Take a look at the 9-letter word below:
S T A R T L I N G
It is possible to remove a single letter at a time, forming a new word each time, until you have formed a total of 9 words (including the starting word). The letters cannot be rearranged. Each time one letter is removed, a new word must be formed.
What are the words?
[Adapted from Martin Gardner, though I don't think he originated it]
startling
ReplyDeletestarling
staring
string
sting
sing
sin
in
i
Funny, I had the most trouble going from sting to sing.
startling
ReplyDeletestarting
staring
string
sting
sing
sin
in
i
Is another valid one
A third solution:
ReplyDeletestartling
starling
staring
string
sting
ting
tin
in
i
All good solutions. I solved it with the first answer, my daughter solved it with the second, and I never even considered the third. "Ting" is obscure but completely valid. It's not even a proper noun, so it would be allowable in Scrabble.
ReplyDelete