In each of the following questions, a specific letter-to-letter coding pattern is applied to the first word to obtain the second word. Apply the same pattern to the third word and choose the correct option from the given alternatives. xxyzyy : ccbabb :: xyyzzy : ?

Correct — D.
Rule: x → c, y → b, z → a, each letter swapped for its mirror in the alphabet (positions add to 27).

Check: xxyzyy → c c b a b b = ccbabb ✓

Apply to xyyzzy:
x → c, y → b, y → b, z → a, z → a, y → b
= cbbaab → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  abbacc — It opens with a, but x codes as c in the given pair. It also ends in c, where the last letter y must code as b.
• (b)
  bbacca — It opens with b, which is y's code. The first letter of xyyzzy is x, and x codes as c.
• (c)
  abbcca — It opens with a, z's code, though the word starts with x. Its fourth letter c also breaks z → a.

In a letter-to-letter code each letter is replaced by one fixed letter, wherever it appears. Build the key position by position: xxyzyy over ccbabb gives x = c, y = b, z = a.

The key is also the opposite-letter rule: the letter at position n becomes the letter at 27 − n. x is the 24th letter and c the 3rd.

Here the first letter settles it: x codes as c, and cbbaab is the option that starts with c.

Key facts

• From xxyzyy : ccbabb, x → c, y → b and z → a.
• Opposite letters add to 27: x (24) with c (3), y (25) with b (2), z (26) with a (1).
• xyyzzy codes as cbbaab.

Common traps

• Hunting for one +n shift: x → c is +5 with wrap-around but y → b is +3, so read the pair as a substitution
• Mixing up y → b and z → a in a word full of repeated letters

No directly related past PYQ was found.