Old Phone Keys: 4663
Read the puzzle
An old phone keypad shows: 2 = ABC, 3 = DEF, 4 = GHI, 5 = JKL, 6 = MNO, 7 = PQRS, 8 = TUV, 9 = WXYZ; key 1 has no letters. The screen shows 4663. Which of the four words types 4663: A) HOPE, B) HOLE, C) HOME or D) HOSE?
Which of the four words types 4663?
Find each digit's letters on the keypad. Only one of the four fits.
HOME
H is on 4, O on 6, M on 6, E on 3: 4663.
How to solve it
Turn each word into digits, one letter at a time, using the keypad.
All four words start with H and O. H is on key 4 (GHI) and O is on key 6 (MNO), so every option starts 46, and all end in E, which is on key 3 (DEF). The third letter decides the answer, and it must be on key 6.
Check each third letter. HOPE: P is on 7, giving 4673. HOLE: L is on 5, giving 4653. HOME: M is on 6, giving 4663. HOSE: S is on 7, giving 4673. Only HOME matches 4663, so the answer is C, HOME.
The usual slip is to check only the first two digits, see 46 on every word, and pick one at random. Others misplace P or S, thinking they sit on key 6 because they come soon after O in the alphabet.
Quick check: H 4, O 6, M 6, E 3 reads 4663. Takeaway: when all options share letters, look only at the letters that differ.
