment types fall into place quickly, though EFFICIENCY is a longer and less obvious inclusion. The spangram APARTMENTS is straightforward to spot once you're thinking about housing, especially as it spans the board horizontally. The set feels cohesive, but FLAT and EFFICIENCY stand out as less upscale, which might cause a moment's hesitation about the theme's consistency.
The clue 'Suite re-lease' is a triple-whammy pun: it sounds like 'sweet release,' plays on 'suite' as a set of rooms (like an apartment), and 're-lease' references renting again. The homophone 'sweet' might momentarily misdirect you toward candy or music, but the real estate angle is the key. Once you realize the puzzle is all about apartment types, the wordplay becomes a satisfying 'aha' and perfectly sets the table for the hunt.
Tracy Bennett curated a list that captures the diversity of apartment living: from the no-frills STUDIO and EFFICIENCY to the coveted PENTHOUSE, with international touches like FLAT. Including CONDO adds a legal ownership dimension that contrasts with purely spatial descriptions. This selection forces solvers to think about the many ways we categorize our homes, making the set feel comprehensive yet deliberate, and slightly more challenging because some terms blur the line between size and status.
