Word ladder puzzles are those things where you have to change one word into another, one letter at a time, using only valid words as intermediate steps. For example, to change KING to SERF:
KING
SING
SINE
SIRE
SURE
SURF
SERF
Now, often it is required to complete the task in fewer steps than that, but I want to pose a different challenge:
Construct a word ladder puzzle where the letters that change (highlighted in red in the above example) also spell out a valid word.
(in the example above, I fail, because as far as I know, Serufe is not a valid word)
I know we have some intensely smart puzzle people here - anyone fancy having a go?
Bonus points if the word created by the link is also related, or better (but probably unattainable) describes, in some way, the difference or transition between the two end words.
Choosing your “real word” first might be the key to building one of these. I tried to go from “BANK” to “-RUPT” (not totally kosher) and almost managed to get the intervening word to spell “SPENT”:
BANK
BAN**S**
**P**ANS
P**E**NS
...
RU**N**E
RUN**T**
RUPT
But of course the problem is that the intervening word must have every letter that is new to the last word, so the intervening word will have to be (at its smallest) an anagram of the end word, and (at any size) contain all of the letters in the end word.
For example, if you try to go from FISH to FOOD with the transition word “HOOKED” and you would have H, K, and E to play with…
I think Jurph’s right - for every letter position that ends up different, that letter must be in the linking word.
But playing around with it, getting a real linking word from two thematically related words looks bloody hard. Making the linking word thematic too would be a mighty achievement.
That said, you know how when you’re at a Czech wedding, and the party hasn’t got going because everybody’s too SHY to SAY anything? And then the band plays a POLKA to break the ice? I’m sure we’ve all been there. Well how about
