Lexifour

Journal

Answers and explanations from past Daily Challenges, plus the origins and stories behind words from our weekly newsletter.

From the newsletter

Outlandish first meant from another land

Old English utlendisc meant foreign or not native. It was formed from utland, a foreign land, plus the adjective-forming ending that became -ish.

Read the story →

Slapstick comedy was named after an actual stick

A slapstick was a theatrical clapper made from two wooden slats joined at one end. When used in a staged blow, the pieces struck one another and produced a conspicuously loud crack, magnifying the sound of the action.

Read the story →

Past challenge questions

Missed a word? Revisit the clue, compare the choices, and read why the answer fits. These are the original questions from completed challenges, with any recorded quality issues marked alongside them. How we prepare and review content.

September 5, 2026

Journal

From the newsletter

Outlandish first meant from another land

Slapstick comedy was named after an actual stick

Past challenge questions

necessary, presumably, kid, papilla, flummox

outplay, sinister, saute, diffident, professedly

expand, tedious, bethink, periphrastic, tonicity

giving, fascination, banish, avaricious, transfigure

fantastic, ignite, misdirection, flippancy, salicin

green, flair, forsake, diplopia, adaxial

pull, dramatically, astute, paranasal, frostily

funny, insanely, codify, extravagance, savageness

pull, flair, forsake, diplopia, tardily

effectively, fairly, arrogant, devious, abaxial

approach, foe, frustrate, expatiate

Weekly editions