A number puzzle that is not really about relations between numbers

Here is a puzzle, the somewhat tricksy answer to which is

a matter of counting letters, albeit not as a postman would.

What is the last number?

 1, 6, 2, 8, 7, 6, 3, 2, 1, 7, ?


The last number is:

5

Since this letter-counting sequence...

...lists the lengths of the words in the second half of the flavourtext sentence (those which follow 'the somewhat tricksy answer to which is'):

a (1) matter (6) of (2) counting (8) letters (7), albeit (6) not (3) as (2) a (1) postman (7) would (5).

The missing term corresponds to the 5-letter word 'would'.

• Hi Stiv. Yes, that's right, and your reasoning is correct. Tricksy, though, but you got there. I don't know why tricksy is redlined. It's a genuine word. Nov 15, 2021 at 17:26
• @laurencewithau Thanks - don't forget to click the checkmark icon beside the answer if it is correct to your liking. It marks the question as satisfactorily solved, turns it green on the homepage, and earns you +2 rep at the same time for accepting an answer :)
– Stiv
Nov 17, 2021 at 13:51