Crossclimb · No. 824 · Sunday edition
LinkedIn Crossclimb #824 Answer (Aug 2, 2026)
Top & bottom: The top + bottom rows = Two words that complete the saying “___ the ___” meaning to embellish or overdecorate something that is already beautiful. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom.
- Top rung
- Breathing organ used by a fish to get oxygen from water
- Place where grain is ground into flour
- Gentle or moderate
- ___-goose chase (lengthy and usually fruitless pursuit)
- Cunning and shrewd
- Bottom rung
Hint: Solve the middle clues first; neighboring words differ by exactly one letter.
Show Crossclimb #824 answer as text
- The top + bottom rows = Two words that complete the saying “___ the ___” meaning to embellish or overdecorate something that is already beautiful. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom. → GILD
- Breathing organ used by a fish to get oxygen from water → GILL
- Place where grain is ground into flour → MILL
- Gentle or moderate → MILD
- ___-goose chase (lengthy and usually fruitless pursuit) → WILD
- Cunning and shrewd → WILY
- The top + bottom rows = Two words that complete the saying “___ the ___” meaning to embellish or overdecorate something that is already beautiful. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom. → LILY
About Crossclimb #824
- Crossclimb #824 is a ladder of 7 4-letter words, each one letter away from the next.
- Listed alphabetically rather than in ladder order, the five middle clues are: "Breathing organ used by a fish to get oxygen from water"; "Cunning and shrewd"; "Gentle or moderate"; "Place where grain is ground into flour"; "___-goose chase (lengthy and usually fruitless pursuit)".
- The shortest, "Cunning and shrewd", runs 3 words against 11 for the longest.
- One is a fill-in-the-blank, and clues like that are usually the fastest to pin down.
- Settle the middle five before touching the top and bottom rungs: those two share one combined clue that opens only once the middle is in ladder order.