1. Computerized solution

Each clue in a Jumble word puzzle is a word that has been “jumbled” by permuting the letters of each word to make an anagram. A dictionary of such anagrams may be used to solve puzzles or verify that a jumbled word is unique when creating puzzles.

Computerized solution

Algorithms have been designed to solve Jumbles, using a dictionary. Common algorithms work by printing all words that can be formed from a set of letters. The solver then chooses the right word.

First algorithm:

1. Begin
2. Input: J, all the jumbled letters that form an unknown W word(s)
3. Sort the letters of J in alphabetical order, preserving duplicates
4. Look up sorted letters in a hash table, initialised with a dictionary, that maps a sorted set of letters to unscrambled words
5. Print the set of words, which is W
6. End

Second algorithm:

1. Begin
2. Input: J, all the jumbled letters that form an unknown W word(s)
3. Frame a word list Y with all permutations of J
4. For each word in Y check if the word is existing in the dictionary
5. If a match is found then collect it in word list W
6. Print the words in W
7. End

Algorithm to find the permutations of J:

1. Begin
2. Initialize a string with first character of J denoted by J(1)
3. Add the second character of J denoted by J(2) on either side of J(1) to get two strings

   J(1)J(2)

   J(2)J(1)

   1. Add the third character of J denoted by J(3) on either side and in between the above 2 strings to get 6 strings

      J(1)J(2)J(3)

      J(1)J(3)J(2)

      J(3)J(1)J(2)

      J(2)J(1)J(3)

      J(2)J(3)J(1)