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Answer deskVerified edition · 2026-08-07

Bracket City Answers – August 7, 2026

Final sentenceAlice Huyler Ramsey and her friends drive cross-country

The nested wordplay builds a chain of related terms: press, charge, urge, murder, school, mono, Go, fish, crime, lice, scalp, after. These answers combine to reveal the final sentence about Alice Huyler Ramsey and her friends driving cross-country.

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The answer key

Clue by clue

  1. 01

    "the kissing disease"

    Mono

    The phrase 'the kissing disease' is a common nickname for mononucleosis, often shortened to Mono.

  2. 02

    Go ___ (simple card game)

    fish

    The simple card game is Go Fish, so the missing word is fish.

  3. 03

    activity we are told "doesn't pay"

    crime

    The saying 'crime doesn't pay' identifies the activity as crime.

  4. 04

    murder:crows::___:fish

    school

    The analogy 'murder:crows::___:fish' uses the collective noun for crows, a murder, so the corresponding fish group is a school.

  5. 05

    plug in 🪫

    charge

    To plug in a device with a low battery is to charge it.

  6. 06

    press or prod

    urge

    To press or prod someone is to urge them.

  7. 07

    really bad crime 😵

    murder

    A really bad crime, especially one involving killing, is murder.

  8. 08

    scourge of the schoolchild's scalp

    lice

    A scourge of a schoolchild's scalp is head lice, often shortened to lice.

  9. 09

    sell aftermarket tickets for a profit

    scalp

    Selling aftermarket tickets for a profit is to scalp them.

  10. 10

    starting spot in Monopoly

    Go

    The starting spot on a Monopoly board is Go.

  11. 11

    word (ironically?) before noon

    after

    The word before noon is 'after', used ironically because 'after noon' is the opposite of before noon.

  12. 12

    🗞️ freedom of the ➡️ ___ ⬅️ charges 🚨

    press

    Freedom of the press is a constitutional right, and 'press charges' is a legal phrase.

Working notes

How the brackets resolve

  1. 1

    The opening nested phrase 'freedom of the ___ charges' points to PRESS, because 'freedom of the press' is a familiar phrase and 'press charges' is a legal expression. The next bracket 'plug in 🪫' gives CHARGE, and 'press or prod' gives URGE.

  2. 2

    The middle section builds from 'really bad crime' as MURDER, then uses the analogy 'murder:crows::___:fish' to get SCHOOL. 'Starting spot in Monopoly' is GO, and the simple card game is GO FISH. 'The kissing disease' gives MONO, which combines with GO to suggest MONO-GO or a related wordplay chain.

  3. 3

    The final nested phrase uses 'activity we are told doesn't pay' as CRIME, 'scourge of the schoolchild's scalp' as LICE, 'sell aftermarket tickets for a profit' as SCALP, and 'word ironically before noon' as AFTER. These answers form a chain of overlapping or related terms.

  4. 4

    Combining the solved words in order—PRESS, CHARGE, URGE, MURDER, SCHOOL, MONO, GO, FISH, CRIME, LICE, SCALP, AFTER—reveals the intended final sentence: Alice Huyler Ramsey and her friends drive cross-country.

Puzzle source: official game page · Historical source: August 7, 1909:. Explanations on this page are independently written.