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
Find a single letter that replaces the first letter in the two words of each row to make two new words. What word is formed by combining the new letter of each row?
For example: PLANK _ BRISK
The new letter is F, making FLANK and FRISK. And F would be the first letter of the answer.
He was born on February 29th in a leap year. Consequently, in his 87 years, he only witnessed twenty-one of his actual birthdays. The other years there was no February 29th.
Eat (8) flush (plus) to (2) my nose (minus) tree (3) times (times) for (4) they buy dead by (divided by) too (2).
There are two answers depending on whether you calculate as you read or calculate the entire solution at the end. 8 + 2 = 10, – 3 = 7, x 4 = 28, / 2 = 14 or 8 + 2 – 3 x 4 / 2 = 10 – 6 = 4
Bill buys three items at the store for exactly $100. The second item costs half as much as the first item, and the third item is half as much as the second.