Poople #450 answer & hints
Ladder 1
VILE → POOP
VILEPOOP
Hint 1 Tap to reveal
The shortest path takes 5 steps after VILE.
Hint 2 Tap to reveal
Your first move turns VILE into a word matching _ I L E.
Hint 3 Tap to reveal
The word just before POOP is POOL.
Show the shortest path Spoiler
5 steps
startVILE
step 1PILE
step 2PILL
step 3POLL
step 4POOL
step 5POOP
There are 5 different shortest paths of 5 steps; this one uses the most common words.
Reasoning & candidate comparison Contains the answer
Why the 5-step VILE ladder works
- Start at VILE. A breadth-first search from POOP over the 2,398 words in the captured official dictionary places VILE at distance 5. Each edge changes exactly one letter, so no shorter route exists in this captured graph.
- VILE → PILE: change letter 1 from V to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 5 to 4.
- PILE → PILL: change letter 4 from E to L. The shortest remaining distance falls from 4 to 3.
- PILL → POLL: change letter 2 from I to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 3 to 2.
- POLL → POOL: change letter 3 from L to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 2 to 1.
- POOL → POOP: change letter 4 from L to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 1 to 0.
- 2 of the 15 accepted one-letter neighbours of VILE can start a shortest route: PILE, VOLE. Compare remaining distance, not just how similar the spelling looks to POOP.
| Candidate / approach | Assessment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| VILE → PILE | Keeps a shortest route | PILE is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 4 more steps, making 5 from VILE. |
| VILE → VOLE | Keeps a shortest route | VOLE is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 4 more steps, making 5 from VILE. |
| VILE → BILE | Valid word, longer route | BILE is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 5 more steps, making 6 from VILE, 1 more than the optimum. |
| VILE → FILE | Valid word, longer route | FILE is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 5 more steps, making 6 from VILE, 1 more than the optimum. |
What this does and does not establish
- This is our reproducible graph analysis using the dictionary snapshot captured 2026-11-07 (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 #450 answer card Spoiler
Every answer for #450
All Poople #450 answers in one table Spoiler
| Ladder | Clue | Shortest path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | VILE → POOP | VILE → PILE → PILL → POLL → POOL → POOP |
Poople #450 FAQ
What date was Poople #450?
Poople #450 was the puzzle for Saturday, November 7, 2026.
How do I check Poople #450 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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