Braingle: 'Give an Inch, Take a Mile' Brain Teaser

Give an Inch, Take a Mile

Language brain teasers are those that involve the English language. You need to think about and manipulate words and letters.

Puzzle ID:	#21278
Fun:	(2.86)
Difficulty:	(2.97)
Category:	Language
Submitted By:	cnmne
Corrected By:	cnmne

Change MILE to INCH by changing one letter at a time. Each change must produce a valid word in the English language. But there is a catch. You must make the change by going through YARD and FOOT. No word can be used more than once.

MILE ----> YARD ----> FOOT ----> INCH

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Comments

sftbaltwty Mar 10, 2005	i was able to work it a different way up through foot...but wasn't able to keep going because the bell rang maybe later i continue and see if my alternate solution will work in the end but REALLY good job..i love these..maybe Braingle should start a whole new category like they did with the Rebus puzzles
r3lish Mar 19, 2005	was finding other ways, for the upper steps it was easy, but the foot-inch part had to pass mach i think
froggygg Mar 26, 2005	Likewise, I managed to change to a few words but got stuck trying to exchange the "y" in yard. Very clever - and hard. Fun trying this one - even if I couldn't solve it.
pointmeister Apr 02, 2005	Good one - I saw this one in Games Magazine a couple of years ago - but forgot about it
mesendk Apr 02, 2005	great riddle!
je_russell Apr 02, 2005	Alternate for Foot->Inch: Foot-fort-tort-tart-tact-tach-each-etch-itch-Inch.
Kinergy Apr 02, 2005	MILE MALE MARE YARE YARD HARD HART FART FORT FOOT TOOT TORT TART TACT FACT FACE MACE MACH EACH ETCH ITCH INCH Of course, I had to use a dictionary to figure it out.
auntpatpat Apr 02, 2005	I would of got it if i took more time but I`m a very impatient person! Good one though!
auntpatpat Apr 02, 2005	I would of got it if i took more time but I`m a very impatient person! Good one though!
inconspicuous20 Apr 02, 2005	I think there is an easier way...sombody tell me if I'm wrong. I did it this way: MILE--MEAL--LEAD--DEAR--YARD--DART--TOAD--AUTO--TOFU--FOOT--FONT--TONE--CONE--COIN--INCH That was a fun one, though!
(user deleted) Apr 02, 2005	Here's a faster way from FOOT --> ITCH: foot --> moot --> most --> mast --> mash --> mach --> each --> etch --> itch
DJNic Apr 02, 2005	It was very fun!!! i got until i got to foot then i got stuck i found different words though to change it but it still worked neways gr8 teaser!!
Punk_Rocker Apr 02, 2005	I also had to use a dictionary...I got.. MILE - mire - mare - care - card - YARD - yarn - barn - bart - fart - fort - FOOT - ford - fore - fare - face - mace - mach - each - etch - itch - INCH I was surprised at how many I got correct...O_o
Master_Yoda Apr 02, 2005	Wow what a challenge. I could've figured it out but I didn't have the time. Good teaser.
(user deleted) Apr 02, 2005	Wow!!! That's a toughy!!!!!! How long did it take you to get that teaser?? lol
Jessa Apr 02, 2005	Nice took me awhile but I figured it out!! (I looked at the answer then went back and saw how they figured it out to see if I did it the same way!?! Which I did!
lilliandulcia Apr 02, 2005	Ok, I did this waayy different and I only used the letters available (cause I thought thats how I was suppose to do it). MILE, MALE, MARE, MARD, YARD, FARD, FART, FORT, FOOT, FOOH, FOCH, IOCH, INCH And I thought I was makin up the words for FOOT-INCH but it turns out they are actual real words o.o;;
Kinergy Apr 02, 2005	Inconspicuous, absolutely brilliant: MILE--MEAL--LEAD--DEAR--YARD--DART--TOAD--AUTO--TOFU--FOOT--FONT--TONE--CONE--COIN--INCH Nothing wrong with that... other than you are rearranging the letters! Not allowed to do that.
brain_dead Apr 02, 2005	i didn't get it to me it was totally stupid no offense to whomever wrote it
Kuzz Apr 02, 2005	Awesome Riddle! I love these word puzzles!
Lucky_Thirteen Apr 04, 2005	That was very very good! I couldn't get it! Ha ha. That was so cool!
yipiyuk Apr 04, 2005	Great one! I too made it easily to FOOT but had difficulty getting from FOOT to INCH. I did find a quicker path from MILE to YARD... mile>mild>wild>ward>yard
Javian May 21, 2005	great teaser, but lots more ways to figure it out; I did: mile-male-bale-bald-bard-yard>card>cord>ford>food>foot
GreenApples27 May 03, 2011	I did MALE, rather than MIRE, but otherwise got the same.
jainasolo May 03, 2011	@inconspicuous20 That's smart, but I'm pretty certain you're not allowed to rearrange the letters. You can only change "one letter at a time". I think that means they have to remain in the same order. But good job for thinking outside of the box! This was a good teaser.
javaguy78 May 03, 2011	mile > mire > mare > ware > ward > yard > card > cart > fart > fort > foot > moot > most > mast > mash > mach > each > etch > itch > inch
Jeppydog May 03, 2011	I made it to FOOT but couldn't get from there to INCH....I did get to MACH but stalled there. Great puzzle though.
auntiesis May 03, 2011	Really great puzzle, one of my favorites. It was a little tricky, but I got it. Thanks.