CrossClimb #893: Five Clues, One Compound Question

The Ladder at a Glance

CrossClimb #893 is built from five compact clues, but the real challenge is arranging their answers into a clean one-letter climb:

LOIS → LOBS → LABS → CABS → CANS → CANE → LANE

Every neighboring pair changes in exactly one position. The compound final is formed by the words at the two ends, with the first name appearing at the bottom of the ladder.

Solving the Clues

1. High shots, in tennis

The answer is LOBS, a tennis shot hit high over an opponent. This becomes the top word of the central clue ladder.

2. Places for science experiments

The answer is LABS. Compare it with LOBS: the second letter changes from O to A.

LOBS → LABS

3. Some hired rides, for short

The answer is CABS. It connects directly to LABS by swapping the first letter, L, for C.

LABS → CABS

4. Cylindrical containers

The answer is CANS. The final letter changes from B to N.

CABS → CANS

5. Walking aid

The answer is CANE. The last letter changes again, this time from S to E.

CANS → CANE

The Aha! Moment

The clue answers alone do not reveal the final pair. The ladder needs two additional endpoint words, each one letter away from an existing rung.

LOIS attaches above LOBS: the third letter changes from B to I.

LANE attaches below CANE: the first letter changes from C to L.

That produces the complete climb:

LOIS → LOBS → LABS → CABS → CANS → CANE → LANE

How the Final Answer Emerges

The compound question asks for Superman’s main love interest, giving a first name and a last name. Reading the endpoints in the required direction, with the first name at the bottom, yields LOIS & LANE.

The construction is especially neat because both names are not merely thematic endpoints. They are also valid one-letter extensions of the clue-answer chain, turning five independent solutions into a single, tightly connected ladder.