Poople Hints

Poople #399 · Thu, Sep 17

Poople #399 Answer: DUTY to POOP

DUTY POOP

Hints for Poople #399

Sniff test (How many steps?)RevealHide
The shortest path takes 6 steps.
Which letter stinks? (Which letter changes first?)RevealHide
Change the 3rd letter first.
First plop (The first word)RevealHide
Your first move is DULY.
Answer (Full shortest path)RevealHide

DUTY → DULY → DULL → PULL → POLL → POOL → POOP

All 2 shortest paths
  1. DUTY → DULY → DULL → DOLL → POLL → POOL → POOP
  2. DUTY → DULY → DULL → PULL → POLL → POOL → POOP

Play Poople #399

Try the ladder yourself before you open the answer. Old puzzles do not count toward your streak.

Unrolling…

Sniffing out the word list…

Shortest path: 6 steps Tricky

Finish in 6 steps for a Royal Flush

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How the Poople #399 answer works

Poople #399 asks you to turn DUTY into POOP by changing one letter at a time, and every word on the way has to be in the Poople word list. The shortest path takes 6 steps. There are 2 different shortest paths; the one explained below is the path the official game shows.

Step-by-step explanation (spoiler)
  1. Change the 3rd letter from T to L: DUTY → DULY. 5 steps to go.
  2. Change the 4th letter from Y to L: DULY → DULL. 4 steps to go.
  3. Change the 1st letter from D to P: DULL → PULL. 3 steps to go.
  4. Change the 2nd letter from U to O: PULL → POLL. 2 steps to go.
  5. Change the 3rd letter from L to O: POLL → POOL. 1 step to go.
  6. Change the 4th letter from L to P: POOL → POOP. That spells POOP, so you are done.

First-move traps for DUTY

DUTY has only one neighbour in the Poople word list, and it moves you closer to POOP.

How hard is Poople #399?

At 6 steps, Poople #399 is rated Tricky. Across the 105 Poople puzzles on this site, the shortest path averages 5.7 steps. Of the other puzzles, 57 were shorter, 33 had the same length and 14 were longer.

Try other words in the Poople solver, or play endless practice ladders in Poople Unlimited.

FAQ

What is the Poople #399 answer?+−
Poople #399 (Sep 17, 2026) starts from DUTY. The shortest path is DUTY → DULY → DULL → PULL → POLL → POOL → POOP.
How many steps does Poople #399 take?+−
The shortest path from DUTY to POOP takes 6 steps. There are 2 shortest paths.
What is the first move in Poople #399?+−
The official best path starts DUTY → DULY.
Can Poople #399 be solved in fewer than 6 steps?+−
No. 6 steps is the minimum: every word one letter away from DUTY is at least 5 steps from POOP.
What was the Poople answer the day before #399?+−
Poople #398 started from WHAT. The shortest path was WHAT → CHAT → CHAP → CHOP → COOP → POOP. Its hints are on the Poople #398 page in the archive.