CrossClimb #787: From BONY to FORD—Letter Swaps & Auto Fixes Compound Clue
Related Puzzle
CrossClimb #787
LinkedIn CrossClimb #787 for June 26, 2026 full solution with hints, top and bottom answers. Hints: Like fish that you have to be careful eating, Connection between two things that may be “common” or “covalent”, Like some farewells, Cross a river in a shallow place, or automobile company that produces the Mustang, Microsoft application for preparing text documents, A compound word for fixes to the outside of an automobile.
CrossClimb #787: The Word Ladder Journey
This puzzle is a classic word ladder where you answer five clues to get five 4-letter words, then arrange them so each differs from the next by exactly one letter. The final compound word—BODYWORK—is the answer to "fixes to the outside of an automobile," formed by joining the top word BODY and bottom word WORK.
Step-by-Step Clue Breakdown & Letter Swaps
Here are the five clue answers, with each letter swap explicitly shown to build the ladder:
1. Clue 1 → BONY
"Like fish that you have to be careful eating" = BONY
Start word: BONY
2. Clue 2 → BOND
"Connection between two things that may be 'common' or 'covalent'" = BOND
Swap: Y → D in position 4 (BONY → BOND)
3. Clue 3 → FOND
"Like some farewells" = FOND
Swap: B → F in position 1 (BOND → FOND)
4. Clue 4 → FORD
"Cross a river in a shallow place, or automobile company that produces the Mustang" = FORD
Swap: N → R in position 3 (FOND → FORD)
5. Clue 5 → WORD
"Microsoft application for preparing text documents" = WORD
Swap: F → W in position 1 (FORD → WORD)
The Full Ladder Sequence
When arranged correctly, the word ladder is:
- BONY
- BOND (Y→D)
- FOND (B→F)
- FORD (N→R)
- WORD (F→W)
How BODY + WORK Forms the Final Answer
The puzzle unlocks two final words:
- Top word: BODY (swap N→Y in BONY? No—actually, it's derived by swapping the last letter of BOND: D→Y → BODY)
- Bottom word: WORK (swap D→K in WORD → WORK)
Together, BODYWORK means "fixes to the outside of an automobile." The ladder cleverly connects daily language (farewells, documents, fish) with automotive terms through single-letter swaps, making the compound pair the satisfying "Aha!" moment.
Key Strategy for This Puzzle
1. Answer each clue first without overthinking the order.
2. List all words and compare them pairwise to find which differ by one letter.
3. Arrange them in a chain where each step is exactly one swap.
4. Use the final compound clue to confirm the top and bottom words: BODY and WORK.
The elegance of CrossClimb #787 lies in how letter swaps bridge unrelated concepts—leading you from a bony fish to a text document, and finally to the compound word for car repairs.