14
$\begingroup$

My first contribution to the What is a Word/Phrase™ puzzle series started by JLee over a year ago.

If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Close-Knit Word™.

Use the list of examples below to find out what this rule is.

$$\begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline \textbf{Close-Knit Words™}&\textbf{Not Close-Knit Words™}\\ \hline \text{EDUCATION}&\text{LEARNING}\\ \hline \text{FOGHORN}&\text{KLAXON}\\ \hline \text{ARTISTIC}&\text{IMAGINATIVE}\\ \hline \text{BOOTSTRAPS}&\text{SHOELACES}\\ \hline \text{ELIMINATE}&\text{EXTERMINATE}\\ \hline \text{PONYTAIL}&\text{PLAIT}\\ \hline \text{HIKING}&\text{WALKING}\\ \hline \text{REMUNERATION}&\text{RETURN}\\ \hline \text{FAVOURITE}&\text{BOOKMARK}\\ \hline \text{BACKDROP}&\text{SCENERY}\\ \hline \text{FENCED}&\text{PRIVATE}\\ \hline \text{JAYWALKING}&\text{BURGLARY}\\ \hline \text{INQUIRIES}&\text{INVESTIGATION}\\ \hline \text{DISGUSTING}&\text{REVOLTING}\\ \hline \end{array} $$

Text-only version for analysis:

EDUCATION     LEARNING
FOGHORN       KLAXON
ARTISTIC      IMAGINATIVE
BOOTSTRAPS    SHOELACES
ELIMINATE     EXTERMINATE
PONYTAIL      PLAIT
HIKING        WALKING
REMUNERATION  RETURN
FAVOURITE     BOOKMARK
BACKDROP      SCENERY
FENCED        PRIVATE
JAYWALKING    BURGLARY
INQUIRIES     INVESTIGATION
DISGUSTING    REVOLTING
Improve this question
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ I copied the table formatting from Puck in this puzzle. The fact that T's appear smaller than the other letters is irrelevant. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:21
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Whether they do depends on details of your computer and your web browser. E.g., right now for me they don't appear smaller, but on my computer at work they do :-). $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:25
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Ah! You don't have the yellow background! UNACCEPTABLE! $\endgroup$
    – Mithical
    Sep 8, 2016 at 8:37
  • $\begingroup$ @Mithrandir Umm... he's not Engineer Toast, why should he have them? Anyways, I have the file for these. $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Sep 8, 2016 at 10:38

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
22
$\begingroup$

I think "close-knit words" are

ones with three consecutive letters of the alphabet in them.

Thus:

CDE EDUCATION
FGH FOGHORN
RST ARTISTIC
RST BOOTSTRAPS
LMN ELIMINATE
NOP PONYTAIL
GHI HIKING
MNO REMUNERATION
TUV FAVOURITE
ABC BACKDROP
DEF FENCED
JKL JAYWALKING
QRS INQUIRIES
STU DISGUSTING

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
6
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Jesus, that was fast. Clearly I made this one too easy :-) How did you find the solution? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:31
  • $\begingroup$ @randal'thor For me, I got it as soon as I got down to the word BACKDROP. $\endgroup$
    – Will
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:34
  • $\begingroup$ @Will Damn, I tried to pick words which wouldn't make it too obvious, avoiding things like 'CAB' and 'STUPID' and 'DEFINITE'. Apparently I failed :-( $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:36
  • $\begingroup$ I thought "OK, something to do with some kind of proximity". I started reading the list of Close-Knit words and noticed (I forget) either the ED or the D_C of EDUCATION and thought "hmm, maybe something to do with alphabetically adjacent letters". I read a few more words and it was kinda obvious. Sorry! $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:44
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ I suspect (but neither my introspection nor my memory is reliable enough to be sure) that ELIMINATE was helpful because the first three syllables go EL IM IN :-). $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 8, 2016 at 0:46

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.