Nine to Five (The i Paper)
Rate itFit nine letters into a grid to make six five-letter words, three across and three down.
Every day: One new grid a day, the same for every player: nine letters to place in the centre squares so that three five-letter words read across and three read down. New puzzle: Midnight UK time (the puzzle is dated by the UK day).
Nine to Five is a daily word puzzle from The i Paper. The first and last letters of six five-letter words are already in the grid, and you place the day's nine letters in the middle squares so that every word across and down is real. It needs a free i Paper account; a subscription opens all the paper's puzzles and the past week.
About Nine to Five (The i Paper)
Nine to Five is one of the word puzzles on The i Paper's puzzles page, where it is described as a quick reshuffle of nine letters into six fives. The grid is a plus shape: a three by three block of empty squares in the middle, with the first and last letters of each word already printed around its edge.
Each day you get nine letters. Every one of them goes into one of the nine middle squares, and each square belongs to one word across and one word down. When all nine are placed correctly, three five-letter words read across and three read down, each starting and ending on the letters the grid gave you. There are no clues: the only help is the fixed letters at either end and the letters you still have to use.
The puzzle is a short one, usually done in a few minutes, and the page times you and lets you share your result when you finish. Because every letter counts in two words, a placement that looks right across can break the word going down, so most of the work is testing candidate words against each other.
The i Paper asks for an account before its puzzles open. A free account gives one puzzle a day; a subscription opens every puzzle on the page, including the past seven days of each. It suits players who like anagrams and small word grids with a fixed answer rather than a guessing game.
How to play Nine to Five (The i Paper)
- Sign in to a free i Paper account and open Nine to Five on the i Paper puzzles page.
- Look at the grid: the first and last letters of three words across and three words down are already in place around the edge.
- Place the day's nine letters in the nine empty squares in the middle, one letter per square.
- Check that each row and each column now spells a real five-letter word from its given first letter to its given last letter.
- Swap letters until all six words work; the puzzle ends when the grid is complete and your time is shown.
Tips
- Start with the word whose fixed first and last letters leave the fewest possible five-letter words.
- The centre square is in the middle of both the middle word across and the middle word down, so settle it early.
- Keep the vowels in mind: nine letters across six words means each vowel usually has to serve two words.
Questions
Is Nine to Five free?
It needs an i Paper account. A free account gives one puzzle a day; a subscription opens all of the paper's puzzles and the past seven days.
Are there clues?
No. The only help is the first and last letter of each word, already in the grid, and the nine letters you have to place.
Ratings and reviews
No ratings yet. Be the first to rate Nine to Five (The i Paper).
Games like Nine to Five (The i Paper)
Guessword (The i Paper)
The i Paper's other daily word puzzle, on the same puzzles page: a hidden word in six goes.
Panagram (The Telegraph)
Another British newspaper's daily anagram: a fixed set of letters to rearrange into words.
Squareword
A small grid of five-letter words that must read correctly across and down.
LA Times Wordflower
Makes words from a fixed handful of letters each day, like Nine to Five's nine.
Kurosu (The i Paper)
A quick daily grid from The i Paper's puzzles page, with noughts and crosses in place of letters.
All Mixed Up!
Unscramble four words, then use their starred letters to solve the day's punny clue.
COBBL
Five letters arrive one at a time from a cube; place them blind and make a five letter word.
Eightile
Unscramble a growing word, one letter at a time, until all eight tiles make a word.