# Word building **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891 "2009-07-04T12:43:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/1 "2009-07-04T12:43:22Z")
I play a fair amount of – okay, way too much – Scrabble, a game in which it is often useful to be able to add one letter to a word and create a new word. For example: MA MAY MAYO MAYOR Of course, you don’t always have to add to the end of the word: HO WHO WHOM WHOMP These both go to five letters – six if you add an “S,” which isn’t all that elegant. The longest string I’ve thought of this morning is: HA (or AM) HAM SHAM SHAME SHAMED ASHAMED Can you go longer? Or can you come up with a longer string than four where all the letters go to the front, as in: ON CON ICON All the intervening steps must be Scrabble-eligible words (no abbreviations, foreign words, or proper names). ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/2 "2009-07-04T15:26:21Z")
I can equal ya so far… Ma Mag Mage Image Imager Imagery ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/3 "2009-07-06T01:23:02Z")
es pes apes tapes etapes retapes pretapes ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/4 "2009-07-06T02:34:22Z")
Yay! (You could also get into it with TA, TAP, TAPE…) Very nice. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/5 "2009-07-06T03:28:02Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Yay! (You could also get into it with TA, TAP, TAPE…) > > Very nice. Thanks. Yeah you could do it that way, but I was trying to put all in front. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/6 "2009-07-06T12:09:21Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > Thanks. Yeah you could do it that way, but I was trying to put all in front. :smack: You sure did. Double nice! I came up with another eight-letter one: AT LAT LATH LATHE LATHER LATHERS BLATHERS ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/7 "2009-07-06T12:43:29Z")
la lap laps lapse elapse relapse relapser relapsers an ran rang orang orange orangey as has hast haste hasten chasten ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/8 "2009-07-06T12:53:46Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > la > lap > laps > lapse > elapse > relapse > relapser > relapsers Nine – nice! > [@bibliophage](#): > > an > ran > rang > orang > orange > orangey If you’ll allow for a couple of funky words, you could do ORANGER (“more orange”) and ORANGERY (variant of “orangerie”). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/9 "2009-07-06T13:04:19Z")
at ate late elate relate prelate prelates at ate rate irate pirate pirated ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-building/501891/10 "2009-07-06T20:30:12Z")
I’m pretty bad at these, so I think I’ll be topping out at: ar tar star stare starer starers