Crossclimb #718 Answer – April 18, 2026

SINEWAVE

Answer

SINEWAVE

SINE
FINE
“Acceptable, but not necessarily great”
FIND
“Discover something by chance”
WIND
“Turn the dial of a watch”
WAND
“A rod used in a magic performance”
WANE
“Decrease in size, like the moon for half the lunar cycle”
WAVE

Combo Clue

“A two-word phrase for the graph of a mathematical function that goes up and down”

📖 How I Solved It

I had a bit of a rollercoaster with puzzle #718, especially with the clue for the combo answer. The clue said it was a two-word phrase for the graph of a mathematical function that goes up and down, and I was stuck for a while. I kept thinking about sine curves and waves but couldn't quite piece it together. I even guessed 'UPDOWN' at one point, which was definitely not it! After some back and forth, I finally landed on 'SINEWAVE' after realizing how it perfectly fit the clue. The word ladder was a fun challenge too, especially moving from 'SINE' to 'FINE'. I almost tripped myself up guessing 'FIND' instead, thinking it was a dead end, but it led me right to 'WIND'. Overall, it felt great to crack it after a bit of head-scratching.

💡 Tips for This Puzzle

❓ FAQ

The Crossclimb answer for April 18, 2026 (#718) is SINEWAVE. The complete word ladder is: SINE → FINE → FIND → WIND → WAND → WANE → WAVE.