Puzzle #17 · Aug 31, 2025
Poople #17 Answer: THUG to POOP
Poople #17 was the puzzle for Sunday, August 31, 2025. The starting word was THUG, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 6 steps. We found 3 different shortest paths with our word list. Open the hints below one at a time if you want a nudge, or reveal the full ladder at the end.
Poople #17 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 2nd letter of THUG, the H.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after THUG starts with T. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with F.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
THUG → TRUG → FRUG → FROG → PROG → PROP → POOP
6 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
TRUG and FRUG and PROG are in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept them.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THUG | TRUG | 2nd letter H to R |
| 2 | TRUG | FRUG | 1st letter T to F |
| 3 | FRUG | FROG | 3rd letter U to O |
| 4 | FROG | PROG | 1st letter F to P |
| 5 | PROG | PROP | 4th letter G to P |
| 6 | PROP | POOP | 2nd letter R to O |
Play this puzzle
All shortest paths from THUG
Our word list allows 3 shortest ladders from THUG to POOP, each 6 steps. They are folded so they don't give the answer away.
Show all 3 paths
- THUG → TRUG → FRUG → FROG → PROG → PROP → POOP
- THUG → TRUG → TRIG → TRIP → TROP → PROP → POOP
- THUG → TRUG → TRIG → PRIG → PROG → PROP → POOP
Words one letter away from THUG
These 4 words differ from THUG in one letter. Common words are in SCOWL size 35; rare words are only in the ENABLE list, and the official game is more likely to reject them.
- CHUG common
- THUD common
- THUS common
- TRUG rare
How hard was Poople #17?
By our count it rates Expert: fewest 6 steps. That makes #17 harder than 74% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #16 YEAR (Aug 30, 2025)
- Next: #18 YEAH (Sep 1, 2025)
- Same difficulty: #4 JIVE, #11 OPUS, #21 SIZE
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #17?
Poople #17 takes 6 steps. We count the fewest steps from THUG to POOP with a breadth-first search over our four-letter word list (ENABLE + SCOWL), and the official game uses its own word list, so its count can differ from ours.
What was the starting word for Poople #17?
The starting word for Poople #17 was THUG, on Sunday, August 31, 2025. Every Poople puzzle ends at POOP, so the start word is the only thing that changes from day to day. With our word list this one rates Expert. Hints for it are at the top of this page.
Can I replay Poople #17?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with THUG as the start word, with Undo, Restart and three levels of hints. You can also play unlimited random puzzles on the home page, or pick any other past puzzle from the archive.