POOPLE #285 · 26 May 2026

MUTE to POOP.

A little help for this word ladder. Open only the hints you need.

6shortest moves
18shortest paths
Moderateour distance-based rating
01A gentle nudgeJust the shortest length. No words revealed.
You can get from MUTE to POOP in 6 moves. That means 7 words, including the start.
02A little more directionFind out which letter to change first.
One shortest route starts by changing letter 1. You do not have to match a letter in POOP on every move.
03Your first stepping stoneReveal the first word of a shortest route.
Try CUTE. From there, you have 5 moves left.CUTE
04The full answerReady? Reveal every step to POOP.

MUTE · CUTE · COTE · COME · COMP · COOP · POOP

  1. StartMUTEYour starting word
  2. Move 1CUTEM — C · letter 1
  3. Move 2COTEU — O · letter 2
  4. Move 3COMET — M · letter 3
  5. Move 4COMPE — P · letter 4
  6. Move 5COOPM — O · letter 3
  7. Move 6POOPC — P · letter 1

18 shortest paths in the checked word list. View the full explanation

Every step, explained.

Full solution below. Stop here if you want to keep solving.

  1. StartMUTEYour starting word
  2. Move 1CUTEM — C · letter 1
  3. Move 2COTEU — O · letter 2
  4. Move 3COMET — M · letter 3
  5. Move 4COMPE — P · letter 4
  6. Move 5COOPM — O · letter 3
  7. Move 6POOPC — P · letter 1
All 18 equivalent shortest paths
  1. MUTE · CUTE · COTE · COME · COMP · COOP · POOP
  2. MUTE · CUTE · COTE · COME · COMP · POMP · POOP
  3. MUTE · CUTE · COTE · COME · POME · POMP · POOP
  4. MUTE · CUTE · COTE · COTS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  5. MUTE · CUTE · CUTS · COTS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  6. MUTE · MOTE · COTE · COME · COMP · COOP · POOP
  7. MUTE · MOTE · COTE · COME · COMP · POMP · POOP
  8. MUTE · MOTE · COTE · COME · POME · POMP · POOP
  9. MUTE · MOTE · COTE · COTS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  10. MUTE · MOTE · DOTE · DOME · POME · POMP · POOP
  11. MUTE · MOTE · MOLE · POLE · POLL · POOL · POOP
  12. MUTE · MOTE · MOLE · POLE · POME · POMP · POOP
  13. MUTE · MOTE · MOPE · POPE · POME · POMP · POOP
  14. MUTE · MOTE · MORE · PORE · POME · POMP · POOP
  15. MUTE · MOTE · TOTE · TOME · POME · POMP · POOP
  16. MUTE · MULE · MOLE · POLE · POLL · POOL · POOP
  17. MUTE · MULE · MOLE · POLE · POME · POMP · POOP
  18. MUTE · MULE · MULL · PULL · POLL · POOL · POOP

Choices at every step

Legal choices change one letter. Shortest-route choices also reduce the remaining distance by one; the counts below refer to the route shown above.

WordLegal choicesOn a shortest routeNext words on a shortest route
MUTE93CUTE, MOTE, MULE
CUTE72COTE, CUTS
COTE172COME, COTS
COME172COMP, POME
COMP82COOP, POMP
COOP141POOP

Historical entry reconstructed from the official schedule available on 10 Nov 2026. Source and verification details.