Word Formation Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: safeguard

The nine letters given are a, a, d, e, f, g, r, s, u - and SAFEGUARD uses each of them exactly once. Stagnation needs two t's and an n, grandson needs an n and an o, and pseudo-grade needs a p and an o. Checking for a letter the word needs but the list does not contain is the fastest way through this type.

Answer: D

Correct answer: collaboration

The thirteen letters are a, a, b, c, i, l, l, n, o, o, o, r, t - and COLLABORATION is exactly thirteen letters long and uses every one of them. Collapsible needs a p, s and e, locomotive needs m, v and e, and colourfulness needs u, f, s and e.

Answer: C

Correct answer: N

The letters of NUMKIPP rearrange to PUMPKIN, a vegetable. Its last letter is N. The double p in the jumble is the clue: few vegetables carry one, and PUMPKIN accounts for both.

Answer: B

Correct answer: B, N

NABMODINT rearranges to BADMINTON. Its first letter is B and its last is N. The two n's and the d in the jumble point to it.

Answer: A

Correct answer: C

USCALA rearranges to CASUAL, so the answer is its first letter, C. The three vowels a, u, a and the consonants c, s, l leave few possibilities, and X is reserved for the case where no word can be made.

Answer: B

Correct answer: L

Number the letters of SUPERFLUOUS: S(1) U(2) P(3) E(4) R(5) F(6) L(7) U(8) O(9) U(10) S(11). The first, fourth, seventh and eleventh are S, E, L, S, which spell LESS. Its first letter is L.

Answer: A

Correct answer: M

Counting from the right of the alphabet, the sixth letter is U and the fourteenth is M. Counting from the left, the fifth is E and the twentieth is T. The four letters U, M, E, T spell MUTE, whose first letter is M. The trap is the change of direction halfway through the instruction.

Answer: A

Correct answer: O

The letters rearrange to MANGO, whose last letter is O. Reading the given letters backwards would give MANOG, which is not a word.

Answer: C

Correct answer: R

Number the letters of PERSONALITY: P(1) E(2) R(3) S(4) O(5) N(6) A(7) L(8) I(9) T(10) Y(11). The third, fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth are R, S, O, A, T, which rearrange to ROAST. Its first letter is R.

Answer: B

Correct answer: M

Number the letters of DISTRIBUTE: D(1) I(2) S(3) T(4) R(5) I(6) B(7) U(8) T(9) E(10). The third, fifth, eighth and tenth are S, R, U, E. These give more than one English word - SURE, USER and RUSE - and the instruction says that when more than one word can be made the answer is M, not the letter of any one of them.