USA Today Up & Down Words September 17, 2026 Answers

MEMaya EllisonPuzzle Editor · Verified answers

The complete Thursday word chain — 7 two-word answers, each linking into the next. Puzzle by David L. Hoyt.

Thursday7 answersUSA Today

The Chain

1 Completely dark PITCH BLACK

2 2010 Portman/Kunis movie BLACK SWAN

3 Graceful plunge SWAN DIVE

4 Start without hesitation DIVE IN

5 Where to find the Everglades IN FLORIDA

6 Someone from Orlando, e.g. FLORIDA NATIVE

7 French, for a Parisian NATIVE LANGUAGE

About this puzzle

This page lists the complete answer chain for the USA Today Up & Down Words published on September 17, 2026. Each answer is a two-word phrase, and the second word of every answer is the first word of the next one down. Tap any clue to open that answer's own page.