Crumble #9 — the solution
The board from October 9, 2026, on the theme “Creepy crawlies”: 7 words in thirty-six falling letters — a Fair day.
The board
S P D M S W N E G G E O A H D E R U A I I L O O I M M T B L L A G E E T
At first sight 2 words are in line: BEETLE and MIDGE. The rest come together as letters fall.
The words
| # | Word | Where it starts, and how it runs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEETLE | row 5, column 5 down, left, up, up, up |
| 2 | LOUSE | row 5, column 6 up, up, left, down |
| 3 | MIDGE | row 5, column 3 up, up, up, left |
| 4 | MAGGOT | row 5, column 2 down, right, right, right, right |
| 5 | APHID | row 4, column 1 right, down, down, right |
| 6 | SNAIL | row 2, column 1 down, down, down, down |
| 7 | WORM | row 5, column 6 down, left, left |
One order that clears it
Rows are counted from the top and columns from the left, on the board as it stands when the word is taken — the letters have fallen by then. Most boards can be cleared in more than one order; this is the first one the board allows, taking the longest word that is ready.
- BEETLE. Start at row 5, column 5 of the board as it stands, then down, left, up, up, up. Its going brings MAGGOT and LOUSE together.
- LOUSE. Start at row 5, column 6 of the board as it stands, then up, up, left, down. Its going brings WORM together.
- MIDGE. Start at row 5, column 3 of the board as it stands, then up, up, up, left. Nothing new comes together.
- MAGGOT. Start at row 5, column 2 of the board as it stands, then down, right, right, right, right. Its going brings APHID together.
- APHID. Start at row 4, column 1 of the board as it stands, then right, down, down, right. Its going brings SNAIL together.
- SNAIL. Start at row 2, column 1 of the board as it stands, then down, down, down, down. That leaves WORM, the last word.
- WORM. Start at row 5, column 6 of the board as it stands, then down, left, left. The board is clear.
The decoys
19 common words can be traced at some point and are off the theme — a mistake each: BOLT, BORE, BORED, DELI, EDGE, GORE, IMAGE, LEDGE, LOBE, LORE, MILE, NAIL, PAIL, PENS, ROBE, ROLE, TORE, USER, WOES.
Previous: Crumble #8 (Thu, Oct 8) · Next: Crumble #10 (Sat, Oct 10)
About Crumble
Crumble is Noggin’s falling-letters word puzzle, on the second shelf: every word fits the day’s theme, a traced word crumbles and the letters above fall, outside the daily line-up. How to play Crumble, or play today’s.