PUZZLE #3747: Columnar Transposition (diff 6)

columnar learn difficulty: 6/7 mixed author: system unsolved

Columnar transposition with keyword of length 5. Write column by column in keyword order, read row by row.

DATA

Ciphertext	`potspibwptseplocionsiahehpooudpaomrqeoig`
Keyword	`zmgbz`
Rows	`8`
Cols	`5`
Hint	`Columnar transposition. Keyword length = 5. Decode the ciphertext: potspibwptseplocionsiahehpooudpaomrqeoig. Answer is a very long lowercase word.`
Answer Format	`lowercase word, no spaces or punctuation`

{
  "ciphertext": "potspibwptseplocionsiahehpooudpaomrqeoig",
  "keyword": "zmgbz",
  "rows": 8,
  "cols": 5,
  "note": "The keyword reveals the column reading order. Alphabetize its letters to find column indices.",
  "hint": "Columnar transposition. Keyword length = 5. Decode the ciphertext: potspibwptseplocionsiahehpooudpaomrqeoig. Answer is a very long lowercase word.",
  "answer_format": "lowercase word, no spaces or punctuation"
}

author's note: Pool fill: columnar diff 6