Work through the levels. Reveal the Spangram only when you’re truly ready.
Today’s clue: “It's a deal!”
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.
5 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.
It feels like the most deal-specific verb in the grid, but it isn’t one of the editor’s chosen answers.
Suggests giving ground during a dispute, but the theme words lean toward mutual resolution rather than one-sided yielding.
A tempting deal-related noun, but the grid only uses action words rather than nouns or contracts.
a textbook decoy
The difficulty sits at 5.5 because the clue telegraphs the deal-making frame, but the grid still forces you to filter out near-misses like BARGAIN before the true set emerges. Once AGREE or SETTLE appears, the rest of the action words—COMPROMISE, NEGOTIATE, SHARE—snap into place because they all inhabit the same cooperative register. The spangram MEETMEHALFWAY was a bit harder to see as a single 13-letter run, but its familiar phrasing makes the theme feel complete. What makes the set trickier than it looks is that so many common deal-related terms feel equally plausible, so you have to trust the actual answers over your first impulse.
The clue works on a double sense: a “deal” is both an agreement and something you make when you compromise. The theme verbs—AGREE, COMPROMISE, NEGOTIATE, SETTLE, SHARE—are all ways people close a deal. The spangram MEETMEHALFWAY captures the exact process: both sides move a little to reach the middle. The phrase “It’s a deal!” is what you might say at the end of that negotiation, which is why the clue feels more like a celebration than a hint upfront.
The editor chose deal-making verbs, not the documents or outcomes they produce. Instead of nouns like PACT or TRUCE, it uses action forms—AGREE, COMPROMISE, NEGOTIATE, SETTLE, SHARE—making the category feel conversational. The spangram MEETMEHALFWAY names the mutual movement behind the deal. That choice makes the puzzle slightly harder because many deal-related nouns feel plausible, but the answer words stay in action form. That active focus is the main twist.
