Backstreet patrollers? crossword clue
25 Across · WSJ Crossword, September 25, 2026 · 9 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Backstreet patrollers?” is ALLEYCOPS. It appears as 25 Across in the Wall Street Journal crossword of September 25, 2026, a Friday puzzle titled “Rounding Error” by Jem Burch, and it fills 9 squares running left to right from row 3, column 13 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 A and ends with S, and contains 3 vowels and 6 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Down 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
ALLEYCOPS 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.