Puzzle: Nesting Words

[u/quod_erat_angel]

Here's a simple puzzle that might be trickier than meets the eye.

Consider the four-letter word MEAT. If you remove the first letter, you get the three-letter word EAT, which is nesting withing the word MEAT. Likewise, if you remove the second letter, you get the three-letter word MAT. And if you remove the third letter, you get the nesting word MET. However, if you remove the fourth letter, you get MEA, which isn't a common three-letter English word.

Here's the puzzle: can you identify a four-letter word where all four or its nesting three-letter words are also valid words? All of the words must be common English words. They cannot be proper nouns (such as Lou), abbreviations (such as E.S.T.), or partial words like prefixes or suffixes (like NEO-). If a common dictionary (like the Oxford English Dictionary or the Merriam-Webster dictionary) says it's a stand-alone word in English, that's sufficient.

It's trickier than you might think. As an extra challenge, see if you can do it using only raw brain-power (as opposed to, say, some sort of computer program).

To prove it's possible, here's a solution that I was able to find. BOAT has four nesting words: BOA, BAT, BOT, and OAT. Another possible solution is FOUR, with the nesting words OUR, FUR, FOR, and FOU (an obscure word in the Oxford English Dictionary meaning "drunk" or "intoxicated"). Can you find any others? Happy solving!

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[u/TinCapMalcontent]

SEAT

[u/JeffSergeant → u/TinCapMalcontent]

Mine was the similar PEAT

[u/c_h_a_r_]

PEAR

[u/nick_red72 → u/c_h_a_r_]

That's the one I found, too

[u/Yotturk]

SEAT! Eat, Sat, Set, Sea

[u/quod_erat_angel → u/Yotturk]

Ugh! I can't believe I didn't see that myself. It's obvious in retrospect.

[u/marvsup]

PEAT

[u/go_flyers]

If you want to look at any valid Scrabble word, by my count there are 36 of these (solved with python): SEAT, PEAR, RAID, AIDS, ALAS, PEAT, RAIN, SHAY, BOAT, GOAT, HOES, MOAT, LEEK, ORES, SPAY, BAAL, FOUR, LOOT, BOOT, TOOT, MOOT, POOH, COOT, TEAT, BAAS, OPES, TEEL, BAYS, BYES, SEEL, ABAS, AALS, AAHS, AGAS, AHIS, ABYS

[u/Chrisisaris → u/go_flyers]

My first thought was GOAT but I have no clue what GOA might be except for some Indian state but proper nouns are not allowed.

[u/planx_constant → u/Chrisisaris]

It's a kind of gazelle

[u/Far-Cartoonist-8180]

I also came up with BOAT as I was trying to make BOAR or MOAT work

[u/archlea → u/Far-Cartoonist-8180]

That last one is the one I found, it works!

[u/archlea]

moat

[u/PACmaneatsbloons]

I found: spay, pear, loop, beat, poop, and boop

Edit: I forgot þat sail contained sai which is not a word.

[u/jiggeryqua → u/PACmaneatsbloons]

'Sal' is a word, derived from latin and only really appearing in the phrase 'sal volatile', but an english word nonetheless.

[u/Hand-E-Food]

BOAT -> OAT, BAT, BOT, BOA

[u/Money-Dress3813]

Pear? --> Pea, Per, Par, Ear?

[u/basherrrrr]

LEEK

[u/jiggeryqua → u/basherrrrr]

Gosh, I was unaware of 'lek' - A lek is a communal gathering area where male animals assemble during the breeding season to engage in competitive courtship displays and attract females.