Today's LinkedIn Crossclimb

LinkedIn Crossclimb #887 is the LinkedIn Crossclimb daily for October 4, 2026. Crossclimb is LinkedIn's word-ladder game: solve 5 middle crossword clues, order the rungs so adjacent words differ by one letter, then unlock the top and bottom combo words. This page includes the live board, a solved-board view, and a step-by-step Solution walkthrough. Difficulty: Hard. Estimated solve time: 6–10 min. Read the explainer sections below for strategy, or jump straight into play.

The complete word ladder from KILO to LIMA:

KILO → KILT → TILT → TILE → TIME → LIME → LIMA

Top and bottom share the combo clue: “Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet.”

1. Middle 1Exhibit A

   KILT

   Pleated garment associated with Scotland

   Clue insight

   Exhibit A — "Pleated garment associated with Scotland" → KILT. "Pleated garment associated with Scotland" resolves to "KILT" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer.

   Solving note

   A plausible wrong answer often differs in length or cannot one-letter-link to other middles — verify before reordering.

2. Middle 2Exhibit B

   TILT

   Lean over a little

   Clue insight

   Exhibit B — "Lean over a little" → TILT. "Lean over a little" resolves to "TILT" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer.

   Solving note

   A plausible wrong answer often differs in length or cannot one-letter-link to other middles — verify before reordering.

3. Middle 3Exhibit C

   TILE

   Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall

   Clue insight

   Exhibit C — "Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall" → TILE. "Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall" resolves to "TILE" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer.

   Solving note

   A plausible wrong answer often differs in length or cannot one-letter-link to other middles — verify before reordering.

4. Middle 4Exhibit D

   TIME

   "___ flies when you're having fun"

   Clue insight

   Exhibit D — ""___ flies when you're having fun"" → TIME. Fill-in style clue — "TIME" completes the pattern described in ""___ flies when you're having fun"".

   Solving note

   A plausible wrong answer often differs in length or cannot one-letter-link to other middles — verify before reordering.

5. Middle 5Exhibit E

   LIME

   Green citrus fruit

   Clue insight

   Exhibit E — "Green citrus fruit" → LIME. "Green citrus fruit" resolves to "LIME" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer.

   Solving note

   A plausible wrong answer often differs in length or cannot one-letter-link to other middles — verify before reordering.

1. KILO → KILTStep 1

   O→T at the fourth letter (KILO → KILT)

   Link A: O→T at the fourth letter (KILO → KILT).

   Combo-adjacent link — confirms end word placement.

2. KILT → TILTStep 2

   K→T at the first letter (KILT → TILT)

   Link B: K→T at the first letter (KILT → TILT).

   Middle chain link — ordering constraint.

3. TILT → TILEStep 3

   T→E at the fourth letter (TILT → TILE)

   Link C: T→E at the fourth letter (TILT → TILE).

   Middle chain link — ordering constraint.

4. TILE → TIMEStep 4

   L→M at the third letter (TILE → TIME)

   Link D: L→M at the third letter (TILE → TIME).

   Middle chain link — ordering constraint.

5. TIME → LIMEStep 5

   T→L at the first letter (TIME → LIME)

   Link E: T→L at the first letter (TIME → LIME).

   Middle chain link — ordering constraint.

6. LIME → LIMAStep 6

   E→A at the fourth letter (LIME → LIMA)

   Link F: E→A at the fourth letter (LIME → LIMA).

   Combo-adjacent link — confirms end word placement.

The evidence supports middle order KILT → TILT → TILE → TIME → LIME. Alternative permutations break the one-letter adjacency rule unless an answer is wrong.

Final exhibits: KILO (top combo) and LIMA (bottom combo). Shared prompt: "Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet.".

The combo clue "Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet." describes both end words together — "KILO" and "LIMA" each differ by one letter from their adjacent middle rungs and satisfy the shared top+bottom prompt.

Phase 1: Solve the 5 middle crossword clues to unlock KILT, TILT, TILE, TIME, LIME. Middle 1: "Pleated garment associated with Scotland" → KILT. "Pleated garment associated with Scotland" resolves to "KILT" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer. Middle 2: "Lean over a little" → TILT. "Lean over a little" resolves to "TILT" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer. Middle 3: "Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall" → TILE. "Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall" resolves to "TILE" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer. Middle 4: ""___ flies when you're having fun"" → TIME. Fill-in style clue — "TIME" completes the pattern described in ""___ flies when you're having fun"". Middle 5: "Green citrus fruit" → LIME. "Green citrus fruit" resolves to "LIME" once you read the clue as a 4-letter crossword answer. Phase 2: Order the middle rungs so adjacent words differ by one letter — valid chain: KILT → TILT → TILE → TIME → LIME. Ladder step: O→T at the fourth letter (KILO → KILT) (connects to a combo end). Ladder step: K→T at the first letter (KILT → TILT). Ladder step: T→E at the fourth letter (TILT → TILE). Ladder step: L→M at the third letter (TILE → TIME). Ladder step: T→L at the first letter (TIME → LIME). Ladder step: E→A at the fourth letter (LIME → LIMA) (connects to a combo end). Phase 3: Unlock combo ends — top "KILO" and bottom "LIMA" share the clue: Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet..

Only one middle permutation forms a valid ladder from top to bottom — if ordering feels stuck, recheck a middle answer.

This Crossclimb is a 4-letter word ladder from KILO to LIMA. The top and bottom rows share one combo clue: Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The solution path is KILO → KILT → TILT → TILE → TIME → LIME → LIMA, changing exactly one letter between each rung. Middle clues include Pleated garment associated with Scotland, Lean over a little, and Piece of material often used to cover a floor or wall, and others — solve these before reordering. Correct middle order: KILT → TILT → TILE → TIME → LIME. The combo clue "Two consecutive letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet." describes both end words together — "KILO" and "LIMA" each differ by one letter from their adjacent middle rungs and satisfy the shared top+bottom prompt. Only one middle permutation forms a valid ladder from top to bottom — if ordering feels stuck, recheck a middle answer. Use the Solution tab above for a three-phase walkthrough (middles → order → combo ends), or the Solved board tab for the complete ladder at a glance.