Hurdle is back with a fresh five-round challenge for September 14, 2026, and if you have become stuck somewhere along the chain, the hints and answers you need are gathered below. Unlike a single-guess puzzle, Hurdle asks players to clear one word at a time, then carries the information forward into the next round. That design makes the game satisfying when everything connects — and genuinely frustrating when one stubborn entry blocks the path to the finish.
How Hurdle Works
Hurdle is built for people who already enjoy daily word games such as Wordle and want to stretch that habit across a longer sequence. Each day's puzzle is organised around five rounds, and every round presents its own word to find before the next one unlocks.
The Five-Round Structure
The opening round works much like a familiar letter-guessing game. You attempt to guess the word, and the grid shows which letters are correct, which are misplaced, and which do not appear in the answer at all. Those signals are the foundation of everything that follows.
Once you solve that first word, Hurdle moves you to the next hurdle. Crucially, the answer from the round you just finished is automatically entered as your first guess in the round ahead. Depending on the letters involved, that free attempt can hand you several useful clues, or it can tell you almost nothing at all.
What Makes the Final Hurdle Different
The last round pulls the whole run together. Every correct answer from the previous hurdles is displayed, with correct and misplaced letters clearly marked, effectively compressing your entire session into a single starting position.
One detail catches out a lot of players: the number of times a letter is highlighted in those earlier guesses does not necessarily indicate how many times that letter appears in the final hurdle. Treat those highlights as directional rather than literal. If you assume a repeated highlight equals a repeated letter, you can easily talk yourself away from the right solution.
Hurdle Hints and Answers for September 14, 2026
Below are the hints for each round, followed by the solutions. If you only want a nudge, read the hint and stop there. If you want the answer outright, keep reading.
Hurdle Word 1: A Lost Cat
The hint for the first round is simply: a lost cat.
The answer is STRAY.
This is a definition-style clue, pointing towards the word used to describe an animal that has wandered away from home. It sets a gentle tone for the run: the opening hurdle is usually the easiest place to build momentum.
Hurdle Word 2: They Sound the Same
The hint for the second round is: they sound the same.
The answer is RHYME.
Here the clue describes the concept rather than a specific object. Once you accept that the definition itself is the answer, the letters tend to fall into place quickly — especially if the previous word has already supplied you with a few confirmed or misplaced positions.
Hurdle Word 3: Cutting
The hint for the third round is: cutting.
The answer is AXING.
This one is an action word, and the hint captures it directly. Mid-run hurdles like this can feel deceptively hard because the free guess carried over from the previous round may contribute little, leaving you to work from the grid alone.
Hurdle Word 4: A Great Lake
The hint for the fourth round is: a great lake.
The answer is EERIE.
The phrasing invites a sound-based leap rather than a literal one, which is typical of the game's looser clues. The solution itself means something strange and unsettling — a useful reminder that Hurdle hints do not always describe the answer's meaning.
Final Hurdle: Fatty
The hint for the closing round is: fatty.
The answer is PIGGY.
By this stage you should be looking at every correct answer from the four earlier rounds, with correct and misplaced letters marked up. Read that board carefully before committing to a guess, and keep the duplicate-letter caveat in mind.
Quick Reference: Today's Hurdle Answers
- Hurdle word 1: STRAY
- Hurdle word 2: RHYME
- Hurdle word 3: AXING
- Hurdle word 4: EERIE
- Final hurdle: PIGGY
Reading Today's Hints Like a Regular
A few patterns stand out in this set. Every one of today's solutions runs to five letters, so once you have confirmed the length, the grid is doing more work than the clue. Several of the hints are straightforward definitions, while at least one depends on how a phrase sounds rather than what it literally means. Recognising which type of clue you are dealing with is often the fastest route to the answer.
It is also worth remembering that the chain matters. A word you solve early becomes a free opening guess later, so an accurate first or second round pays dividends across the rest of the puzzle. Conversely, a lucky guess that happens to be correct but that you cannot justify will leave you with a starting grid you cannot interpret.
Strategy Reminders for Tomorrow's Hurdle
- Use the free guess. The answer to the previous hurdle is entered automatically, so scan it for confirmed letters before you type anything new.
- Never assume duplicates. Highlighted letters in the earlier rounds do not tell you how often a letter repeats in the final hurdle.
- Try the literal reading first. Many hints are simple definitions, and only some require a sound-based or figurative interpretation.
- Watch the length. Every answer today is five letters, and the grid will confirm the shape of the target word for you.
- Slow down on the last round. The final hurdle is where all of your earlier progress is on display, so it rewards careful reading rather than speed.
More Daily Puzzles to Enjoy
If Hurdle has become part of your routine, there is plenty more to fill the rest of a morning. Mashable's games hub collects Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and other daily distractions, and the site also publishes hints and answers for Wordle, NYT Connections, and NYT Connections Sports Edition. Readers who want tech and digital culture coverage delivered on a regular basis can also sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or enable push alerts.
The featured image for this puzzle guide is a Mashable composite credited to Ian Moore, James Martin, and Viva Tung.
This article is based on reporting by Mashable. Read the original article.
Originally published on mashable.com
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