Start with a word.
For each line below, drop the indicated number of letters from it, rearranging if necessary, to form a word with the (probably cryptical) meaning given. The first line clues your starting word.
You will end up one answer word per line, with each successive word being successively shorter.
0 Started a growth spurt -1 Moved to Canada, perhaps -2 Won back -3 Sojourn to warmer climes -4 Unwilling guest? -5 Designated -6 Quality of wine and cheese quality -7 Wordplay, for example -8 Tolkien's universe -9 A drop of golden sun
When you have all the right words, you'll see you have all the right words.