Tuesday 10 April 2007

MISSING LINKS

For those still puzzling over Lewis Carroll's Doublets, here are the solutions. As both GILL and GOOD DOG correctly answered, this is how you turn FIRE into HEAT:

FIRE
H
ire
Here

Herd

Head

HEAT

GILL also found a solution to putting MILK into PAIL:

MILK
Mill
Mall
Pall
PAIL

Lewis Carroll suggested MILL - PILL - PALL, but MILL - MALL - PALL is just as good.

What no one got was WHEAT into BREAD and then BREAD into TOAST...

So, here's the answers...
WHEAT
Cheat
Cheap
Cheep

Creep
Creed
Breed
BREAD
Break
Bleak
Bleat

Blest

Blast

Boast
TOAST


Don't feel any obligation, but can, if you like try increasing ONE to TWO, advancing FOUR to FIVE; turning TEARS into SMILE and making BLACK WHITE...

PS: I'm sorry that yesterday's blog did NOT allow comments (it's one of the more annoying aberations of New Blogger that it occasionaily - and arbirtairly - decides not to allow comments! Comment-leaving on that particular post has now been facilitated --- albeit a bit late!

[Image: Lewis Carroll by David Levine]

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd love to spend more time on these, but can't at the moment. For now, I have to be content at getting FOUR to FIVE and TEARS to SMILE. Apologies that my solution for the latter included a rude word. No surprises there.

FOUR
POUR
POOR
POOL
POLL
POLE
PILE
FILE
FIVE

TEARS
SEARS
SEATS
STARS
STARE
SHARE
SHIRE
SHITE
SMITE
SMILE

Brian Sibley said...

Yes, well, the latter does NOT of course conform to Lewis Carroll's ruling: "It is, perhaps, needless to state that it is de rigueur that the links should be English words, such as might be used in good society." ;-)

Anyone who would care to enter CLEAN version, please feel free!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, alright then. Just to show I can:

TEARS
SEARS
SEATS
STARS
STARE
STALE
STILE
SMILE

Anonymous said...

And while I'm at it, let me double my number of posts:

ONE
ORE
ARE
ART
ARM
AIM
RIM
RAM
RAG
TAG
TOG
TOO
TWO

And for monochromatic perfection:

BLACK
SLACK
SLICK
SLICE
SLIDE
SLADE
SHADE
SHARE
SHIRE
SHINE
WHINE
WHITE

I feel like I'm cheating a bit with SLADE, but it is a valid word, meaning either:

A little dell or valley; a flat piece of low, moist ground.

or

The sole of a plow.

Let me try again, but without what looks like a 70s rock band getting in the way:

BLACK
BLANK
BLINK
SLINK
STINK
STING
SWING
SWINE
TWINE
THINE
WHINE
WHITE

Brian Sibley said...

QENNY - you're pretty good at these... :-)

Although I'm afraid Lewis Carroll just has the edge on you!

FOUR to FIVE: you did it with 7 links; Carroll with 5, as follows:

FOUR
Tour
Torr
Tore
Tire
Fire
FIVE

TEARS to SMILE (your CLEAN version!) took 6 links; Caroll's solution again used only 5, the same words as you used but minus SEATS which you really didn't need since you could have gone from SEARS to STARS in one move...

ONE to TWO: well done, this was hard and in your solution you made the switch with 11 links; however, Carroll did it in six (but it is tricksy):

ONE
Ope
Opt
Out
Tut
Tot
Too
TWO

And, finally, BLACK to WHITE: both of your solutions - two first-rate attempts, by the way - use 10 links, but unfortunately Mr Carroll managed it with only 6:

BLACK
Blank
Blink
Clink
Chink
Chine
Whine
WHITE