# Wordplay **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 19, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837 "2008-05-19T13:40:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/1 "2008-05-19T13:40:29Z")
The usual – what do the following words have in common; either post your guess in a spoiler box or add some more. Ale Bare Caped Coma Coral Dogie Doted Drop Duly Filet Fury Holy Late Loped Mate Pal Pose Prof Puny Ruble Ruder Slop The Tiny Waged ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/2 "2008-05-19T14:37:04Z")
I am chatting on IM with the former poster **audient** , and he got it in less than ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/3 "2008-05-19T15:49:30Z")
I’m pretty sure the following can be added to the list: Bet Filed Met Stared Is that you can double one of the letters to make a new word? Are Alle, Barre, Matte, and Filet English words? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/4 "2008-05-19T16:16:09Z")
**DeadCat** – it’s a trifle more specific than that. Only one of your examples works, specifically Filed And to answer the general question in your spoiler box, without addressing the examples you gave, all the words I had in mind are English words, with no proper nouns involved. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/5 "2008-05-19T16:23:42Z")
Aha, got it. [spoiler]I noticed that some of the words could have interior letters doubled to make a new word, but it took awhile to realize that it could be any letter. Ops. 😃 [/spoiler] twickster, don’t Dead Cat’s examples work? Beet, Filled, Meet, Starred ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/6 "2008-05-19T16:24:40Z")
For what I have in mind, only two of Dead Cat’s words would work. Except **ale** wouldn’t. Hmmm. doublethe third letter to make a new real word? Is “alee” a word? Except for that one it works. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/7 "2008-05-19T16:50:53Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] For what I have in mind, only two of Dead Cat’s words would work. Except **ale** wouldn’t. Hmmm. doublethe third letter to make a new real word? Is “alee” a word? Except for that one it works. [/QUOTE] Yes it is, a nautical expression ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/8 "2008-05-19T17:34:32Z")
Yup, the lovely Ms. **Suze** got it. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/9 "2008-05-19T20:27:14Z")
Well, I can see I’m late again; but aren’t they words that make other words with the consonant doubled? Whoops – internal letter. could be a vowel, like in prof/proof. ---
**Author:** ![Parthol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/10 "2008-05-20T05:15:26Z")
I haven’t looked at the previous answers… honest! I’m pretty sure it’s that: You can double up the third letter in each word, and up with a different real English word So, other words that work would include: fined bred sped scop ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wordplay/449837/11 "2008-05-20T22:07:09Z")
[QUOTE=Dead Cat] Is that you can double one of the letters to make a new word? Are Alle, Barre, Matte, and Filet English words? [/QUOTE] [Spoiler]As has been already determined, the “ale” word is _alee_ – it’s a crossword puzzle standard which means “to the sheltered (leeward, as opposed to windward) side”. I’m sure **twickster** groaned every time she had to allow it into a grid during her stint as a puzzle editor. _Barre_ is a ballet term for the handrail used during warm-up exercises – **twicks** is quite the fan of dance. _Matte_ refers to a non-glossy finish on photos. _Fillet_ is a variant spelling of _filet_ (a boneless cut of meat), and also (when pronounced “fill-it”) is a [mechanical engineering term.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fillet_%28mechanics%29)[/spoiler]