Adding letters to form words

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Paul Erdunast
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Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

I have noticed that often you can get longer words in countdown by learning that, for example, admits+u=stadium.
The challenge is, by constantly adding letters from 1 letter words until when you can't add any more, making a new word each time. You can only add 1 letter on at a time. You can put the new letter anywhere in the word, and you can scramble the letters in the words as much as you want, but each time you add a letter on, you have to make a new word. Any letter in the alphabet counts as a 1 letter word. Plurals etc are allowed.
For example,

p
pa
nap
naps
panes
planes
planets
planters
etc

So that was an 8 letter word which was created by this process

What is the longest word you can come up with using the same method?
Good luck,
Paul
Last edited by Paul Erdunast on Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Kai Laddiman
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Kai Laddiman »

Paul Erdunast wrote:plankters (A type of plankton)

So that was an 8 letter word which was created by this process
:mrgreen:
16/10/2007 - Episode 4460
Dinos Sfyris 76 - 78 Dorian Lidell
Proof that even idiots can get well and truly mainwheeled.
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

I love the edit feature on here
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Charlie Reams
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Charlie Reams »

Paul Erdunast wrote:I love the edit feature on here
Maybe you should edit the bit where you used an invalid word.
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Kai Laddiman
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Kai Laddiman »

T
TO
TON
TONE
TONER
TONERS
SANTERO
SENORITA
ORDINATES :D
16/10/2007 - Episode 4460
Dinos Sfyris 76 - 78 Dorian Lidell
Proof that even idiots can get well and truly mainwheeled.
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Kai Laddiman wrote:T
TO
TON
TONE
TONER
TONERS
SANTERO
SENORITA
ORDINATES :D
adroitness?
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Paul Erdunast wrote:What is the longest word you can come up with using the same method?
I'm sure at least 15 is possible
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Phil Reynolds
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Paul Erdunast wrote:p
pa
nap
naps
panes
planes
planets
planters
etc

So that was an 8 letter word which was created by this process
Why stop there?

p
pa
nap
naps
panes
planes
planets
planters
strapline
plastering
splattering
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Good one, Phil

earsplitting?
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Phil Reynolds
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Paul Erdunast wrote:earsplitting?
Not a word. SPLATTERING is as far as you can go down that particular path.
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Joseph Bolas
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Joseph Bolas »

So far for 'X', I can get down to 7 letters and for 'Z' I can get down to 8 letters:

X
XI
SIX
AXIS
TAXIS
TAXIES
FIXATES

Z
ZO
ZOO
OOZE
OOZES
OZONES
SNOOZER
SNOOZERS
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Phil Reynolds
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Joseph Bolas wrote:So far for 'X', I can get down to 7 letters
You aren't trying:

X
OX
COX
COAX
COXAE
COAXER
EXACTOR
EXACTORS
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Nice one

Anyone know whether one can get a word longer than 12 letters?
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Phil Reynolds
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Paul Erdunast wrote:Anyone know whether one can get a word longer than 12 letters?
Here's a 13:

A
AT
EAT
SEAT
TEASE
ESTATE
RESTATE
RESTATES
TREATISES
REINSTATES
INTERSTATES
TRANSVESTITE
TRANSVESTITES

(I was about to ask why Lexplorer disallows TRANSVESTITES, but conveniently Charlie has just answered the question here.)
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Phil Reynolds wrote:
Paul Erdunast wrote:earsplitting?
Not a word.
People say it all the time. But nobody can hear them.
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Joseph Bolas
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Joseph Bolas »

Phil Reynolds wrote:
Joseph Bolas wrote:So far for 'X', I can get down to 7 letters
You aren't trying:

X
OX
COX
COAX
COXAE
COAXER
EXACTOR
EXACTORS
I was going from X --> XI :D (although there is probably longer that way too)
Last edited by Joseph Bolas on Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jon O'Neill
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Phil Reynolds wrote:
Paul Erdunast wrote:Anyone know whether one can get a word longer than 12 letters?
Here's a 13:

A
AT
EAT
SEAT
TEASE
ESTATE
RESTATE
RESTATES
TREATISES
REINSTATES
INTERSTATES
TRANSVESTITE
TRANSVESTITES

(I was about to ask why Lexplorer disallows TRANSVESTITES, but conveniently Charlie has just answered the question here.)
I'm pretty sure there are no 13s in the lexicon whatsoever.
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Jon O'Neill
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Jon O'Neill wrote:
Phil Reynolds wrote:
Paul Erdunast wrote:Anyone know whether one can get a word longer than 12 letters?
Here's a 13:

A
AT
EAT
SEAT
TEASE
ESTATE
RESTATE
RESTATES
TREATISES
REINSTATES
INTERSTATES
TRANSVESTITE
TRANSVESTITES

(I was about to ask why Lexplorer disallows TRANSVESTITES, but conveniently Charlie has just answered the question here.)
I'm pretty sure there are no 13s in the lexicon whatsoever.
Although thinking about it now, what with Unlimited and all, it's a possibility.
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Phil Reynolds
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Joseph Bolas wrote:
Phil Reynolds wrote:
Joseph Bolas wrote:So far for 'X', I can get down to 7 letters
You aren't trying:
I was going from X --> XI
What's that got to do with it? You didn't say you could get to 7 starting X, XI, ... You said you'd managed 7 starting from X.
Clare Sudbery
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Clare Sudbery »

X
EX
AXE
AXED
TAXED
TAXIED
OXIDATE
OXIDATED
DEOXIDATE
DEOXIDATED
Last edited by Clare Sudbery on Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jon Corby
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Jon Corby »

Clare Sudbery wrote:X
EX
AXE
AXED
TAXED
RAXIED
OXIDATE
OXIDATED
DEOXIDATE
DEOXIDATED

Image

:?:
Clare Sudbery
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Clare Sudbery »

Here you go, for 15...

15 EXPLORATIONISTS
14 EXTRAPOSITIONS
13 POSTERISATION
12 ANISOTROPIES
11 REPOSITIONS
10 POROSITIES
09 PORTOISES
08 PROSIEST
07 ESPRITS
06 PRIEST
05 PISTE
04 PIES
03 SIP
02 PI
01 I

I used Lexpert though. Not that it wasn't still a challenge, but a different kind of challenge (and I forgot what I was doing halfway through - was trying to start from X and get to 15, but started with 15-letter words, worked backwards... and forgot about the X along the way (doh)).
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Clare Sudbery »

Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED
Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED. Edited now.
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Jon Corby »

Clare Sudbery wrote:
Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED
Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED.
No shit Image
Clare Sudbery
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Clare Sudbery »

Jon Corby wrote:
Clare Sudbery wrote:
Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED
Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED.
No shit Image
;)
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

That is SERIOUSLY impressive, well done
I was stuck on the 12 mark myself, I'm glad someone could do better!
I can't imagine one can do much better than 15, but if you can, please post it
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

btw, I've checked the oed, and earsplitting is spelled with a hyphen, which is the reason why it is disallowed
Clare Sudbery
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Clare Sudbery »

Paul Erdunast wrote:That is SERIOUSLY impressive, well done
I was stuck on the 12 mark myself, I'm glad someone could do better!
I can't imagine one can do much better than 15, but if you can, please post it
Hmmm, I should come clean and admit that a lot of those words aren't in OED2. They are in SOWPODS. The bigger the dictionary the greater the fun, but my effort probably fails for a game played round these 'ere parts.
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

I dunno, I looked all the ones I didn't know up in the full OED website (I have a username + password to the full online database) and they all seemed to be in there

So in my opinion, it still stays.
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Ah- posterisation seems to be spelled with a z in the oed
Paul Erdunast
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Paul Erdunast »

Paul Erdunast wrote:Ah- posterisation seems to be spelled with a z in the oed
And I can't seem to find explorationist either- so no plural it seems
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by Joseph Krol »

J Attempt:
J
JA
JAR
AJAR
RAJAS
RAJAHS
JARRAHS

Can probably be bettered.
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David O'Donnell
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Re: Adding letters to form words

Post by David O'Donnell »

Joseph Krol wrote:J Attempt:
J
JA
JAR
AJAR
RAJAS
RAJAHS
JARRAHS

Can probably be bettered.
I could only equal you and in a more prosaic fashion.

J
JO
JOT
JOLT
JOLTS
JOSTLE
JOSTLED
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