You come to The Atlantic for the articles; you stay for the addiction that is the “Atlantic Games.” It’s the daily ritual for thousands of problem-solvers looking to flex their logic muscles over coffee. But let’s face it: nothing ruins the vibe like a crossword clue that simply won’t click. Don’t let a single obscure trivia question break your streak. We’ve cracked the codes, solved the ciphers, and filled the brackets, so you don’t have to stress. Here is your daily answer key for the Bracket City, Crossword, Fluxis, and Stacks.
Table of Contents
Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for December 12, 2025
The Atlantic Crossword is a shapeshifting challenge. It starts the week as a bite-sized 5×5 “mini” on Mondays and grows progressively larger and more diabolical each day, culminating in a large themeless grid on Sundays. That being said, here are the answers for today’s Crossword:
Click to reveal Across Answers
- 1 Across: Use Apple Pay, maybe – TAP
- 4 Across: Like an NFL stadium on a third down, maybe – NOISY
- 6 Across: Submits a crossword theme for review, for example – QUERIES
- 8 Across: What a cat owner’s clothes might be covered in – FUR
- 9 Across: Not stand for something? – SIT
- 11 Across: “He’s making a ___ and checking it twice” – LIST
- 13 Across: Item flown on Makar Sankranti – KITE
- 14 Across: Long, continuous take in film –ONER
- 15 Across: Insurance option for military families: abbr. – USAA
- 16 Across: Two ___ (Carry a Cake Across New York) (2025 Broadway musical) – STRANGERS
- 18 Across: “Smile for the camera!” – SAYCHEESE
- 19 Across: “___ Be There for You” (Friends theme song) – ILL
Click to reveal Down Answers
- 1 Down: Little dipper? – TOE
- 2 Down: Catch at the X Games? – AIR
- 3 Down: Trident-shaped Greek letter – PSI
- 4 Down: Mobile home? – NURSERY
- 5 Down: “Gotcha, gotcha” – YESISEE
- 6 Down: Abbott Elementary creator and star Brunson – QUINTA
- 7 Down: Instruments in Hindustani classical music – SITARS
- 8 Down: Suggestion from a dentist, often – FLOSS
- 10 Down: Provide a buzz cut, maybe? – TEASE
- 12 Down: One of the Braxton sisters – TRACI
- 13 Down: Casserole typically made with egg noodles or shredded potato – KUGEL
- 17 Down: Stanley Cup group – NHL
Click to reveal the Crossword answers grid
Check out more puzzles :
- NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post/LA Times Crossword Hints and Answers
- LA Times Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post Mini Meta Crossword
- Boston Globe Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- USA Today Crossword Answers
- LinkedIn Answers
Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for December 12, 2025
Bracket City is a unique trivia-logic hybrid. You are presented with a tournament bracket of 16 items based on a specific category (e.g., “Capital Cities” or “90s Cartoons”). Your goal is to pick the winner of each matchup based on specific criteria given for that day, eventually narrowing it down to one final champion. One wrong pick in the early rounds can ruin your whole bracket. But don’t worry, we have all the answers for you.
Click to reveal today’s Bracket City Answers
- [Simpson or Kudrow] = Lisa
- [Billy Ray’s relationship to the Preacher Man in a famous song 🎶] = son
- [“___ for the sky!” (order from a bandit)] = reach
- [scraper in a city 🌃] = sky
- [discarded metal] = scrap
- [remove from your hand in Gin, Uno, or draw poker] = discard
- [tonic’s spiritual companion] = Gin
- [your kindred one probably also collects Transformers 🤖 🚛] = spirit
- [“Be ___ Rewind” (rhyming plea from a video rental store)] = kind
- [the Beaufort scale measures ___ speed 💨] = wind
- [“How the Grinch ___ Christmas!” 🚨🎄🚨] = stole
- [you might be asked to do this and bear it 😑] = Grin
- [stuffed teddy that was named for Teddy Roosevelt who apparently hated being called “Teddy”] = bear
- [really full 🤰] = stuffed
- [dangerous moon phase for a lycanthrope 🐺] = full
- [word after velvet or tight or jump 🪢] = rope
Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For December 12, 2025
Think of Stacks as Tetris meets Boggle. Letters fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to select adjacent letters to form words and clear the lines before they reach the top. The longer the word, the higher the score, and the more “junk” blocks you destroy. Below are the highest-scoring words found in today’s seed to help you clear the board efficiently. Here are the answers for today’s Stacks, arranged from top to bottom.
Click to reveal words for today’s Stacks
- Word 1: AIDE
- Word 2: OTHERS
- Word 3: CREDIT
- Word 4: SPARROW
- Word 5: GLOWWORM
Follow these steps to get these words:
- Start by dropping the word POWWOW in the centre
- Then drop the word CARROT in the centre
- After that, drop the word GORED on the left-most side
- Next, drop the word ATHEISM from the right-most side
- Finally, drop the word SLIDER on the left-most side.
Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for December 12, 2025
Fluxis is a game of vocabulary flow. The objective is to build a chain of words where each subsequent word must start with a specific letter from the previous word, usually the last letter or a highlighted “flux” letter. Points are awarded based on the rarity of the letters used. It requires a deep vocabulary and the ability to think several steps ahead to avoid getting stuck with a letter like ‘X’ or ‘Q’.
Today’s base word is: SEMINAR
Click to reveal today’s Fluxis Chain Answers
- Category 1: Exactly 4 consonants: SEMINAR
- Category 2: No repeated letters: ARABESK
- Category 3: Exactly 1 vowel: ARBS
That’s it, folks, for today’s Atlantic Games answers. Do come back tomorrow for a fresh set of solutions and another challenge for your brain.
