CrossClimb #783: Clue Ladder and Compound Pair

CrossClimb #783: Start to Finish

This ladder works because each step changes just one letter, while every clue points to a real word that fits the new pattern. The final compound clue then ties the sequence to a pair of small vegetables, one growing on ears and one in pods.

Step 1: PEAK

Clue: Highest point of a mountain.

This is the clean entry point. PEAK is the summit, so the ladder begins with a straightforward geography word.

Step 2: PERK

Letter swapped: A changes to R.

Clue: Bonus earned at a job like a gym membership or free meal.

That clue points to a perk, meaning an extra benefit. The move from PEAK to PERK keeps the P and K in place while shifting the middle letters into a new, clue-matching word.

Step 3: PORK

Letter swapped: E changes to O.

Clue: Meat from a pig.

PORK is the obvious food answer, and it preserves the ladder structure by changing only one vowel from the previous word.

Step 4: PORE

Letter swapped: K changes to E.

Clue: Tiny skin opening.

The clue lands on PORE, the small opening in skin. This step is the kind that rewards paying attention to the definition rather than the sound of the word.

Step 5: CORE

Letter swapped: P changes to C.

Clue: Part of an apple that is left over after eating.

CORE is the leftover center of an apple. The ladder ends the middle run with another one-letter shift, and the repeated -ORE pattern makes the sequence feel especially tight.

Final Compound: PEAS & CORN

Clue: Two small, starchy vegetables: the first is yellow and grown on ears, and the second is green and grown in pods.

This final prompt is doing two jobs at once. It asks for a pair, not a single word, and it cues the two familiar vegetables that fit the descriptions: CORN for the yellow ear-grown crop and PEAS for the green pod-grown crop.

The payoff is that the whole puzzle ends with a satisfying word-ladder feel: each step stays close to the last by swapping just one letter, and the final compound clue breaks the pattern in a deliberate way by asking for two answers that complete the set.

Climb pattern at a glance

PEAK → PERK → PORK → PORE → CORE

Each move is a one-letter swap, and the clue immediately after it confirms the new word. The chain is built to feel simple in hindsight, but the real skill is noticing that the middle words are all one-step neighbors in spelling, not just in meaning.