Crossclimb #666 Answer – February 25, 2026

SHOEHORN

Answer

SHOEHORN

SHOE
SHOT
___ put (Olympic event)
SOOT
Grime in a chimney
SOON
The "S" in ASAP
BOON
Beneficial thing
BORN
"___ with a silver spoon in one's mouth" (privileged)
HORN

Combo Clue

Compound word that's a thing used to help put on footwear

📖 How I Solved It

I tackled puzzle #666 on February 25, 2026, and let me tell you, it was a real brain teaser! The combo clue for SHOEHORN threw me for a bit of a loop. I kept thinking about different kinds of footwear tools, but I wasn't getting anywhere. When I finally realized it was a compound word, things started to click. I had a couple of wrong guesses, like trying to fit 'SHIN' into the mix instead of SHOE for the word ladder. But once I got SHOE, the rest of the ladder came together more easily. The clue '___ put (Olympic event)' stumped me for a moment, and I was wracking my brain trying to remember the specific event. Eventually, I nailed it with SHOT and everything just fell into place. Overall, it was a satisfying puzzle once I cracked it!

💡 Tips for This Puzzle

❓ FAQ

The Crossclimb answer for February 25, 2026 (#666) is SHOEHORN. The complete word ladder is: SHOE → SHOT → SOOT → SOON → BOON → BORN → HORN.