Poople #440 answer & hints
Ladder 1
CRUX → POOP
CRUXPOOP
Hint 1 Tap to reveal
The shortest path takes 7 steps after CRUX.
Hint 2 Tap to reveal
Your first move turns CRUX into a word matching C R U _.
Hint 3 Tap to reveal
The word just before POOP is PROP.
Show the shortest path Spoiler
7 steps
startCRUX
step 1CRUD
step 2CRED
step 3CREW
step 4CROW
step 5CROP
step 6PROP
step 7POOP
There are 4 different shortest paths of 7 steps; this one uses the most common words.
Reasoning & candidate comparison Contains the answer
Why the 7-step CRUX ladder works
- Start at CRUX. A breadth-first search from POOP over the 2,398 words in the captured official dictionary places CRUX at distance 7. Each edge changes exactly one letter, so no shorter route exists in this captured graph.
- CRUX → CRUD: change letter 4 from X to D. The shortest remaining distance falls from 7 to 6.
- CRUD → CRED: change letter 3 from U to E. The shortest remaining distance falls from 6 to 5.
- CRED → CREW: change letter 4 from D to W. The shortest remaining distance falls from 5 to 4.
- CREW → CROW: change letter 3 from E to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 4 to 3.
- CROW → CROP: change letter 4 from W to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 3 to 2.
- CROP → PROP: change letter 1 from C to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 2 to 1.
- PROP → POOP: change letter 2 from R to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 1 to 0.
- 1 of the 1 accepted one-letter neighbours of CRUX can start a shortest route: CRUD. Compare remaining distance, not just how similar the spelling looks to POOP.
| Candidate / approach | Assessment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CRUX → CRUD | Keeps a shortest route | CRUD is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 6 more steps, making 7 from CRUX. |
| CRUX → CRUX | Not a legal change | Repeating CRUX changes zero letters. A step must change exactly one, so this does not make progress and the remaining distance is still 7. |
What this does and does not establish
- This is our reproducible graph analysis using the dictionary snapshot captured 2026-10-30 (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 #440 answer card Spoiler
Every answer for #440
All Poople #440 answers in one table Spoiler
| Ladder | Clue | Shortest path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CRUX → POOP | CRUX → CRUD → CRED → CREW → CROW → CROP → PROP → POOP |
Poople #440 FAQ
What date was Poople #440?
Poople #440 was the puzzle for Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
How do I check Poople #440 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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