Old Phone Keys: Same as BOOK
Read the puzzle
An old phone keypad shows the letter groups 2 ABC, 3 DEF, 4 GHI, 5 JKL, 6 MNO, 7 PQRS, 8 TUV and 9 WXYZ; key 1 has no letters. The screen reads BOOK = ????. Four options: A) BOOT, B) CONE, C) LOOK, D) COOK. Which of the four words types the same number as BOOK?
Which of the four words types the same number as BOOK?
Type BOOK first, then compare each option key by key.
COOK
B and C share key 2, so BOOK and COOK both type 2665.
How to solve it
Turn BOOK into keys first. B is on 2, O is on 6, O is on 6 and K is on 5, so BOOK types 2665.
Then convert each option the same way, letter by letter. BOOT is 2, 6, 6, 8, which gives 2668; the T sits on key 8, not 5. CONE is 2, 6, 6, 3, which gives 2663, because N and O share key 6 but E is on 3. LOOK is 5, 6, 6, 5, which gives 5665; L shares key 5 with K, but the first letter breaks the match. COOK is 2, 6, 6, 5, which gives 2665, exactly the same as BOOK.
The tempting wrong answer is LOOK, because it rhymes with BOOK and ends in the same OOK. Rhyme does not matter here: only the key under each letter counts, and L is on 5 while B is on 2. The match works for COOK because B and C live on the same key.
Quick check: line up 2665 and 2665 digit by digit. Every word with B or C first, OO in the middle and J, K or L last types the same number.
