Crumble #39 — the solution
The board from November 8, 2026, on the theme “At the ballpark”: 7 words in thirty-six falling letters — a Tricky day.
The board
E M O T D L D T T S C U A L E C A O E C A U H F I H L M N E L S O E R R
At first sight 2 words are in line: STEAL and FOUL. The rest come together as letters fall.
The words
| # | Word | Where it starts, and how it runs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | STEAL | row 2, column 4 left, down, down, down |
| 2 | HOMER | row 5, column 2 right, right, down, right |
| 3 | CATCHER | row 3, column 5 down, left, down, right, right, down |
| 4 | CLEAT | row 5, column 2 up, left, up, right |
| 5 | SLIDE | row 6, column 2 left, up, up, up |
| 6 | MOUND | row 6, column 2 right, right, right, up |
| 7 | FOUL | row 6, column 6 up, up, up |
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.
- STEAL. Start at row 2, column 4 of the board as it stands, then left, down, down, down. Its going brings HOMER together.
- HOMER. Start at row 5, column 2 of the board as it stands, then right, right, down, right. Its going brings CATCHER and CLEAT together.
- CATCHER. Start at row 3, column 5 of the board as it stands, then down, left, down, right, right, down. Nothing new comes together.
- CLEAT. Start at row 5, column 2 of the board as it stands, then up, left, up, right. Its going brings SLIDE together.
- SLIDE. Start at row 6, column 2 of the board as it stands, then left, up, up, up. Its going brings MOUND together.
- MOUND. Start at row 6, column 2 of the board as it stands, then right, right, right, up. That leaves FOUL, the last word.
- FOUL. Start at row 6, column 6 of the board as it stands, then up, up, up. The board is clear.
The decoys
27 common words can be traced at some point and are off the theme — a mistake each: ALOE, CAFE, CALM, CHAT, CHEF, CLAD, DALE, DEMO, EACH, ECHO, FERN, LACE, LEACH, LEAD, LETS, MEDAL, MOTEL, OUCH, SLID, SLIM, SOUND, TACO, TEACH, TEAL, TOME, TOTE, UNDO.
Refused, free — a fair player could argue for them: CATCH, HOME.
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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.