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What happens when you remove the letter a from the alphabet? You b-head it.
Each of this week's words sprouts another word if you behead it. Go ahead,
try it. Decollate these words. Decapitate them. You won't hurt a thing.
Nor would the word-police arrest you, for in each instance you would be
generating another word, a 100% dictionary word.
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bounce, discard, decrease, compose... do I have the idea?
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so far, the pattern has been to drop just the initial letter, in which case bounce qualifies.
here's another: pregnant
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That gives me an idea. What is the longest word in the English language that can be continuously decapitated to form a new word? The final word must be at most two letters long.
This doesn't do it but it'll give you an idea of what I mean: Clever, lever, ever.
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_lever:
Well, you figured out mine. Will cogitate for more.
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Yesterday’s citation referring to Quakers is pretty heavy and stern stuff from Thomas Paine. Here are some lighter glimpses of Quakers, who are known for their "quiet’ meetings:
- Two Quakers come doorknocking and when the front door is opened, they don’t say anything.
- "I am a Quaker; in case of emergency, please be quiet." [badge popular in Quaker circles]
Cheers from a ‘quakerly’ paulb.
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here's an interesting one: squash
so, a new subclass; words which when beheaded give a word with a related sense
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Pooh-Bah
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Actually, taking off the 'ing, Smash works well...
smash, mash, ash, sh...
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> Actually, taking off the 'ing, Smash works well...
smash, mash, ash, sh...
Top marks jmh! I couldn't think of any and I'm the one who posted the challenge!
A close alternative would be 'Trash', I suppose, now you mention it.
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umm, nice challenge
tricky getting more than 5
globe (obe = subdivision of phylus or clan)
U-boat
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A similar one: scrunch.
Nearly cheating on this one: espy.
Possible, only: scrap.
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It's not a decapitation really, but if you just remove one letter at a time:
startling, starling, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, I
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..and two days later I have come up with a six letter decapitation:
ASTRAY
OK it's not the commonest spelling of 'aye' but it's in my dictionary.
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I don't think anyone will beat Bridget's score - core - ore - re.
Bingley
Bingley
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Back to topic...
Anyone remember this 80s song?
Take the L out of Lover/
And it's Oooo-over
Of course my waggish punk rock friends and I had to change it to:
Take the S out of Slaughter/
And its Laaa-aughter!
Well, we liked it!
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old hand
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Doug Reminds of the hackneyed old one: manslaughter is an awful thing, but woman's laughter is worse. OK, OK, I'm sorry. But I couldn't resist it...[embarrassed] 
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i did laundy this past week end -- and realize
bleach
leach
each
ach!
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LAUNDERETTE MEETING LEADS TO BIZARRE DRUG-CRAZED SEX ROMP
splashes, plashes, lashes, ashes, she's, he's, E's
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Are return trips-to foreign parts permitted? If, then (using standard transliterations):
Radar, Adar (Hebrew), dar (Aramaic), ar, r
speaking of which: trips, rips, ips, ps, s
Have I broken all the rules?
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smile, spear, plate, strait, blast, flap, craving
It occured to me, jmh, that removing the "ing" could be described as something akin to hemicorporectomy...Except we don't do that in the UK...
Sara x
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Dear sara: I am not sure what a "hemicorporectomy" would entail.I have assisted at appendectomies, cholecystectomies, etc., but never a hemicoporectomy.
And removing "ing" might be "docking" as in making a tale (sic) short, but would it yield a new word?
Incidentally jmh has not been with us for almost a month. We will be glad when she rejoins us.
We have so few members from the UK, you are extra welcome on that account. Please pity our curiosity and give us some data in your Profile.I hope you have forgiven my unthinking rudeness in the grog call post.
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prelate
relate
elate
late
ate ... (and, if allowed to cut from the foot instead of the head)
at
a
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if allowed to cut from the foot instead of the head
Hmm, cut their heads off, they can't think; cut their feet off, they can't run away.
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great one, Keiva! and you can pluralise the first word for an additional point, too, he added pontifically.
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Verbal decapitation: instead of a makeshift term like "beheading", why not use the technical term: "APHAERESIS".
I decapitulate! Off with 'is 'ead!
However, since wwh notes that the word is from the Greek apo (“away”) + hairein, I trust he was merely referring to my need for Rogaine.
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the technical termGreeks? we don' need no steenkin Greeks...! 
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"Greeks? we don' need no steenkin Greeks...!"
Surely you wouldn't disrespect our dear Helen of Troy?
Gentlemen, let's defend her honor and give this heel the Hectoring he deserves!
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"Greeks? we don' need no steenkin Greeks...!"
Let us now praise all learned men, many of whom were Hellenes and their descendants or admirers.. Let us require maverick to eat a krater full of Welsh rabbit made with feta cheese, and wash it down with two gallons of retsina. A mild sentence for defaming a noble race.
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Let us require maverick to .. wash it down with two gallons of retsina"
Wish I could see how he looks after that resina takes effect.
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Actually, a racial slur is not typical maverick. I wonder if archie is using his system, trying to make trouble for maverick.
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From beheaded to decapitated to arhaeresis.
From Anglo-Saxon to Latin to Greek.
Ain't English wonderful? You can say the same thing so many ways, and be as clear or as obscure as you like!
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yeahbut. archie doesn't know how to do the sign I used, Dr Bill. My point was the linguistic one made now by Keiva. though of all the wines in all the world (and I do my share in sampling their bounty) I would have to say that retsina's taste is fearfully reminiscent of the smell of the foul loo cleaning agent used in school lavatories in my youth, so you can stick that where the sun shines not!
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[blue]retsina's taste is fearfully reminiscent of the smell of the foul loo cleaning agent used in school lavatories[/blue]
Which is why *I would have trouble considering it part of a mild sentence.
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All linguaphiles take as gospel " The Greeks had a word for it." And let me remind you, mav, you didn't say "Greek" meaning the language, you said "Greeks" meaning the people.
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" The Greeks had a word for it." My mama always warned me: Beware of gits bearing grief!  
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Dear mav: your mama should have warned you about getting boiled in Greece.
And "gits bearing griefs" is a form of cacemphaton.
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What in hell is a race in the crazy mixed-up world? But "racial slurs" are frequently alleged when "ethnic" might be more appropriate.
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Thick
hick
ick (it's in my dictionary)
prick (not what you first think of)
rick
ick again.
trick etc.
flick etc.
brick etc. Decapitate the perpetrator of any more aphaeresis! (just an excuse to use the word)
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oops! i just stumbled upon a good one!
signore
ignore*(ok, its not perfect.. you have to take off the i and g)
nore
ore
re
but
schilling
chilling
hilling
and
shallow
hallow
allow
(low)
and
stray
tray
ray is that a repeat? then strap..
and
strick
trick
rick
ick
and the sw/sm/sc
swarm
warm
arm
smart
mart
art
and
scowl
cowl
owl
and
stripe
tripe
ripe
and finally
shire
hire
ire
re
or would you prefer i turn my mind to limericks?
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oh goodie an other
prelate
relate
elate
late
ate
ta-da! now back to work
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Sweet Helen, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. See the post in this thread of Sunday Aug 19, 2001 at 16:42:42.
>>Edit: sorry: Thu Aug 16 22:04:21 2001
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Dear AR: I went back and looked, and did not see any imitation sufficient to warrant perhaps wounding of troy's feelings.
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dr. bill, if you look back, I think you'll find that helen's post is rather flatteringly duplicative of an earlier post in this thread, at http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=beheadingwords&Number=37230my apologies to you, dr. bill, for mis-noting its dateAnd surely my post is no more woundingly-phrased to helen than the many previous notations of YART seen on this board.
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yes, he is of course right, dr bill.. but that's what he is a master at.. always being right, and aphonic (ie voiceless,(but not wordless,)) rants-- (to talk or say, in a loud extravagant way, declaim violently, to rave-- from old german word, who meaning was to affront,) is a rather an appropriate handle in some ways, don't you think?
as self proclaimed loud, extravagant, violent declaimer! (i merely comment, on the word the poster himself, has chosen to define himself)
and just at bad money drive out good in an economic system, bad attitudes drive out good ones.. and i admit to being angry and annoyed at cloying sweet remarks, when i percieve the rotting, vile decay behind them.
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Helen, might your last be a bit excessive? Plenty of people have YARTed; plenty of times others have called them on it; and neither is any big deal. And I certainly wouldn't think you'd object to my phrasing being "sweet remarks" rather than sourpuss ones!
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Dear of troy: You tell him, I stutter.
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Given your history, Keiva-oh-pardon-me, A-R, I for one don't think she was being the least bit excessive.
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ignoricon -- in the inselpeterean sense
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