GRIDS puzzle #9, November 5, 2026

The nonogram from that Thursday was a 7 by 7 grid. The finished picture is a watermelon, drawn with 31 filled cells out of 49.

The first deductions

• Row 1 has the clue 7, which with its gaps exactly fills 7 cells, so the whole line is decided
• Row 3 has the clue 7, which with its gaps exactly fills 7 cells, so the whole line is decided
• Column 4 has the clue 7, which with its gaps exactly fills 7 cells, so the whole line is decided
• Row 2 has the clue 1 3 1, which with its gaps exactly fills 7 cells, so the whole line is decided
• Row 4 has the clue 5: cells 3 to 5 must be filled, however the run slides

Row clues, top to bottom: 7 | 1 3 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 1 1 | 3 | 1.

Column clues, left to right: 3 | 1 3 | 4 1 | 7 | 4 1 | 1 3 | 3.

Worth knowing about this picture: start with the lines above, mark those cells, then cross out the cells next to a finished run. The solution has 31 filled cells, so you are done when exactly 31 are marked.

Notes on the words, with sources

• About watermelon: The watermelon is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae.
• About watermelon: It is a scrambling and trailing vine-like plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit, a large berry with a firm rind and no internal divisions, botanically termed a pepo.
• Meaning of WATERMELON (noun): A plant of the species Citrullus lanatus, bearing a melon-like fruit.
• Meaning of WATERMELON (noun): The fruit of the watermelon plant, having a green rind and watery flesh that is typically bright red when ripe and contains black seeds.
• Meaning of WATERMELON (noun): A pinkish-red colour, like that of watermelon flesh (also called watermelon pink).

Sources: Wikipedia: Watermelon (revision 1383750635, read 2026-11-06); Wiktionary: watermelon (revision 94577666, read 2026-11-06). Text from Wiktionary and Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, edited by their contributors.