# Codebreaking puzzle- Breach at Whitehall

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [October 19, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025 "2016-10-19T14:30:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025/21 "2017-04-12T20:13:29Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> I typed _:1,$!sort -k 3_ . Enlightenment ensued!

I’m not a Unix geek and don’t have time to learn vi, but based on quick googling, I surmise that that command sorts the list of words by your third column (the one with “GO,” “BE,” and so on.) Is that correct? If so, I did that in a spreadsheet, and enlightenment has not ensued.

Would someone please talk to me as though I’m 10 years old, and provide a more obvious, basic clue?

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025/22 "2017-04-13T08:09:45Z")

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> [@Arcite](#):
>
> Can anyone provide some more insight? I’ve tried what you guys have suggested and while I now see what some of the codewords have in common, I still don’t get it.

What do some of the codewords have in common?

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**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025/23 "2017-04-14T02:06:06Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> What do some of the codewords have in common?

With one or two exceptions, they form pairs which share the same first two letters, and they also form different pairs that share the same last two letters.

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**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/codebreaking-puzzle-breach-at-whitehall/769025/24 "2017-04-14T02:35:17Z")

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Never mind, I got it.

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