# Add initial letter to the same three letters to make the most new (English) words
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836
**Category:** Thread Games
**Created:** [February 15, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836 "2023-02-15T15:52:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/1 "2023-02-15T15:52:24Z")
This is a question I’ve wondered about for some time, but didn’t know how to find the answer, and it occurred to me to turn it into a game.
Take three leterrs, for instance AST, and add one letter to the beginning. The challenge is to **find the three-letter combo that yields the most English words.**
Additional restrictions:
- You can only add one letter
- You can’t rearrange the three.
- Words must be English, but obscure or obsolete words are allowed.
- Proper nouns are not allowed.
- Anagrams (eg ASAP) are not allowed.
- Two-letter openings (eg BLAST) may be interesting and you may note them, but are not part of the official count.
Obviously, the theoretical maximum is 26, but I’d be astounded if there is any such combo. For instance, words beginning with Q or X will be very rare. And assuming the first of the three letters is a vowel, you’d have to find words that start with every combination of two vowels.
My guess is that it will he hard to find many combos with word counts higher than 15-16. Is 20 attainable? I’d be pretty surprised.
Please provide your answers in something approaching the format below, and include a brief definition of less obvious words.
I suggest you try searching for every possible initial letter: I found three or four words I didn’t know that way.
**AST: 13**
1. BAST (fibrous material from the phloem of a plant, used as fiber in matting, cord, etc.)
2. CAST
3. EAST
4. FAST
5. GAST (to terrify or frighten)
6. HAST (obs)
7. LAST
8. MAST
9. OAST (a kiln used for drying hops)
10. PAST
11. TAST (Obsolete spelling of TASTE)
12. VAST
13. WAST (archaic or dialect second person singular past of be)
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/2 "2023-02-15T15:59:55Z")
I did a quick scrape of 4 letter words from the scrabble dictionary.
The winner, with 17 words is ill
bill
dill
fill
gill
hill
jill
kill
mill
nill
pill
rill
sill
till
vill
will
yill
zill
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/3 "2023-02-15T16:10:48Z")
Are you asserting that your search of Scrabble words turned up no combo higher than 17, or just that you are the provisional winner so far?
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/4 "2023-02-15T16:11:24Z")
I spell nil with one L, and so did Google translate as I dictated this.
EDIT: Nevermind, google tells me that nill is a valid archaic word.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/5 "2023-02-15T16:13:22Z")
Yeah, I had that thought, too, but I’m trying not to be too restrictive.
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/6 "2023-02-15T16:15:42Z")
The meat of the question is finding the word list. Identifying the answer once you have the list is trivial.
Technically what he’s saying is that the winner using the Scrabble word list is \_ill. In order to beat that, we would have to find a different word list.
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/7 "2023-02-15T16:16:35Z")
> [@commasense](#):
>
> Are you asserting that your search of Scrabble words turned up no combo higher than 17, or just that you are the provisional winner so far?
My search of the entire 4-letter word scrabble list returned that as the highest.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/8 "2023-02-15T16:31:55Z")
Same as -INS?
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/9 "2023-02-15T16:35:51Z")
[This list](https://wordfind.com/length/4-letter-words/) only shows 16, but when I search against the [Merriam’s Scrabble word search](https://scrabble.merriam.com/words/end-with/ins) it does show 17. So it look like it’s a tie right now.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/10 "2023-02-15T17:15:55Z")
I’ve seen and used sites like that, but how do you get it to look for any combo of three last letters?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/11 "2023-02-16T23:43:31Z")
[Moderating]
Since this is structured as a game to be played in the thread, Thread Games is a better home for it. Moving.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/12 "2023-02-17T00:31:55Z")
Thanks. I don’t spend much time in either games forum, and wasn’t sure.
Anyone have an answer for my last question?
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/13 "2023-02-17T12:40:15Z")
> [@commasense](#):
>
> how do you get it to look for any combo of three last letters?
Programmatically, or possibly even just using Excel. Trim off the first character, sort, and you are essentially done.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/14 "2023-02-17T12:44:25Z")
Okay, so not a function of the pages’ own search/sort capabilities. That’s what was confusing me. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-initial-letter-to-the-same-three-letters-to-make-the-most-new-english-words/979836/15 "2023-02-17T16:31:39Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#):
>
> I did a quick scrape of 4 letter words from the scrabble dictionary.
>
> The winner, with 17 words is ill
> bill
> dill
> fill
> gill
> hill
> jill
> kill
> mill
> nill
> pill
> rill
> sill
> till
> vill
> will
> yill
> zill
Adding to this:
cill (OED, variant of “sill”)
xill (Dungeons & Dragons, a race of monsters)
Brings it up to 19.