From: grue@cs.uq.oz.au (Pauli)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Word puzzle
Date: 3 Sep 92 09:51:01 GMT
Reply-To: grue@cs.uq.oz.au
Organization: Computer Science Department, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

hi again,

I wrote:

>       It is based upon those ones of the form given a start word and
>a finish word, change one letter at a time until you've changed the start
>into the finish (and naturally everything in the middle must also be words).

>       The slight change I propose makes the problem quite different.  At
>each stage you are allowed to rearrange the letters of the new word
>you are forming but you must still create a word each time.

>Can anybody solve these?  My best efforts are in brackets.

>devil -> angel         (3 steps)
>epees -> bevvy         (8 steps)
>axiom -> lemma         (3 steps)
>begins -> qwerty       (5 steps)
>chasing -> robbers     (6 steps)


>Also, what is the longest sequence that is also the shortest sequence
>between the two words? [e.g. vainest -> infulae is very very long in
>the original problem (length 60 or so) and in the modified version it
>is much shorter ]



The solutions I found to these are:

        DEVIL ideal glade ANGEL
        EPEES pease eased ideas divas vivda divvy bivvy BEVVY
        AXIOM limax maile LEMMA
        BEGINS gibers tribes writes wryest QWERTY
        CHASING bashing sabbing rabbins rabbies earbobs ROBBERS

As far as I know these are optimal (or they are with respect to the
dictionary I have here).





Longest sequence I've found with 5 letters is (length 10):
        BEVVY bivvy civvy chivy chive cavie ceiba baize buaze abuzz HUZZA

The longest I've found with 6 letters is (length 12):
        BAZAZZ bizazz pizazz piazze epizoa apozem apedom mooped hooped
               hoopoe hoopoo boohoo BOOBOO

For 7 letters (length 15):
        ANYWAYS waylays flyaway halfway hallway wallahs sahiwal dahlias
                alidads disload gadoids ogdoads dagwood dogwood godhood
                HOGHOOD

For 8 letters (length 20):
        DAHABIEH dahabeah habdalah havdalah halavahs halalahs challahs
                 challans canellas manacles caramels caromels caseworm
                 woomeras washroom showroom hookworm bookworm wordbook
                 woodwork WOODWORM

For 9 letters (length 21):
        PROBATORY prokaryot prokaryon procaryon acrophony phonatory
                  hypotonia antiphony antiphons pantihose inchoates
                  anchorets courantes basecourt outbacker backcourt
                  touchback notchback thornback buckthorn buckhorns CORNHUSKS

For 10 letters (length 21 -- there were lots this length):
        ZYGOSPERMS zygospores gyroscopes pyroscopes poroscopes horoscopes
                   poorhouses porthouses porteouses outpressed disreputes
                   unpriested indentures underlines underlings blundering
                   unbridling unblinding unbindings unwindings unsinewing
                   INSINEWING

        LEUKAEMIAS leucaemias emasculate ejaculates ejaculated anucleated
                   crenulated interlaced canistered ancestries stingarees
                   masterings hamstrings histograms misgrowths growthists
                   ghostwrite ghostwrote outgrowths outwrought throughout
                   FORTHOUGHT



The dictionary starts becoming sparse from here on (in fact it is
a touch lacking in the 10 letter department).





                                                        Pauli

Paul Dale                       | grue@cs.uq.oz.au
Department of Computer Science  | +61 7 365 2445
University of Queensland        |
Australia, 4072                 | Did you know that there are 41 two letter
                                |     words containing the letter 'a'?

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