Famous Last Words (or Escape the Concatenation Camp)

Question

Word War II has been raging for years, and many innocent words have been rounded up into concatenation camps (which is certainly a death sentence). Thus far, you've managed to evade detection but many of your friends have not been so lucky.

Though it likely spells your doom, you've decided to help and have dug a narrow tunnel into one of the camps through which you'll be able to help a small group of words escape. Unfortunately you can barely get a word in edgewise, so they'll have to come through a few letters at a time. The even bigger problem, is that once on the outside the escapees will need to be disguised or they'll be too easily recognised and risk being caught again.

The night of the escape comes, and a small group of words has gathered near the entrance to the tunnel:

abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, reacted, vague

Now it's up to you to help them escape and ensure their disguises are good enough to evade detection on the outside.

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Rules:

1. Move words or word fragments from one side of the tunnel to the other until all constituent letters have escaped to the other side
2. Word fragments must always be a contiguous sequence of letters taken from the start or the end of a single existing word
3. Movement can only occur from one side of the tunnel to the other (i.e. you can't rearrange words whilst still on one side), however you can move through the tunnel in either direction
4. Words formed on either side of the tunnel must always be valid dictionary words (see clarifications below), though fragments in transit need not
5. In order to remain disguised, any word that appears at any time on one side of the tunnel, must never appear on the other side in the exact same form (the corollary of which is that a word can't move directly in whole from one side to the other)

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A simple, one word example (with "@" being the tunnel):

reheated @
reheat @ ed
heat @ reed
he @ reed, at
here @ ed, at
there @ ed, a
re @ ed, a, the
@ ed, are, the

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Clarifications on what constitutes a "word":

To be considered a valid word, it must have an entry on dictionary.com, with the following stipulations:

• English words only
• No acronyms and abbreviations (though shortenings that have become common words, such as "ed" are ok, so long as they're listed as such)
• No proper nouns
• Informal words are ok, but regional specific slang is not

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Edit (Oct 6):

I recognise that retrospectively changing things is a little unfair to existing answers (please don't downvote them), but I wanted to make a few further clarifications as to my intentions of what constitutes a word:

• Use of accented characters isn't allowed ("é" is not the same as "e")
• Just having an entry on dictionary.com doesn't make it a word (eg. every letter of the alphabet has it's own entry, but they aren't words, unless it has additional definition, eg. "I" or "a", similarly chemical symbols aren't words)
• Related/Derived forms of a given word are allowed, even when they don't have a page of their own (eg. "test" has a page, and lists things like "testing" and "testability" under derived forms even though they don't have their own individual entry pages)

That being said the English language is by it's very nature fluid, so while I'm trying to be unambiguous, all these rules are going to be somewhat subjective and I'm happy for people to argue their case for exceptions.

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Edit (Oct 27):

I've posted my reference solution below, if anyone is interested. It's marked as accepted since it's currently the "best" solution. Still happy to move the tick if anyone can make improvements...

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^{Note: There's potentially multiple solutions to this problem, so if multiple people get it, I'll award the tick to the person who can arrive at the least number of words on the other side of the tunnel (with the least number of steps taken as a tie-breaker). For reference, my solution results in 6 words.}

Answer 1

For reference, here's the solution I (OP) came up with while constructing this puzzle. I'm marking it as the "accepted" answer because I believe it is currently the best solution. If anyone improves on it, I'll move the tick.

0: abstruse, reacted, honest, condors, invention, neon, vague @
1: abstruse, react, honest, condors, invention, neon, vague @ ed
2: abstruse, act, honest, condors, invention, neon, vague @ reed
3: abstruse, act, honest, condors, invent, neon, vague @ reed, ion
4: abstruse, honest, condors, invent, neon, vague @ reed, action
5: abstruse, honest, condor, invent, neon, vague @ reeds, action
6: use, honest, condor, invent, neon, vague @ reeds, abstraction
7: use, honest, condor, invents, neon, vague @ reed, abstraction
8: use, honest, condor, reinvents, neon, vague @ ed, abstraction
9: use, honest, condo, reinvents, neon, vague @ red, abstraction
10: use, honest, con, reinvents, neon, vague @ red, abstraction, do
11: honest, con, reinvents, neon, vague @ red, abstraction, douse
12: honest, con, reinvent, neon, vague @ red, abstraction, douses
13: honest, condo, reinvent, neon, vague @ red, abstraction, uses
14: honest, con, reinvent, neon, vague @ red, abstraction, uses, do
15: honest, con, reinvent, on, vague @ red, abstraction, uses, done
16: honest, reinvent, on, vague @ red, abstraction, uses, condone
17: abs, honest, reinvent, on, vague @ red, traction, uses, condone
18: abscond, honest, reinvent, on, vague @ red, traction, uses, one
19: abscond, hone, reinvent, on, vague @ red, traction, uses, stone
20: abscond, hone, reinvent, on, vaguer @ ed, traction, uses, stone
21: abscond, hone, reinvent, on, vague @ ed, traction, ruses, stone
22: abscond, hone, reinvent, on, vaguest @ ed, traction, ruses, one
23: abscond, hone, reinvention, on, vaguest @ ed, tract, ruses, one
24: abscond, hone, reinvent, on, vaguest @ ed, tract, ruses, one, ion
25: abscond, honer, reinvent, on, vaguest @ ed, tract, uses, one, ion
26: abscond, honer, invent, on, vaguest @ ed, retract, uses, one, ion
27: abscond, honer, vent, on, vaguest @ ed, retract, uses, one, ion, in
28: abscond, honer, vent, on, guest @ ed, retract, uses, one, ion, vain
29: abscond, hon, vent, on, guest @ ed, retract, uses, one, ion, vainer
30: abscond, ho, vent, on, guest @ ed, retract, uses, none, ion, vainer
31: ho, vent, on, guest @ absconded, retract, uses, none, ion, vainer
32: vent, on, guest @ absconded, retract, houses, none, ion, vainer
33: on, guest @ absconded, retract, houses, nonevent, ion, vainer
34: guest @ absconded, retract, houses, nonevent, onion, vainer
35: @ absconded, retract, guesthouses, nonevent, onion, vainer

Answer 2

This was tricky:

0 (start): abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, reacted, vague, @
1: abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, react, vague, @, ed
2: abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, re, vague, @, act, ed
3: use, condors, honest, invention, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, ed
4: use, con, honest, invention, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, dors, ed
5: use, con, honest, inventions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, dor, ed
6: user, con, honest, inventions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, do, ed
7: user, con, honest, ions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, invent, do, ed
8: er, con, honest, ions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, invent, do, used
9: er, convent, honest, ions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, in, do, used
10: er, vent, honest, ions, neon, re, vague, @, abstract, in, condo, used
11: er, vent, honest, ions, neon, vague, @, abstract, rein, condo, used
12: er, honest, ions, neon, vague, @, abstract, reinvent, condo, used
13: er, ho, ions, neon, vague, @, abstract, reinvent, condo, used, nest
14: er, ions, neon, vague, @, abstract, reinvent, condo, housed, nest
15: er, neon, vague, @, abstract, reinventions, condo, housed, nest
16: neon, vague, @, abstracter, reinventions, condo, housed, nest
17: neon, vaguest, @, abstracter, reinventions, condo, housed, ne
18: neon, guest, @, abstracter, reinventions, condo, housed, vane
19: on, guest, @, abstracter, reinventions, condone, housed, vane
20: one, guest, @, abstracter, reinventions, condone, housed, van
21: done, guest, @, abstracter, reinventions, condone, house, van
22: done, @, abstracter, reinventions, condone, guesthouse, van
23: e, @, abstracter, reinventions, condone, guesthouse, van, don
24: es, @, abstracter, reinvention, condone, guesthouse, van, don
25 (finish): @, abstracter, reinvention, condone, guesthouse, vanes, don

Answer 3

0: abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, reacted, vague @
1: abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, react, vague @ ed
2: abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, re, vague @ ed, act
3: use, condors, honest, invention, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstract
4: use, dors, honest, invention, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstract, con
5: use, dor, honest, invention, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con
6: use, dor, honest, ion, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent
7: use, dor, honest, on, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent, i
8: use, dor, honest, o, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent, in
9: use, do, honest, o, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent, rin
10: user, do, honest, o, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent, in
11: us, do, honest, o, neon, re, vague @ ed, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
12: do, honest, o, neon, re, vague @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
13: do, hone, o, neon, re, vague @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, erst
14: do, hone, o, neon, re, vaguest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
15: hone, o, neon, re, vaguest @ used, abstracts, condo, invent, in, er
16: ho, o, neon, re, vaguest @ used, abstracts, condone, invent, in, er
17: ho, one, neon, re, vaguest @ used, abstracts, condo, invent, in, er
18: ho, one, neon, redo, vaguest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
19: ho, one, neon, o, vaguest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, erred
20: hoed, one, neon, o, vaguest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, err
21: hoed, oner, neon, o, vaguest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
22: hoed, oner, neon, o, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, vain, er
23: hoed, oner, neon, ova, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, er
24: hoed, oner, neon, a, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, over
25: hoed, oner, eon, a, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, inn, over
26: hoed, oner, eon, an, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, over
27: hoed, oner, on, an, guest @ used, abstracts, cone, invent, in, over
28: hoed, oner, on, ane, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, in, over
29: hoed, oner, on, guest @ used, abstracts, con, invent, inane, over
30: ho, oner, on, guest @ used, abstracts, coned, invent, inane, over
31: oner, on, guest @ housed, abstracts, coned, invent, inane, over
32: oner, don, guest @ housed, abstracts, cone, invent, inane, over
33: oner, done, guest @ housed, abstracts, con, invent, inane, over
34: oner, guest @ housed, abstracts, con, invent, inane, overdone
35: one, guest @ housed, abstracts, con, invent, inaner, overdone
36: done, guest @ house, abstracts, con, invent, inaner, overdone
37: guest @ house, abstracts, condone, invent, inaner, overdone
38: @ guesthouse, abstracts, condone, invent, inaner, overdone

Formatting and some word ideas from @GordonK - thanks!

Answer 4

I've been working on this for days now (see original date and dozens of edits). I'm so close.

1. abstruse, condors, honest, invention, neon, acted, vague @ re
2. abstruse, condors, hone, invention, neon, acted, vague @ rest
3. abstruse, condors, hone, invention, neon, acted, vaguest @ re
4. abstruse, condors, hone, ion, neon, acted, vaguest @ re, invent
5. abstruse, condors, hone, ion, neon, acted, vaguest, vent @ re, in
6. abstruse, condors, hone, ion, neon, acted, guest, vent @ re, vain
7. abstruse, condors, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent @ re, vain, act
8. use, condors, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent @ re, vain, abstract
9. condors, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent @ reuse, vain, abstract
10. condor, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent @ reuses, vain, abstract
11. condor, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent, tract @ reuses, vain, abs
12. dor ^src, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, vent, tract @ reuses, vain, abs, con
13. dor, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ reuses, vain, abs, convent
14. do, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ reuses, vain rabs ^src, convent
15. do, hone, ion, neon, reed, guest, tract @ uses, vain, rabs, convent
16. do, hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ uses, vain, rabs, convent, re
17. hone, ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ uses, vain, rabs, convent, redo
18. ho, ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ uses, vain, rabs, convent, redone
19. ion, neon, ed, guest, tract @ houses, vain, rabs, convent, redone
20. ion, neon, ed, tract @ guesthouses, vain, rabs, convent, redone
21. ion, neon, red, tract @ guesthouses, vain, abs, convent, redone
22. ion, neon, redabs, tract @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone
23. ion, neon, dabs, tract @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone, re
24. ion, neon, dabs @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone, retract
25. neon, dabs @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone, retraction
26. neon, redabs @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone, traction
27. neon, red @ guesthouses, vain, convent, redone, traction, abs
28. neon, red, vent @ guesthouses, vain, con, redone, traction, abs
29. neon, ed, vent @ guesthouses, vain, con, redone, traction, rabs
30. neon, reed, vent @ guesthouses, vain, con, done, traction, rabs
31. neon, ed, vent @ guesthouses, vain, con, done, retraction, rabs
32. neon, ed, vent, ion @ guesthouses, vain, con, done retract, rabs
33. neon, ed, vent, i @ guesthouses, vain, con, done, retract, rabs, on
34. neo, ed, vent, i @ guesthouses, vain, cont, done, retract, rabs, non
35. ed, vent, I @ guesthouses, vain, neocon, done, retract, rabs, non
36. ed, vent, iva ^src @ guesthouses, in, neocon, done, retract, rabs, non
37. ed, iva @ guesthouses, invent, neocon, done, retract, rabs, non
38. ed, a @ guesthouses, invent, neocon, done, retract, rabs, non, IV ^src
39. ed @ guesthouses, invent, neocon, done, retract, rabs, anon, IV
40. @ guesthouses, invented, neocon, done, retract, rabs, anon, IV

---

If neo isn't counted, this is where I'm at

34. eon, ed, vent, i @ guesthouses, vain, cont, done, retract, rabs, non
35. eon, ed, vent, iva ^src @ guesthouses, in, con, done, retract, rabs, non
36. eon, ed, iva @ guesthouses, invent, con, done, retract, rabs, non
37. eon, ed, IV ^src @ guesthouses, invent, con, done, retract, rabs, non, a
38. ed, IV @ guesthouses, invent, con, done, retract, rabs, non, aeon
39. IV @ guesthouses, invented, con, done, retract, rabs, non, aeon

Just gotta figure out how to get that V over there and then make icon

Answer 5

Regarding "reheated", it seems that you can do it:

['reheated'] / []
['re'] / ['heated']
['reed'] / ['heat']
['re'] / ['heat', 'ed']
[] / ['reheat', 'ed']

I know it was just an example, but I wanted to confirm that I had a correct understanding of how it worked. This assumes that you're allowed "ed", which is marginal, IMHO!

To do it without "ed", you could do it like this:

['reheated'] / []
['heated'] / ['re']
['heat'] / ['reed']
['at'] / ['reed', 'he']
['a'] / ['treed', 'he']
['ad'] / ['tree', 'he']
[] / ['tree', 'head']

Still working on the full puzzle...

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Edit:

1 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 'reacted', 'vague'] @ []
2 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 'react', 'vague'] @ ['ed']
3 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'act']
4 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstract']
5 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'invent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstraction']
6 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstraction', 'in']
7 ['use', 'condor', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in']
8 ['use', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'rin']
9 ['user', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in']
10 ['us', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'er']
11 ['us', 'condo', 'ho', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
12 ['condo', 'ho', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['used', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
13 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['housed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
14 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'vague'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
15 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'vaguest'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'in', 'erne']
16 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'guest'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erne']
17 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erne']
18 ['con', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erne', 'do']
19 ['contractions', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abs', 'vain', 'erne', 'do']
20 ['contractions', 'vent', 'on', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abs', 'vain', 'erne', 'done']
21 ['con', 'vent', 'on', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abs', 'vain', 'erne', 'done', 'tractions']
22 ['vent', 'on', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abs', 'vain', 'erne', 'condone', 'tractions']
23 ['vent', 'o', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nabs', 'vain', 'erne', 'condone', 'tractions']
24 ['vent', 'o', 're'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nabs', 'vain', 'erne', 'condoned', 'tractions']
25 ['vent', 'o'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nabs', 'vain', 'erne', 'condoned', 'retractions']
26 ['vent', 'one'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nabs', 'vain', 'er', 'condoned', 'retractions']
27 ['one'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nabs', 'vain', 'venter', 'condoned', 'retractions']
28 ['ones'] @ ['guesthouse', 'nab', 'vain', 'venter', 'condoned', 'retractions']
29 ['bones'] @ ['guesthouse', 'na', 'vain', 'venter', 'condoned', 'retractions']
30 ['bone'] @ ['guesthouse', 'na', 'vain', 'venters', 'condoned', 'retractions']
31 ['boned'] @ ['guesthouse', 'na', 'vain', 'venters', 'condone', 'retractions']
32 ['bon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'na', 'vain', 'venters', 'condone', 'retractions', 'ed']
33 ['on'] @ ['guesthouse', 'na', 'vain', 'venters', 'condone', 'retractions', 'bed']
34 ['non'] @ ['guesthouse', 'a', 'vain', 'venters', 'condone', 'retractions', 'bed']
35 [] @ ['guesthouse', 'anon', 'vain', 'venters', 'condone', 'retractions', 'bed']

Or, going for fewer steps (edit - down to 30 steps):

1 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 'reacted', 'vague'] @ []
2 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 'react', 'vague'] @ ['ed']
3 ['abstruse', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'act']
4 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'invention', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstract']
5 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'invent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstraction']
6 ['use', 'condors', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstraction', 'in']
7 ['use', 'condor', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in']
8 ['use', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'rin']
9 ['user', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in']
10 ['us', 'condo', 'honest', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'er']
11 ['us', 'condo', 'ho', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['ed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
12 ['condo', 'ho', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['used', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
13 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 're', 'vague'] @ ['housed', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
14 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'vague'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'in', 'ernest']
15 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'vaguest'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'in', 'erne']
16 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red', 'guest'] @ ['house', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erne']
17 ['condo', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erne']
18 ['condone', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'er']
19 ['con', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'er', 'done']
20 ['cone', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'er', 'don']
21 ['coned', 'vent', 'neon', 'red'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'er', 'on']
22 ['coned', 'vent', 'neon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erred', 'on']
23 ['con', 'vent', 'neon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erred', 'on', 'ed']
24 ['con', 'neon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erred', 'on', 'vented']
25 ['con', 'eon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'erred', 'non', 'vented']
26 ['coned', 'eon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'err', 'non', 'vented']
27 ['con', 'eon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'err', 'non', 'vented', 'ed']
28 ['eon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'err', 'non', 'convented', 'ed']
29 ['neon'] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'err', 'on', 'convented', 'ed']
30 [] @ ['guesthouse', 'abstractions', 'vain', 'err', 'on', 'convented', 'neoned']