18
$\begingroup$

If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it an Ordered Word™.

Use the examples below to find the rule.

Ordered Words™ Not Ordered Words™
CAT DOG
BACK FRONT
NO YES
BEST WORST
DEMON ANGEL
FELL ROSE
TEA COFFEE
ONE TWO
WOOF MEOW
LIE TRUTH

CSV Version:

Ordered Words™,Not Ordered Words™
CAT,DOG
BACK,FRONT
NO,YES
BEST,WORST
DEMON,ANGEL
FELL,ROSE
TEA,COFFEE
ONE,TWO
WOOF,MEOW
LIE,TRUTH

What is the rule?
There are many more Ordered Words™

Subtle Hint:

Those born in 90's are more likely to know this rule.

$\endgroup$
1
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Looks like someone used this puzzle as inspiration for a Programming Puzzles & Code Golf question. Nice! (FYI: The link to the question contains spoilers to this puzzle.) $\endgroup$
    – Alpha
    Aug 1, 2017 at 1:05

1 Answer 1

20
$\begingroup$

I think an ordered word is one which

Is created by pressing buttons on a phone keypad, in order of number size, in one direction.

To type the not ordered words, you need to increase the number size and then decrease, or vice-versa. P.S. - I was born in the 60's

The relevant pattern is given by

2 → ABC
3 → DEF
4 → GHI
5 → JKL
6 → MNO
7 → PQRS
8 → TUV
9 → WXYZ

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ For best or tea you couldn't do this on keypad in one direction but would work if you just had 2-9 in one line $\endgroup$
    – BMS21
    Jul 31, 2017 at 10:34
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks @BMS21 - I updated answer to clarify the order is in terms of number size. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Jul 31, 2017 at 10:43
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @BMS21 unless you had a Nokia 3650 :) $\endgroup$
    – Novarg
    Jul 31, 2017 at 11:54
  • $\begingroup$ You forgot to say that the direction changes for each word in this model. I.e. a word can be mapped on either increasing or decreasing ordinal value, but always consistently one of those. $\endgroup$ Aug 1, 2017 at 7:35

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.