Poople #438 answer & hints
Ladder 1
ANTE → POOP
ANTEPOOP
Hint 1 Tap to reveal
The shortest path takes 8 steps after ANTE.
Hint 2 Tap to reveal
Your first move turns ANTE into a word matching A N T _.
Hint 3 Tap to reveal
The word just before POOP is BOOP.
Show the shortest path Spoiler
8 steps
startANTE
step 1ANTS
step 2ANDS
step 3AIDS
step 4BIDS
step 5BODS
step 6BOOS
step 7BOOP
step 8POOP
There is only one shortest path (8 steps).
Reasoning & candidate comparison Contains the answer
Why the 8-step ANTE ladder works
- Start at ANTE. A breadth-first search from POOP over the 2,398 words in the captured official dictionary places ANTE at distance 8. Each edge changes exactly one letter, so no shorter route exists in this captured graph.
- ANTE → ANTS: change letter 4 from E to S. The shortest remaining distance falls from 8 to 7.
- ANTS → ANDS: change letter 3 from T to D. The shortest remaining distance falls from 7 to 6.
- ANDS → AIDS: change letter 2 from N to I. The shortest remaining distance falls from 6 to 5.
- AIDS → BIDS: change letter 1 from A to B. The shortest remaining distance falls from 5 to 4.
- BIDS → BODS: change letter 2 from I to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 4 to 3.
- BODS → BOOS: change letter 3 from D to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 3 to 2.
- BOOS → BOOP: change letter 4 from S to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 2 to 1.
- BOOP → POOP: change letter 1 from B to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 1 to 0.
- 1 of the 2 accepted one-letter neighbours of ANTE can start a shortest route: ANTS. Compare remaining distance, not just how similar the spelling looks to POOP.
| Candidate / approach | Assessment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ANTE → ANTS | Keeps a shortest route | ANTS is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 7 more steps, making 8 from ANTE. |
| ANTE → ANTI | Valid word, longer route | ANTI is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 8 more steps, making 9 from ANTE, 1 more than the optimum. |
What this does and does not establish
- This is our reproducible graph analysis using the dictionary snapshot captured 2026-10-27 (SHA-256 4e15f14a91768bd0b3c7104ed443dfd4499cbd0b4f7cdcbd1525fa83bfb6f5f9). It is not a claim that Poople published this exact route, or that its dictionary was identical on every historical date.
Show the Poople #438 answer card Spoiler
Every answer for #438
All Poople #438 answers in one table Spoiler
| Ladder | Clue | Shortest path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ANTE → POOP | ANTE → ANTS → ANDS → AIDS → BIDS → BODS → BOOS → BOOP → POOP |
Poople #438 FAQ
What date was Poople #438?
Poople #438 was the puzzle for Monday, October 26, 2026.
How do I check Poople #438 without spoilers?
Open the hints one at a time on this page. There are 3 hints across 1 ladder, ordered from a gentle nudge to the full solution, and each shortest path stays hidden until you tap to show it.
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