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From: ran@ho95b.UUCP (RANeinast)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: abcde
Message-ID: <372@ho95b.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 16-Apr-85 08:22:43 EST
Article-I.D.: ho95b.372
Posted: Tue Apr 16 08:22:43 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Apr-85 01:24:56 EST
Organization: AT&T-Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 20

Here's a different sort I puzzle I just made up
(though I wouldn't be surprised if others have
considered it long before):

What is the fewest number of regular English
words are needed to contain all the letters of the
alphabet in order?

Example:
aback deafening hijack lime nope quark stun vow foxy zed.
^^ ^  ^  ^    ^ ^^^  ^ ^ ^  ^^^  ^  ^  ^^^  ^ ^   ^^ ^
does it in 10.
Surely we can do better.

Bonus:  What's the shortest if the words must form a sentence?
-- 

". . . and shun the frumious Bandersnatch."
Robert Neinast (ihnp4!ho95b!ran)
AT&T-Bell Labs