Yes, it was the same puzzle:


BE is correct, Sgt.Joe!

GD, SR and BE are the first and last letters of the words GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE.
ST, ND, RD are the last two letters of FIRST, SECOND and THIRD.
IRS, ECON and HIR are all the letters inbetween the first and last letters of the words FIRST, SECOND and THIRD.

Cheers!

This puzzle is called a word ladder. The object of a word ladder is to change one word into another by shifting or altering one letter at a time and making the next common, usually uncapitalized English word at each step. Example: from CATS to MICE in 4 steps:
CATS, MATS, MATE, MACE, MICE

Now we will go from GRID to OPNG in 5 steps.
Starting at GRID, the next word involves changing one letter with a smile;
the next word involves shifting one letter, creating jewellery worn on the finger;
for the next word you need to change one letter and to test a particular IP address;
with the next word one letter needs to be changed again, making a hollow sound;
at last, by shifting one letter we're arriving at OPNG. So:

GRID
....    Go to the next word by shifting this letter: .
....    Go to the next word by changing this letter: .
....    Go to the next word by changing this letter: .
....    Go to the next word by shifting this letter: .
OPNG

By selecting one letter from each word (see the shifting/changing specifications) and putting them in a row, another common English word can be formed. What is that word?

....

While composing my puzzle here online a few days ago and waiting for the weekend to come, I lost part of my message and had to re-type the last part of it. In doing so and posting it at 2023-03-26 00:00 UTC I forgot to add that the answer can also only be a fourletter word. So ... It's not DINING, Sgt.Joe. You need to use the separate four resulting letters from the shifting/changing specifications. Would you care to give it another go?

Your solution is perfect in order so far, Sgt.Joe.
This is what you have found:

GRIN
RING
PING
PONG

Now, next to GRIN it says: "Go to the next word by shifting this letter: ."
So my expectations are that you'll find out which letter should be moved (shifted) [in GRIN] to reach the next word, i.e. RING. (The dot is there to fill out just one letter - from the word GRIN in this case.)

Then go to RING, where you'll notice the next statement: "Go to the next word by changing this letter: ."
So your task would be to find out which letter should be changed (altered) [in RING] to go to the next word, i.e. PING.

And so on.

Does it make it a lot easier now to find the last fourletter word, using the four separate letters, one from each of the 4 words that you filled out at first?

Maybe my initial wording was not good enough English? If that's the case, could you let me know what exactly made it unclear?

Adri

Alright, thank you, Sgt.Joe!


That's the correct word! GRIP it is.
Let me guide you to the final solution.

GRID
GRIN    Go to the next word by shifting this letter: G
RING    Go to the next word by changing this letter: R
PING    Go to the next word by changing this letter: I
PONG    Go to the next word by shifting this letter: P
OPNG

By going from GRIN to RING, you would have to move the G (to the end of the word).
By going from RING to PING, you would need to alter the R.
By going from PING to PONG, you should change the letter I.
Finally, by going from PONG to OPNG, you would swap the P and the O, so you can either shift the O or the P into place to form OPNG.
We have the first three letters, G, R and I, and have to add an O or a P, but GRIO doesn't look like a common English word, so the final solution is GRIP.

Thank you for participating and finding the correct answer, Sgt.Joe!

Adri