A nine-letter word, common as air, When each letter’s cut, a new word to pare, Take a letter each round and continue to one. Name the word and the path and then you’ll be done.
Surprisingly, there are several nine-letter words that can have one letter removed in each round to make a new word all the way to one letter, which must be ‘a’ or ‘i’. Startling is the most common answer, but I’ve included the other words I’m aware of. I don’t include plural words, like cleansers, drownings, splatters, starvings, trappings and wrappings because it’s kind of cheating.
startling Remove the l to make starting (or remove the t to make starling) Remove the t to make staring Remove the a to make string Remove the r to make sting Remove the t to make sing Remove the g to make sin Remove the s to make in Remove the n to make I
splitting Remove the l to make spitting Remove the p to make sitting Remove a t to make siting Remove the first i to make sting Remove the s to make ting Remove the g to make tin Remove the t to make in Remove the n to make I
stringier Remove the r to make stingier Remove the i to make stinger Remove the t to make singer Remove the r to make singe Remove the g to make sine Remove the e to make sin Remove the s to make in Remove the n to make I
strapping Remove the s to make trapping Remove the t to make rapping Remove the p to make raping Remove the r to make aping Remove the a to make ping Remove the g to make pin Remove the p to make in Remove the n to make I
Credit or debt. Debt is a problem in many people’s lives, but in order to go to school or make a large purchase, it can be useful. As your debt grows older, it’s more unpleasant than useful.
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? 2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? 3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal doesn’t attend? 4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles and you don’t have a boat. How can you cross safely?
1. Open the refrigerator, put the giraffe in and close the door. It’s not complicated. 2. Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, then put in the elephant and close the door. 3. The elephant. He’s still in the refrigerator. After all, you just put him there. 4. Jump into the river and swim across. The crocodiles are at the Lion King’s animal meeting. I admit, this is not a typical brain teaser, but it amused me.
We are four against the masses. We are trying to find the one who is the whole package. We sigh, we laugh, we frown while we hope that the next one will be the one. Who are we?