c4countdown

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

Paul Erdunast wrote:plankters (A type of plankton)

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

I love the edit feature on here

Paul Erdunast wrote:I love the edit feature on here

Maybe you should edit the bit where you used an invalid word.

T
TO
TON
TONE
TONER
TONERS
SANTERO
SENORITA
ORDINATES

Kai Laddiman wrote:T
TO
TON
TONE
TONER
TONERS
SANTERO
SENORITA
ORDINATES

adroitness?

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

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

Good one, Phil

earsplitting?

Paul Erdunast wrote:earsplitting?

Not a word. SPLATTERING is as far as you can go down that particular path.

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

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

Nice one

Anyone know whether one can get a word longer than 12 letters?

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.)

Phil Reynolds wrote:

Paul Erdunast wrote:earsplitting?

Not a word.

People say it all the time. But nobody can hear them.

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 (although there is probably longer that way too)

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.

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.

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.

X
EX
AXE
AXED
TAXED
TAXIED
OXIDATE
OXIDATED
DEOXIDATE
DEOXIDATED

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

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)).

Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED

Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED. Edited now.

Clare Sudbery wrote:

Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED

Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED.

No shit

Jon Corby wrote:

Clare Sudbery wrote:

Jon Corby wrote: RAXIED

Oops, typo. Should be TAXIED.

No shit

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

btw, I've checked the oed, and earsplitting is spelled with a hyphen, which is the reason why it is disallowed

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.

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.

Ah- posterisation seems to be spelled with a z in the oed

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

J Attempt:
J
JA
JAR
AJAR
RAJAS
RAJAHS
JARRAHS

Can probably be bettered.

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