Answer deskVerified edition · 2026-08-10
Bracket City Answers – August 10, 2026
Final sentencethe trial of Jim Morrison begins
The puzzle hides the final sentence 'the trial of Jim Morrison begins' inside a nested wordplay chain. Each bracketed clue supplies a short word that combines with surrounding letters to form the next phrase, ultimately revealing the full sentence.
The answer key
Clue by clue
- 01
James, to his friends
Jim
James is commonly shortened to Jim, especially among friends.
- 02
Luke to Vader
son
Luke is the son of Darth Vader.
- 03
a metric one is a "megagram"
ton
A metric ton is also called a megagram.
- 04
band that does a lot of improvising 🍓🔨
Jam
A jam band is a band that does a lot of improvising; the strawberry and hammer emojis suggest jam.
- 05
bladed spinner that cools you down
fan
A fan is a bladed spinner that cools you down.
- 06
motion for a tongue or a tail
wag
A wag is a motion made by a tongue or a tail.
- 07
pop-up ➡️ ___ ⬅️ hominem
ad
The phrase is 'ad populum' on one side and 'ad hominem' on the other, so the missing middle word is ad.
- 08
reflex sometimes triggered by a dental x-ray
gag
A gag reflex can sometimes be triggered by a dental x-ray.
- 09
rickety cart on a track full of gold or coal
mine
A mine is a rickety cart on a track, and mines can contain gold or coal.
- 10
start requested by someone with a dead battery 🪫
jump
A jump start is requested by someone with a dead battery.
- 11
subject of interest to a leprechaun
gold
A leprechaun is traditionally interested in gold.
- 12
wagon jumped on by fair-weather fans
band
A bandwagon is jumped on by fair-weather fans, so the missing word is band.
Working notes
How the brackets resolve
- 1
The final sentence begins with 'the trial of Jim Morrison begins.' The first hidden answer is Jim, the familiar short form of James.
- 2
The name Morrison is built from Morri plus son, since Luke is the son of Vader.
- 3
The word 'ton' appears inside Morrison, and a metric ton is also called a megagram.
- 4
The phrase 'band that does a lot of improvising' points to jam, a type of band known for improvisation.
- 5
The word 'fan' is hidden in the phrase about fair-weather fans, and a fan is a bladed spinner that cools you down.
- 6
The word 'wag' is hidden in 'wagon,' and a wag is a motion for a tongue or a tail.
- 7
The word 'ad' is the middle term between pop-up and hominem, completing the phrase 'ad hominem.'
- 8
The word 'gag' is hidden in 'megagram,' and a gag reflex can be triggered by a dental x-ray.
- 9
The word 'mine' is hidden in 'megagram' and refers to a rickety cart on a track full of gold or coal.
- 10
The word 'jump' is hidden in 'jumped,' and a jump start is requested by someone with a dead battery.
- 11
The word 'gold' is hidden in 'gold or coal,' and gold is a subject of interest to a leprechaun.
- 12
The word 'band' is hidden in 'bandwagon,' and a bandwagon is jumped on by fair-weather fans.
Puzzle source: official game page · Historical source: August 10, 1970:. Explanations on this page are independently written.