Word Expansions Quiz

Can you name the word expansions?

created by jpahk

Enter an expansion in the box below
Correctly named expansions will show up below
Answers do not have to be guessed in order
Add one letter somewhere within each word (not at the beginning or end) to form a new unrelated word, without changing the order of the existing letters. Ex: fiance -> fiNance, poplar -> popUlar
Source: Inspired by "The Literate Puzzler" by Rita Norr and Audrey Tumbarello

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08:00

Show Missed Answers

Word	Expansion
state
reign
fright
hideous
farting
pacemaker
scant
indeed
morality
impudent
imperil
saute
commander
paella
naive
lightning

Word	Expansion
except
mouse
peroration
valet
lathe
geranium
drive
erring
faulty
write
cremate
smother
galley
compare
Secret message, or how to find the secret message
Common words only, please.
Now that's what I call a red herring.
Cute, but not in the rules.
Now you're getting creative! I like that.
You mean like for a duel? That would be a scientific way to do it.
Now don't get yourself all in a lather.
Might want to eread the erules.
I don't think that's a standalone word, just a suffix.

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Word Expansions Quiz

by jpahk

Created May 8, 2011 in Language
Featured May 17, 2011
Game Plays 44,248

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Archived comments: show them

	kezmicdust:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:25 GMT	23 points
	Great quiz. Very original!

	Archaeopteryx:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:32 GMT	15 points
	According to my dictionary, "valent" is a chemical term meaning "to have valence." It's a quibble though--this was an awesome quiz!

	ananana:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:37 GMT	6 points
	Really enjoyed this. Please make more!

	PK9:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:42 GMT	49 points
	Some of the words were really hard, I only got them because I figured out the secret phrase.

	caramba:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:44 GMT	10 points
	I loved it. Congratulations on your first published quiz, jpahk.

	Degree:	May 17th, 2011 at 19:54 GMT	8 points
	Just couldn't get enough of the right clues to work out the secret phrase, then got most of the phrase with about 40 seconds to go, which allowed me to get about another 7 answers. It's amazing how much easier it becomes when you know what letter you need to add in. Great quiz!

	Mistakenblood:	May 17th, 2011 at 20:00 GMT	3 points
	I wouldn't have gotten half of these without the secret clue

ChileNoseJam:

May 17th, 2011 at 20:18 GMT

3 points

Nice. I like the fact that getting the secret message before the end gives a clue to any you didn't get at the first try, that helped me out with a few that might have been too tough otherwise.

	saf50:	May 17th, 2011 at 20:18 GMT	4 points
	one of the more original quizzes i've done recently. nice one!

Comment below threshold: show it

	Teary_Ennui:	May 17th, 2011 at 20:20 GMT	7 points
	Excellent idea, 5 stars. Please do a sequel!

Comment below threshold: show it

	planetmutty:	May 17th, 2011 at 21:21 GMT	1 point
	Yes, great stuff. Some of these were VERY easy, jumped right out at me, but others were pretty hard. I didn't get the secret phrase but I got a kick out of it when I saw the answer. Also liked the little bonus when I entered an attemnpt for 'lathe'. 5 globes for this one.

	Uzinator:	May 17th, 2011 at 21:26 GMT	-1 points
	Yep, definitely a good one. At first I thought I'd get none of them, but then I started getting them. Indeed definitely got me though for some reason. Arghh, why couldn't I come up with Index?

	vikingsfan28:	May 17th, 2011 at 21:56 GMT	1 point
	I got all of them. Great mix of difficulties, I would get five in a row and then miss five in a row, but in the end the secret message helped me. Fantastic idea for a quiz, you sir are a genius.

	ari18:	May 17th, 2011 at 22:00 GMT	5 points
	I really enjoyed that, very fun and creative. I also liked being able to use the secret message to reverse engineer the ones I couldn't get.

	shawnoc:	May 17th, 2011 at 22:03 GMT	0 points
	I was scolded for using "uncommon words" in the bonuses, but varlet isn't that common either.

	Bobman1:	May 17th, 2011 at 22:12 GMT	5 points
	The one really big bonus missing has got to be "BLATHE" which, every Princess Bride fan kows means to "bluff." To paraphrase Miracle Max, you were probably playing cards, bluffed, and they killed you. Though lather and herring were fun, too.

	epicirish:	May 17th, 2011 at 22:20 GMT	1 point
	Awesome! Getting some then getting the secret message and working backward really helped. Must have been tough to create, finding the right words to give extra letters for the message.

	Me_TakeItOrLeave:	May 17th, 2011 at 23:46 GMT	-3 points
	I have to agree with what several others have said about using the message to aid in the answers. It turns a devilishly challenging puzzle into a "find the right spot for the letter" quiz. You do have to get ten or so right before the message becomes evident, but it still takes a lot of challenge from the quiz. Even removing the "or how to find the secret message" would make it more challening. I probably would've needed around 20 right before I could've guessed at the message then.

	jpahk:	May 17th, 2011 at 23:57 GMT	2 points
	thanks for all the nice comments. looks like "varlet" may be a clunker; i think of it as a normal, colorful word (it's a great shakespearean insult), but it's got the triple whammy: lots of people seem to not know it; some dictionaries list "valent" as a word; and finally, varlet is pretty much just a corruption of valet itself. sorry about that.

	jpahk:	May 18th, 2011 at 00:04 GMT	19 points
	as for the secret message making the quiz much easier, well ... yeah. let me tell you a real "secret": i WANT people to figure out the secret message (and use it to backsolve the tough words). otherwise it's like telling a joke with no punch line.

	montylaw:	May 18th, 2011 at 00:10 GMT	1 point
	Extremely clever - love it - 5 starts.

	TimeAndTide:	May 18th, 2011 at 01:58 GMT	1 point
	I thoroughly enjoyed that! Thanks, jpahk, for making a clever, original word puzzle! I look forward to more like it. Five orbs.