Takes inventory? crossword clue
11 Down · WSJ Crossword, October 4, 2026 · 5 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Takes inventory?” is LOOTS. It appears as 11 Down in the Wall Street Journal crossword of October 4, 2026, a Sunday puzzle titled “Circle of Friends” by Zhouqin Burnikel, and it fills 5 squares running top to bottom from row 1, column 15 of the 15×15 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 L 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 Across 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
LOOTS 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.