Puzzle #273 · May 14, 2026
Poople #273 Answer: PITY to POOP
Poople #273 was the puzzle for Thursday, May 14, 2026. The starting word was PITY, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 steps. We found 6 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 #273 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 4th letter of PITY, the Y.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after PITY starts with P. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with P.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
PITY → PITS → POTS → POMS → POMP → POOP
5 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
POMS is in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept it.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PITY | PITS | 4th letter Y to S |
| 2 | PITS | POTS | 2nd letter I to O |
| 3 | POTS | POMS | 3rd letter T to M |
| 4 | POMS | POMP | 4th letter S to P |
| 5 | POMP | POOP | 3rd letter M to O |
Play this puzzle
All shortest paths from PITY
Our word list allows 6 shortest ladders from PITY to POOP, each 5 steps. They are folded so they don't give the answer away.
Show all 6 paths
- PITY → PITS → POTS → POMS → POMP → POOP
- PITY → PILY → PILL → POLL → POOL → POOP
- PITY → PILY → POLY → POLL → POOL → POOP
- PITY → PINY → PONY → POND → POOD → POOP
- PITY → PITA → PIMA → PIMP → POMP → POOP
- PITY → PITH → PISH → POSH → POOH → POOP
Words one letter away from PITY
These 10 words differ from PITY 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.
- CITY common
- MITY rare
- PATY rare
- PILY rare
- PINY rare
- PIPY rare
- PITA rare
- PITH rare
- PITS common
- PIXY rare
How hard was Poople #273?
By our count it rates Hard: fewest 5 steps. That makes #273 harder than 13% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #272 MUST (May 13, 2026)
- Next: #274 WANT (May 15, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #270 DUNG, #271 BUTT, #272 MUST
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #273?
Poople #273 takes 5 steps. We count the fewest steps from PITY 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 #273?
The starting word for Poople #273 was PITY, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. 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 Hard. Hints for it are at the top of this page.
Can I replay Poople #273?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with PITY 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.