8
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This is in the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.


If a word conforms to a special rule I call it a Waiting Word™. Use the examples below to find the rule.

Waiting Words™ Not Waiting Words™
AN A
FEEL TOUCH
FOOTSTOOL STOOL
GNAW CHEW
MOM DAD
OUTDO OUTLAST
POP SNAP
ROTOR WHEEL
SEXES GENDERS
SIS BRO
TAINT DEFILE

CSV version:

Waiting Words™,Not Waiting Words™
AN,A
FEEL,TOUCH
FOOTSTOOL,STOOL
GNAW,CHEW
MOM,DAD
OUTDO,OUTLAST
POP,SNAP
ROTOR,WHEEL
SEXES,GENDERS
SIS,BRO
TAINT,DEFILE
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1 Answer 1

11
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A Waiting Word™ is...

a palindrome (including spaces) in Morse code.

    AN       :  .- -.
    FEEL     :  ..-. . . .-..
    FOOTSTOOL:  ..-. --- --- - ... - --- --- .-..
    GNAW     :  --. -. .- .--
    MOM      :  -- --- --
    POP      :  .--. --- .--.
    ROTOR    :  .-. --- - --- .-.
    SEXES    :  ... . -..- . ...
    SIS      :  ... .. ...
    TAINT    :  - .- .. -. - 

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3
  • $\begingroup$ That was quick! $\endgroup$
    – dan04
    Jul 27, 2019 at 1:34
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ Why's it called a Waiting Word? $\endgroup$
    – JMP
    Jul 27, 2019 at 10:11
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @JonMarkPerry As far as I can tell, WAITING is just another example of a word which fits this palindromic pattern. No idea if 'wait' is anything to do with the pauses in the code transmission?? $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Jul 27, 2019 at 18:02

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