Crossword Genius

Flounder leads to small fall (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stumble

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'flounder' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'small fall' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is present in the answer.
'fall' could be 'tumble' (tumbling is a kind of falling) and 'tumble' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'leads to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stumble that I've seen before include "Come near to falling while walking" , "Slip - fall" , "Falter" , "Fall while walking or running" , "Momentarily trip" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.