If you’re looking to flex your vocabulary muscles beyond the standard crossword, The Missing Letter crossword puzzle by Merriam-Webster is a daily brain teaser! This puzzle is not just filling in a grid, but an alphabetical hunt. With the clues, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet, the real challenge is figuring out which single letter has been left out. Here are the answers and the crucial missing letter for today’s puzzle, January 8, 2026.
The Missing Letter Answers Today: January 8, 2026
The Missing Letter is: O
By solving the clues provided, the letter O is the only one not utilised as a starting letter for an answer.
Across Answers: ➡️
- 1 Across: TRADEMARK: “used for recorded background [songs]” — MUZAK
- 6 Across: ABBREVIATION: “[sandwich named for its two main ingredients]” — PBJ
- 9 Across: Take unfair advantage of, as a privilege — ABUSE
- 10 Across: In the manner of — ALA
- 11 Across: NOUN: “a proteolytic enzyme of the kidney” — RENIN
- 12 Across: “Just gimme a ___” — SEC
- 13 Across: NOUN: “the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature” — CRIT
- 14 Across: Aficionado — GEEK
- 15 Across: INTERJECTION: “used typically to express mild apology, surprise, or dismay” — WHOOPS
- 17 Across: The movie title “No Country for Old Men” is taken from one of his poems — YEATS
- 18 Across: IDIOM: “very” — EVERSO
- 20 Across: GEOGRAPHICAL NAME: “river 4160 miles (6693 kilometers) long in eastern Africa flowing from Lake Victoria in Uganda north into the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt” — NILE
- 21 Across: Shout on a city street — TAXI
- 25 Across: ABBREVIATION: “federal executive division responsible for enforcing [work] statutes and promoting the general welfare of U.S. wage earners” — DOL
- 26 Across: NOUN: “a unit of a cryptocurrency” — TOKEN
- 27 Across: “Telephone Line” band, 1976 — ELO
- 28 Across: NOUN: “a weapon (such as a cutlass or rapier) with a long blade for cutting or thrusting that is often used as a symbol of honor or authority” — SWORD
- 29 Across: How rabbits eat carrots — RAW
- 30 Across: Irritate — ANNOY
Down Answers: ⬇️
- 1 Down: Anthony or Cohn — MARC
- 2 Down: PREFIX: “to an extreme or excessive degree” — UBER
- 3 Down: NOUN: “a member of an Indigenous people of western New Mexico” — ZUNI
- 4 Down: PHRASE: “in a manner of speaking” — ASITWERE
- 5 Down: NOUN: “the range of…knowledge” — KEN
- 6 Down: Evening strolls — PASEOS
- 7 Down: NOUN: “a short high-pitched sound (as from electronic equipment)…used in place of an obscene or vulgar expletive” — BLEEP
- 8 Down: NOUN: “a game played with a set of small objects that are tossed, caught, and moved in various figures” — JACKS
- 14 Down: PHRASE: “to work or act rapidly or efficiently” — GOTOTOWN
- 16 Down: VERB: “present tense third-person singular of ‘have’” — HAS
- 17 Down: NOUN: “a color whose hue resembles that of ripe lemons or sunflowers or is that of the portion of the spectrum lying between green and orange” — YELLOW
- 18 Down: Tail-___ (person in last place) — ENDER
- 19 Down: NOUN: “a [stringed] musical instrument” — VIOLA
- 22 Down: “Beautiful” singer, 2008 — AKON
- 23 Down: COMBINING FORM: “dry” — XERO
- 24 Down: Midwestern capital city, for short — INDY
- 26 Down: Government org. at LAX and LGA — TSA
The Missing Letter Crossword Answer Image for January 8, 2026
Today’s grid was an intellectual delight, offering a masterclass in varied terminology that kept the solving experience fresh. The vertical anchors were particularly strong, featuring a deep-cut Indigenous culture from New Mexico and the elegant phrasing used to describe the limits of one’s knowledge. While pop-culture references to 70s rock bands and modern airport security provided familiar ground, the inclusion of technical kidney enzymes and specific literary origins for iconic film titles gave the puzzle a true “dictionary-first” edge. The transition from technical biochemistry to the simple way a rabbit eats its snacks created a playful rhythm that made identifying today’s missing letter a satisfying conclusion. I would rate this challenge a 4 out of 5.
How to Play ‘The Missing Letter’
If you’re new to this Merriam-Webster classic, here’s how the “alphabetical twist” works:
- The Goal: Fill the grid using 25 words that each begin with a unique letter of the alphabet.
- Identify the Gap: Once the grid is complete, determine which of the 26 letters was not used as a starting letter.
- Weekly Reward: Keep track of each daily missing letter; at the end of the week, you can unscramble them to solve the Weekly Mystery Word.
