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Mon 24 Jan, 2005 09:35 am
You are given one word to try to change into another, one step at a time. Each step consists of changing one letter of the word into another while still having a common English word. For example, one step would be to change the word "PIE" to "PIT." Another step could change "PIT" to "POT," and so on.
What is the FEWEST number of steps in which you can change "BUZZ" into "WORD"?
B U Z Z
. . . .
. . . .
W O R D
Do you know what the shortest step count is?
I'd like to know, then I can stay within this limit. Thanks.
Don: also, can you confirm if there is a particular dictionary from which the valid words are to be checked?
All I can tell you Bib is that it is an American dictionary, I dont have any further information, and the best I've done is 9 moves, the best I've seen is 7 moves.
Thanks. It makes a difference to the step count depending on which dictionary I use.
Here's my first shot at it (with definitions in brackets):
BUZZ
FUZZ (blurred)
FURZ (gorse)
FURL (fold)
CURL (hair)
CURD (milk)
CORD (rope)
WORD
How many steps is that? Seven?
Hmm Bib I cant find furz, which dictionary are you looking in?
FURZ is in Webster's 1828 Dictionary.
Here's the definition: "Gorse; whin; a thorny plant of the genus Ulex."
That's a great first shot Bib, I await with baited breath to see what your second shot might be
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