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"Word Shortenings" Solutions
By Solomon Golomb '51

1. BOSUN (or even BOS'N) for BOATSWAIN
FO'C'S'LE for FORECASTLE, which purely phonetically is FO'C'S'L

2. DOUGH for DO (in DO-RE-MI) have DOE as a homonym.

3. WRECKS and REX

4. WRAPPED/RAPT
WEIGHED/WADE
WHIRRED/WORD
TOUGHED (as in "She toughed it out")/TUFT
SLEIGHED/SLADE. (Did you find any others?)

5. COUGHED/COFT
LAUGHED/LAFT
WHIPPED/WIPT
FREIGHTED/FRATED
ROUGHED/RUFT
SLOUGHED/SLUFT
HEIGHTEN/HITEN
WEIGHTED/WATED
WROUGHT/RAUT
HEIGHTENED/HITEND
FRIGHTENED/FRITEND
KNIGHTING/NITING
SLAUGHTERED/SLAWTERD

6. THOUGH/THO
THROUGH/THRU
THOROUGH/THORO
ALTHOUGH/ALTHO
THROUGHPUT/THRUPUT
THOROUGHFARE/THOROFARE
DOUGHNUT/DONUT.
(There must be more.)

Finally, we note that WORCESTERSHIRE (as in sauce) is pronounced WUSTASHER, for a reduction by five letters.

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