There are many English words that you can add an “s” to make it plural. But far fewer words become singular when you add an “s”. What are two examples of these much rarer words?
I am eight letters long and am kept a secret from everyone. Letters two through four spell an animal, letters four to the end make a weapon, letters one, two and eight make what you use in an exam and my third and fourth letters are the same.
A password. You should keep your password a secret from everyone, letters two through four spell ass, an animal also known as a donkey. Letters four to the end spell sword, which is a deadly weapon and the letters one, two and eight make pad, which is used for writing during an exam. Lastly, the third and fourth letters are both ‘s’
The letter X. It is the 24th letter of the alphabet, two Xs in Roman numerals equals twenty and triple x represents adult content, and adulthood is eighteen by law in most countries.
Two legs sat upon three legs with one leg in his lap. In comes four legs, grabs one leg, and runs off with him. Up jumps two legs, grabs up three legs, throws it after four legs, and makes him bring back one leg.
The numbers must be in ascending order. This can be a fun one to have people work out in person, as they test out three-number series and you can tell them whether or not they satisfy the pattern.
A potato. The roots growing out of a potato are called eyes, when you cut a potato in half it doesn’t produce any moisture and if you leave a poor potato to its own devices, it will die.
I am a word of meanings three. Three ways of spelling me there be. The first is an odour, a smell if you will. The second some money, but not in a bill. The third is past tense, a method of passing things on or around.
Can you tell me now, what these words are, that have the same sound?
Daughter-in-law. Her daughter’s father is her husband (she’s only been married once and is devoted, meaning she didn’t have an affair). This means John’s son is her husband, so John is her father-in-law, making her the daughter-in-law.