# Shortest word to longest word, step-by-step

Source

As far as I know, I invented this puzzle.

Question

Starting with the one-letter words "A" or "I" how far is it possible to progress towards the 36-letter word "Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobics"?

Rules

1. Increase the word length by one at each step.

2. The new word must begin with the last letter of the previous word.

3. The words must be in the list shown here https://www.litscape.com/words/litscape_default_word_list.html#mt_length

4. If you have a preferred list of words (for example https://www.morewords.com/wordsbylength ), you may use it for search purposes, but before submission you must verify that all of your words appear in the list given in 3.

5. All letters of the alphabet must appear at least once as the last letter of some word. Repetitions are allowed. If you cannot achieve all letters, then get as far as you can without alphabetic gaps, e.g. A - X (where Y and Z are impossible)

6. You may solve this using brains or computer, or even brains and computer!

Example

A, As, Sax, Xyst, Thank, Kaftan, ..., Honorificabilitudinitatibus, ...

• Your dictionary has no 26 letter words so it would be impossible to get more than 25 words and you will always break rule 5. – hexomino Jul 28 at 12:38
• @hexomino - Thanks, I've fixed it. I changed the word list and a rule! – chasly - reinstate Monica Jul 29 at 8:48
• This seems like more of a game than a puzzle, no? The question seems to be about getting the "best score you (personally) can" rather than finding a definitive solution. I'm not saying it's immediately off-topic, but it does seem to me to not really be meant as a puzzle. (It doesn't violate the letter of the "no open-ended questions" meta ruling, but it definitely seems to me to violate the spirit of it.) – Deusovi Jul 29 at 9:01
• Number sequence puzzles are often pretty low-quality, but the best ones have a clearly intended answer -- once that answer is given, it definitively answers the question. Here, wanting to "give credit for partial solutions" is exactly the problem: the phrasing of "credit" implies that this is meant more as a personal high-score-based challenge, rather than a question with a single intended answer. – Deusovi Jul 29 at 9:11
• @Deusovi - Okay I have fixed it. The question is "how far is it possible to progress". I have removed the comparison aspect. – chasly - reinstate Monica Jul 29 at 9:12

BEST POSSIBLE PROOF AND SOLUTION

29 is not possible

It isnt possible to reach 36 or 35 since no words with length 35 or 34 ends in H. According to this logic, the best chain from longest downwards would be

but no words length 32 ends in q.

The next chain would be

which met the same fate.

The next would be

hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes(29) quinquagintatrecentilliardth(28)

which ALSO met the same fate.

OK, I'll stop here now, and post a successful sequence. Many others exist, but I'm not a computer, and don't eat codes, so here is one.

• D E M O Q R U sounds like the beginning of demoqrucy. – Rand al'Thor Jul 29 at 10:22
• I am impressed, it never occurred to me to work backwards. I really want to see the result. I'm adding a bounty tomorrow. – chasly - reinstate Monica Jul 29 at 10:44
• @chasly-reinstateMonica thanks! well i've finished, might as well give me the bounty XD – Omega Krypton Jul 29 at 12:32
• From 21 to 22 letters, $l\neq p$? Or I misunderstood something? – Rand al'Thor Jul 29 at 12:35
• I hate to break the news but rule 5, "All letters of the alphabet must appear at least once as the last letter of some word..." Sorry, I didn't check the intermediate work. :-( Nevertheless, congratulations on this result! – chasly - reinstate Monica Jul 29 at 12:45