Crossclimb · No. 879 · Saturday edition
LinkedIn Crossclimb #879 Answer (Sep 26, 2026)
Top & bottom: The top + bottom rows = A two-word phrase for victory in every part of a competition. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom.
- Top rung
- Animals often herded by dogs
- Little sound from a nest
- Crude and unimaginative, as a trick
- Peek at a classmate's test, say
- Spike in a World Cup player's footwear
- Bottom rung
Hint: Solve the middle clues first; neighboring words differ by exactly one letter.
Show Crossclimb #879 answer as text
- The top + bottom rows = A two-word phrase for victory in every part of a competition. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom. → SWEEP
- Animals often herded by dogs → SHEEP
- Little sound from a nest → CHEEP
- Crude and unimaginative, as a trick → CHEAP
- Peek at a classmate's test, say → CHEAT
- Spike in a World Cup player's footwear → CLEAT
- The top + bottom rows = A two-word phrase for victory in every part of a competition. Keep in mind: The first word may be at the bottom. → CLEAN
About Crossclimb #879
- Crossclimb #879 is a ladder of 7 5-letter words, each one letter away from the next.
- Listed alphabetically rather than in ladder order, the five middle clues are: "Animals often herded by dogs"; "Crude and unimaginative, as a trick"; "Little sound from a nest"; "Peek at a classmate's test, say"; "Spike in a World Cup player's footwear".
- The shortest, "Animals often herded by dogs", runs five words against seven for the longest.
- One adds a qualifier after a comma, 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.