LinkedIn CrossClimb #599 — Step-by-step solution (Dec 20, 2025)

Game: LinkedIn CrossClimb — question_id: 599 — published: December 20, 2025 — puzzle name: LinkedIn CrossClimb #599

This post explains how to solve today’s CrossClimb puzzle step by step, showing how each clue yields a word and how the words form a one‑letter‑change ladder that unlocks the hyphenated compound answer COPPER‑PLATED.

Quick answer

The ladder runs: COPTER → COATER → CRATER → CRATED → PRATED, producing the top word COPPER and the bottom word PLATED to form the hyphenated final: COPPER‑PLATED.

How the puzzle works (brief)

CrossClimb gives several clue lines; each line answers to a word. After solving the individual clues you must reorder answers into a word ladder where each step changes exactly one letter from the previous word. The final compound clue uses the unlocked top and bottom words to form the final hyphenated phrase.

Step‑by‑step explanation of each hint

• Hint 1: Helipad craft, for short → COPTER

  Reasoning: "Helipad craft" signals a helicopter; the short, common informal form is copter. This is a six‑letter word that fits the puzzle’s length and is a natural CrossClimb entry.

• Hint 2: Machine that uniformly applies a liquid such as paint → COATER

  Reasoning: A machine that applies a coating is a coater. Compare to COPTER: only one letter changes (P → A), so COPTER → COATER is a valid single‑letter transition while keeping the letter positions consistent for a ladder.

• Hint 3: Impact zone, as on the moon → CRATER

  Reasoning: An impact zone is a crater. From COATER to CRATER the only change is the second letter (O → R), making COATER → CRATER a one‑letter step in the ladder.

• Hint 4: Boxed for storage → CRATED

  Reasoning: "Boxed for storage" is described by crated. CRATER → CRATED swaps the fourth and sixth letters? Actually the single change needed is the fifth letter (R → D) depending on alignment; importantly, CRATER and CRATED differ by one letter, so they form the next valid step in the word ladder.

• Hint 5: Blathered on and on → PRATED

  Reasoning: "Prated" means talked at length (blathered). CRATED → PRATED changes only the first letter (C → P), keeping all other letters same—this completes the chain of five interior clues.

Confirming the word ladder

Chain verification (each adjacent pair differs by one letter):

COPTER
COATER
CRATER
CRATED
PRATED

Each successive word changes exactly one letter, which is the central rule for CrossClimb ladders. That ordering unlocks the top and bottom words for the compound final.

Final compound question and answer

When the ladder is in place the puzzle reveals the top and bottom answers that form the hyphenated compound. From this ladder the top answer (derived from morph points near the start) is COPPER and the bottom answer is PLATED. Combined as a hyphenated phrase describing something "clad in metal sheets used for engraving," the correct final is COPPER‑PLATED.

Solver tips illustrated by this puzzle

• Work from clear, common synonyms first — COPTER and CRATER are everyday words that anchor the ladder.
• When a clue yields multiple synonyms, use the one that lets you change a single letter to connect to other answers.
• Check letter positions carefully; CrossClimb demands that only one letter changes per step and that letters keep their positions except for the single substitution.
• If stuck, try swapping vowels first (they often create valid English words) or change the first/last letter to find bridges between answers.

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If you enjoyed this breakdown, save or bookmark it for future CrossClimb puzzles — the same logical checks and single‑letter verification will speed up your solves.