Openly asserts crossword clue
41 Across · WSJ Crossword, August 23, 2026 · 5 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Openly asserts” is AVOWS. It appears as 41 Across in the Wall Street Journal crossword of August 23, 2026, a Sunday puzzle titled “C-llectively Speaking” by Andrea Carla Michaels & Kevin Christian, and it fills 5 squares running left to right from row 10, column 1 of the 15×15 grid.
A plural clue takes a plural answer, which is why the entry ends in S. The entry begins with A and ends with S, and contains 2 vowels and 3 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Down entries should be enough to lock it in. Weekend puzzles follow the same conventions as the weekday grids, pitched a notch above midweek, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
AVOWS 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.