In each of the following questions, a specific pattern of alphabetic transformation has been applied to the first word to produce the second. Identify that pattern and apply it to the third word to determine the correct option. DEVIL : ABSFI :: OTHER : ?

Correct — C.
Rule: every letter moves 3 places back.

DEVIL → ABSFI: D(4) → A(1), E(5) → B(2), V(22) → S(19), I(9) → F(6), L(12) → I(9).

OTHER, each letter −3:
O → L, T → Q, H → E, E → B, R → O

That gives LQEBO → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  MRFCP — MRFCP moves each letter back 2, not 3: O → M, T → R. DEVIL → ABSFI shows a step of 3, as in D → A.
• (b)
  RWKHU — RWKHU moves each letter forward 3: O → R, T → W. The code in DEVIL → ABSFI runs backwards.
• (d)
  LRECO — LRECO alternates −3 and −2: T → R and E → C are only 2 back. DEVIL → ABSFI moves every letter 3.

A letter-shift analogy applies one fixed move to every letter. Find it from the first pair by turning letters into positions: D(4) → A(1), E(5) → B(2), and so on. If every letter moves the same amount, that amount is the code.

Here it is −3 throughout. Check all five letters of the first pair, not just the first, because an alternating code such as −3, −2 agrees with it on the first letter.

Key facts

• D, E, V, I, L are 4, 5, 22, 9, 12 and A, B, S, F, I are 1, 2, 19, 6, 9: each is 3 less.
• OTHER moved back 3 letters is LQEBO.
• A backward shift that passes A wraps round to Z: A − 1 = Z.

Common traps

• Getting the direction wrong and choosing RWKHU
• Checking only the first letter, which LRECO also gets right

No directly related past PYQ was found.