1802 founding of a chemical company? crossword clue
38 Down · WSJ Crossword, July 24, 2026 · 11 letters
Explanation
The answer to “1802 founding of a chemical company?” is DUPONTSTART. It appears as 38 Down in the Wall Street Journal crossword of July 24, 2026, a Friday puzzle titled “It All Adds Up” by Gary Larson & Amy Ensz, and it fills 11 squares running top to bottom from row 6, column 19 of the 21×21 grid.
The question mark at the end of the clue signals wordplay: the surface reading is a misdirection, and the answer fits a punning or figurative sense of the words. The entry begins with D and ends with T, and contains 3 vowels and 8 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Across entries should be enough to lock it in. Friday puzzles are the Journal’s contest crosswords with a hidden meta answer, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
DUPONTSTART has not appeared as an answer in any other WSJ puzzle in our index, which runs from May 2026 onward. It will be listed here the next time it turns up.