Skip to content
Waffle Daily

Deluxe Waffle #74 answers and hints

Need a nudge on the Wednesday, May 13, 2026 grid? Start with one clue. Nothing else shows until you tap it.

The starting grid for #74

8 words hide in this 7×7 grid. You get 25 swaps, and the best solve takes 20.

Want one more try first? Play #74.

Hints for each word in #74

Tap one hint at a time. The clue comes first. Then you get the first and last letters. The word shows only when you tap the last button.

  1. Word 1: the first row (row 1)

    Hint 1: the clue

    noun: adult male chicken

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with R and ends with R.

    Show the word

    ROOSTER

  2. Word 2: the second row (row 3)

    Hint 1: the clue

    noun: a light four-wheel horse-drawn ceremonial carriage

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with C and ends with T.

    Show the word

    CHARIOT

  3. Word 3: the third row (row 5)

    Hint 1: the clue

    noun: the content of cognition

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with T and ends with T.

    Show the word

    THOUGHT

  4. Word 4: the fourth row (row 7)

    Hint 1: the clue

    adjective: with one layer on top of another

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with L and ends with D.

    Show the word

    LAYERED

  5. Word 5: the first column (column 1)

    Hint 1: the clue

    noun: the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with R and ends with L.

    Show the word

    RECITAL

  6. Word 6: the second column (column 3)

    Hint 1: the clue

    noun: addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous)

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with O and ends with Y.

    Show the word

    ORATORY

  7. Word 7: the third column (column 5)

    Hint 1: the clue

    verb: put in motion or move to act

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with T and ends with R.

    Show the word

    TRIGGER

  8. Word 8: the fourth column (column 7)

    Hint 1: the clue

    adjective: turned in a circle around an axis

    Hint 2: first and last letter

    It starts with R and ends with D.

    Show the word

    ROTATED

What is the answer to Deluxe #74?

The answer is 8 words that fit together in one grid. Tap below to see all of them. This puzzle has only one answer, so if your words differ, a letter is still in the wrong place.

Show the full answer grid

Across: ROOSTER, CHARIOT, THOUGHT, LAYERED

Down: RECITAL, ORATORY, TRIGGER, ROTATED

How do you solve #74 in 20 swaps?

Make the swaps that fix two tiles at once first. This grid has 12 of them. The list below is one shortest route from the start to the answer.

Show every swap
  1. Swap row 1, column 1 with row 7, column 6. This puts R and E in place.
  2. Swap row 1, column 2 with row 5, column 7. This puts O and T in place.
  3. Swap row 1, column 5 with row 5, column 5. This puts T and G in place.
  4. Swap row 1, column 6 with row 3, column 7. This puts E and T in place.
  5. Swap row 1, column 7 with row 3, column 2. This puts R and H in place.
  6. Swap row 5, column 2 with row 7, column 4. This puts H and E in place.
  7. Swap row 5, column 4 with row 7, column 7. This puts U and D in place.
  8. Swap row 6, column 1 with row 6, column 3. This puts A and R in place.
  9. Swap row 1, column 4 with row 4, column 5. This puts S in place.
  10. Swap row 4, column 5 with row 6, column 7. This puts G and E in place.
  11. Swap row 2, column 1 with row 3, column 5. This puts I in place.
  12. Swap row 2, column 1 with row 7, column 1. This puts E in place.
  13. Swap row 2, column 3 with row 4, column 1. This puts R in place.
  14. Swap row 4, column 1 with row 7, column 3. This puts I and Y in place.
  15. Swap row 2, column 5 with row 5, column 3. This puts O in place.
  16. Swap row 2, column 5 with row 5, column 6. This puts H in place.
  17. Swap row 2, column 5 with row 3, column 1. This puts C in place.
  18. Swap row 2, column 5 with row 7, column 2. This puts R and A in place.
  19. Swap row 4, column 3 with row 7, column 1. This puts L in place.
  20. Swap row 4, column 3 with row 7, column 5. This puts T and R in place.

What do the words in #74 mean?

ROOSTER
noun: adult male chicken
CHARIOT
noun: a light four-wheel horse-drawn ceremonial carriage
THOUGHT
noun: the content of cognition
LAYERED
adjective: with one layer on top of another
RECITAL
noun: the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
ORATORY
noun: addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous)
TRIGGER
verb: put in motion or move to act
ROTATED
adjective: turned in a circle around an axis

Word meanings come from WordNet 3.1, a free English dictionary from Princeton University. Puzzle published Wednesday, May 13, 2026.