The puzzle

the Cy["permanent ___" (mysterious [a[get ___ of 🗑️], as wit]er setting)] Island [[surname for a thief played by both C[beloved [prepare an instrument for a performance]s you may have thought was spelled "Toons"] and [do something [g[[something given by a grateful audience 👏] a halberd to 🪓]ent protector popular with babies]lically wrong]atra 🌊] named after a magazine famous for its excellent [amusement that was first made with a marquetry saw, not a jigsaw]s] salmon pen break

Final answer

The finished sentence

Tap to reveal
the Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break

August 19, 2017 — read the story.

Every clue, solved

Show the table
ClueAnswer
garment protector popular with babiesbib
get ___ of 🗑️rid
do something biblically wrongSin
hand a halberd to 🪓arm
ocean named after a magazine famous for its excellent puzzlesAtlantic
surname for a thief played by both Clooney and Sinatra 🌊ocean
"permanent ___" (mysterious dryer setting)press
prepare an instrument for a performanceTune
arid, as witdry
something given by a grateful audience 👏hand
beloved Tunes you may have thought was spelled "Toons"looney
amusement that was first made with a marquetry saw, not a jigsawpuzzle

About this Bracket City

The Wednesday, August 19, 2026 puzzle nested 12 clues inside one sentence, written by Ben Gross. Bracket City is solved from the inside out: each innermost [bracket] is a clue whose answer replaces it, which turns the next bracket around it into a solvable clue, until a single sentence is left — usually tied to something that happened on this date.

More Bracket City

Unofficial guide — not affiliated with or endorsed by The Atlantic. Answers come from the official puzzle data.