mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
Counting from one to ten is one thing… trying to get from the word ONE to the word TEN is another. By changing one letter at a time (and leaving the others in their original positions), I was able to form a “word bridge” to get from ONE to TEN in six steps. Can you do better? If so, post your response in the comments!
O N E
_ _ _
_ _ _
_ _ _
_ _ _
_ _ _
T E N
HERE is one solution.
Comments (19)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
ONE
TNE
TEE
TEN
Is that right? Did I follow the rules? It seemed too easy.
posted by Dave on 11-17-2008 at 7:54 am
I don’t think acronyms count. Similarly I don’t think prefixes count either but mine was
ONE
ORE
PRE
PEE
PEN
TEN
posted by Ziro on 11-17-2008 at 8:51 am
I don’t think acronyms count. Similarly, I don’t think prefixes count either, but, here’s my go at it:
ONE
ORE
PRE
PEE
PEN
TEN
posted by Ziro on 11-17-2008 at 8:55 am
ONE
ORE
ARE
TRE
TEE
TEN
posted by Amy on 11-17-2008 at 9:34 am
one
ohe
the
tee
ten
ohe – bamboo. Hawiian but American English steals from all languages. That is way it is so hard to learn.
Goose – Geese
Moose – Meese
See what I mean!!!!
posted by Kev in GA on 11-17-2008 at 9:36 am
one
new
wet
ten
posted by Heike on 11-17-2008 at 10:31 am
one
new
wet
ten
posted by heike on 11-17-2008 at 10:32 am
in the parlance of our times:
one
owe
own
pwn
pen
ten
posted by atoms on 11-17-2008 at 10:54 am
in bygone parlance:
one
ore
ere
ern
een
ten
posted by atoms on 11-17-2008 at 11:18 am
one
ore
ort
out
tut
tet
ten
Are you allowed to use proper nouns, like Tut (King of Egypt) and Tet (Buddhist holiday)? Still seven. You guys are good.
posted by Bob on 11-17-2008 at 12:31 pm
Change one letter at a time without re-ordering. No acronyms. No prefixes.
one
oRe – Mineral bearing rock
Tre – Three (Tre of hearts)
tEe – Golf or shirt
teN
posted by Adam The IA on 11-17-2008 at 12:34 pm
I agree with Adam from IA. That’s the shortest way, if you are correctly doing the puzzle, to solve it. Or, at least that’s what I got.
posted by gtrees on 11-17-2008 at 1:16 pm
one
ore
tre
tee
ten
thats five folks….ding ding ding winner winner chicken dinner
posted by scolby1981 on 11-17-2008 at 2:44 pm
One
Oye
Tye
Tee
Ten
posted by Brandon on 11-17-2008 at 4:32 pm
one
ore
ere
ern
eon
ton
ten
No tre in the scrabble dictionary! No “til” for that matter (it’s ’til, abbreviated until).
posted by John on 11-17-2008 at 7:42 pm
one
owe
own
o’en
ten
…was my first thought.
Do we do Elizabethan abbreviations?
posted by Kevin on 11-17-2008 at 8:06 pm
ONE
ORE
ORT
OAT
TAT
TAN
TEN
posted by lee on 11-20-2008 at 12:22 pm
ONE
OWE
TOE
TON
TEN
Got it in 3!!
posted by Chandu on 6-29-2009 at 4:36 pm
How about this:
one
tone
ton
ten
Is that legal?
posted by zingowner on 11-5-2009 at 3:50 pm