In a certain code language, 'time wait none' is coded as 'li mo zo', 'tide…
2025
In a certain code language, 'time wait none' is coded as 'li mo zo', 'tide wait some' is coded as 'mo gy pu' and 'time and tide' is coded as 'gy zo bh'. What is the probable code for 'eternal none'?
(Note: All codes are two-letter codes only.)
Answer: B. kz li — ConceptIn a substitution code language every whole word is replaced by a fixed code group, and the groups are not written in the same order as the words they…
- A.
gy li
- B.
kz li
- C.
pu gy
- D.
zo li
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In a substitution code language every whole word is replaced by a fixed code group, and the groups are not written in the same order as the words they stand for. Such a code is broken by intersection: when two coded statements have one word in common, the one code group those two statements also have in common must stand for that word. Once the shared words are pinned down, the leftover group inside each statement is settled by elimination, and a word that never appears in any given statement can be represented only by a code group that has not been used anywhere.
Application
'time wait none' = 'li mo zo' and 'tide wait some' = 'mo gy pu' have the word wait in common and the code group mo in common, so wait = mo.
'time wait none' = 'li mo zo' and 'time and tide' = 'gy zo bh' have the word time in common and the code group zo in common, so time = zo.
'tide wait some' = 'mo gy pu' and 'time and tide' = 'gy zo bh' have the word tide in common and the code group gy in common, so tide = gy.
In 'time wait none' = 'li mo zo', time = zo and wait = mo are already placed, so the group left over gives none = li.
The same elimination on the other two statements gives some = pu from 'tide wait some', and and = bh from 'time and tide'.
The phrase to be coded is 'eternal none'. Step 4 has already fixed none = li.
The word eternal never appears in the three given statements, so no code group has been assigned to it. Every group that has appeared — li, mo, zo, gy, pu and bh — is already taken by another word, so eternal must be carried by a fresh two-letter group.
A fresh two-letter group written with li is therefore the probable code, that is 'kz li'.
Cross-check
The complete mapping recovered from the three statements is:
Word | Code group |
|---|---|
time | zo |
wait | mo |
tide | gy |
none | li |
some | pu |
and | bh |
eternal | not yet coded, so a fresh group such as kz |
Substituting this mapping back reproduces all three coded statements exactly, which confirms the deduction. Note also that a group's position does not track the word's position — in 'time wait none' = 'li mo zo' the group for none is written first — so the two groups of the coded phrase may be written in either order.