Story of Earth’s longest-living land animal trying to hide its years with a wig? crossword clue
70 Across · WSJ Crossword, September 4, 2026 · 21 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Story of Earth’s longest-living land animal trying to hide its years with a wig?” is THETORTOISEANDTHEHAIR. It appears as 70 Across in the Wall Street Journal crossword of September 4, 2026, a Friday puzzle titled “AI Slop” by Christopher Youngs, and it fills 21 squares running left to right from row 11, column 1 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 T and ends with R, and contains 9 vowels and 12 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
THETORTOISEANDTHEHAIR 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.