It’s been below capacity for over 40 years crossword clue
4 Down · WSJ Crossword, October 28, 2026 · 8 letters
Explanation
The answer to “It’s been below capacity for over 40 years” is LAKEMEAD. It appears as 4 Down in the Wall Street Journal crossword of October 28, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle titled “Jump Scares” by Mike Shenk, and it fills 8 squares running top to bottom from row 1, column 5 of the 15×15 grid.
The clue is a straightforward definition, so the answer is a direct synonym or a factual match for the words as written. The entry begins with L and ends with D, and contains 4 vowels and 4 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Across entries should be enough to lock it in. Wednesday puzzles sit mid-week on the difficulty curve, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
LAKEMEAD 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.